Tag: protests

Demonstrators Hold Pro-USFK Rally In front of Camp Red Cloud

It looks like some of the silent majority in South Korea have decided to stand up to the currently empowered leftists trying to create a wedge in the US-ROK alliance:

Dozens of South Koreans rally outside Camp Red Cloud to show support for U.S. forces, Monday, June 19, 2017. The rally happened more than a week after several singers boycotted a concert organized by the city of Uijeongbu to celebrate the 2nd Infantry Division’s centennial.

Dozens of South Koreans waved American flags and signs with slogans like “Deploy THAAD immediately” and “Strong ROK-US alliance” during a rally Monday to support the 2nd Infantry Division after several musicians boycotted a recent concert celebrating its centennial.

The municipal government in Uijeongbu organized the June 10 concert at a sports complex in the city, which has long been home to 2ID headquarters at Camp Red Cloud. But several South Korean K-pop bands and other musicians who had been expected to perform either did not show up or declined to play their songs.

The group organizing Monday’s rally, which was held on the sidewalk in front of the U.S. Army garrison, produced a letter addressed to the division’s commander, Maj. Gen. Theodore Martin.

“We, Patriotic Koreans want to deliver our deepest apology about the disruption of the Centennial concert,” the letter read. “We also want to express our sincere appreciation for you and your soldiers’ dedication for the security of the Republic of Korea.”  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but the boycott had to be highly embarrassing to the Uijongbu mayor Ahn Byung-yong who was sitting next to USFK Commander General Vincent Brooks when the cancellations happened.  According to the article the mayor is blaming pro-North Korean leftists and media for causing the cancellation.

Elderly Residents Continue to Block Access Road to THAAD Site In South Korea

Here is an update from the anti-THAAD frontlines in Seongju county:

In Soseong-ri, a small farming village of about 80 residents in southern South Korea, a band of elderly women is at the forefront of protests against the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system next to their neighborhood.

A dozen or so women, in their 60s to 80s, stand watch each day around the clock to make sure no military vehicles enter the deployment site through the only road to it — a former golf course owned by a leading conglomerate, the Lotte Group.

The vigil has forced the U.S. military to use helicopters instead to shuttle fuel and supplies to the site hosting the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.  (………..)

The women, who brandish canes and umbrellas at the military helicopters and shout for them to go away every time one flies through the village, say they have no interest in the politics of the deployment.

But they protest, longing for the peace they had before.

“I can’t sleep. I’m taking sedatives at night but I still get only two hours of sleep,” said 87-year-old Na Wi-bun, who lives within a kilometer (0.62 mile) of the site and says she can hear the generator that powers THAAD humming around the clock.  [Reuters]

You can read more at the link, but it is ironic they are complaining about noise when their protest is causing the noise.  The helicopters would not be flying if trucks were allowed to drive up the road to the site.  Also the generators as we have seen in with the radar site in Japan can be muffled and the noise ultimately eliminated when the radar is hooked up to commercial power.  However, if construction crews cannot drive up the road to hook up to commercial power then the noise will remain.

Picture of the Day: No THAAD In My Backyard

Residents block trucks to oppose THAAD deployment

Residents of Seongju County confront policemen on May 29, 2017, as they block the entry of trucks to the site picked for the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile defense system. Five trucks tried to enter the golf course in the county, 296 kilometers south of Seoul, that will host the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) for environmental inspection but then turned back. The deployment is fiercely opposed by local residents and some civic groups and religious organizations, including Won Buddhism which provided this photo. (Yonhap)

Picture of the Day: Separate Protests

Public square divided into two

Liberal and conservative groups host two separate rallies — one calling for President Park Geun-hye’s resignation and the other against Park’s impeachment — in central Seoul on Feb. 25, 2017, as she marked the fourth anniversary of her presidency. Park was impeached in December over a massive corruption scandal centered on her close friend Choi Soon-sil. The Constitutional Court is expected to determine whether to approve the impeachment or not next month. (Yonhap)