Anti-American sentiment in Korea
Encyclopedia
The Anti-Americanism in Korea began with the earliest contact between the two nations and continued after the division of Korea
. In both North Korea
and South Korea
, anti-Americanism after the Korean War
has focused on the presence and behavior of American military personnel (USFK), aggravated especially by high-profile accidents or crimes by U.S. servicemembers, with various crimes including rape
and assault
, among others. The 2002 Yangju highway incident
especially ignited Anti-American passions. The on-going U.S. military presence in South Korea, especially at Yongsan Garrison
(on a base previously used by the Imperial Japanese Army
from 1910-1945
) in central Seoul
, remains a contentious issue.
While protests have arisen over specific incidents, they are often reflective of deeper historical resentments. Robert Hathaway, director of the Wilson Center's Asia program, suggests: "the growth of anti-American sentiment in both Japan and South Korea must be seen not simply as a response to American policies and actions, but as reflective of deeper domestic trends and developments within these Asian countries." Korean anti-Americanism after the war was fueled by American occupation and support for authoritarian rule
, a fact still evident during the country's democratic transition in the 1980s. Speaking to the Wilson Center, Katharine Moon notes that while the majority of South Koreans support the American alliance "anti-Americanism also represents the collective venting of accumulated grievances that in many instances have lain hidden for decades."
Some Korean historians have assumed that, in the discussions, the United States recognized Japan's sphere of influence in Korea; in exchange, Japan recognized the United States's sphere of influence in the Philippines. However, American historians examining official records report no agreement was ever made—the two men discussed current events but came to no new policy or agreement. They both restated the well-known official policies of their own governments. Indeed, Taft was very careful to indicate these were his private opinions and he was not an official representative of the U.S. government (Taft was Secretary of War, not Secretary of State).
This agreement evoked negative Korean reaction. Some Korean historians (e.g., Ki-baik Lee, author of A New History of Korea, (Harvard U. Press, 1984) believe that the Taft–Katsura Agreement violated the "Korean–American Treaty of Amity and Commerce" signed at Incheon on May 22, 1882 because the Joseon Government considered that treaty constituted a de facto mutual defense treaty while the Americans did not. The Joseon Dynasty, however, ended in 1897. In recent years, while the Taft–Katsura Agreement is all but an obscure footnote in history, the Agreement is attacked by some left-leaning Korean activists as an example of how the United States cannot be trusted with regards to Korean security and sovereignty issues.
, in Korea which pursued a number of very unpopular policies. In brief, the military government first supported the same Japanese colonial government. Then it removed the Japanese officials but retained them as advisors. At the same time the Koreans, before the Americans had arrived, had developed their own popular-based government, the People's Republic of Korea
. This popular government was ignored, censored, and then eventually outlawed by decree of the U.S. military government. The military government also created an advisory council for which the majority of seats were offered to the nascent Korea Democratic Party
(KDP) which mainly consisted of large landowners, wealthy businesspeople, and former colonial officials. The military government, and this advisory council, set up elections for a legislature.
The elections were boycotted and protested throughout the country
by the peasantry. The uprising was suppressed with police, U.S. troops and tanks, and declarations of martial law
. The only representatives elected that were not of the KDP or its allies were from Jeju-do
. Upon arrival in Seoul, they were kidnapped and killed. Furthermore, the U.S.'s refusal to consult existing popular organizations in the south, as agreed upon at the Moscow Conference
, and thus paving the way towards a divided Korea, embittered the majority of Koreans. Finally, pushing for United Nations
elections that would not be observed by the USSR-controlled north, over legal objections, enshrined a divided Korea, which the majority of Koreans opposed.
s were killed by soldiers of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment
between 1950-07-26 and 1950-07-29 near the village of No Gun Ri
.
This incident gained widespread attention when the Associated Press
published a series of articles in 1999 that subsequently won the Pulitzer Prize
for investigative reporting. The village is located in Hwanggan-myeon, Yeongdong County
, Chungcheongbuk-do
, in central South Korea. The 1999 Associated Press articles alleged that refugees at No Gun Ri were strafed
from the air and machined gunned at close range by U.S. soldiers under direction of military policy.
The AP reporting was partially based on a falsified firsthand account by Edward Daily. Army records suggest that Daily was never a machine gunner and was not present at No Gun Ri. The AP later corrected the false Daily claim and other details of the No Gun Ri articles. In 2001, the U.S. military responded to the AP account with a report that included detailed aerial photographs taken on August 6, 1950 and September 19, 1950.
. The U.S. supported the military dictator, Chun Doo-hwan
, whom the protests were against. In addition, it is alleged that the U.S. was also complicit in the brutal crackdown that followed.
arsonists set fire to the American Cultural Center. They killed one and injured several others. Moon Bu Shik and Kim Hyon Jang were sentenced to death but later commuted to life sentences and then to 20 years.
Yun Geum-i (윤금이) in 1992. This incident led to the South Korean public demanding a revision of the Status of Forces Agreement
in South Korea.
At 1:00 AM, October 28, 1992, Yun Geum-i, who was 26 and worked at a club near the US Army base in Dongducheon, South Korea, was murdered.
When her house lord found her dead at 16:30 of the day, she was naked. Two bottles of beer were stuck inside her uterus and one bottle of coke was hung there. And an umbrella was inserted 27 cm along inside her anus up to the rectum. The fingerprints on the beer bottles helped find the murderer.
Private Kenneth Lee Markle, 20 at the time, who served in the 2nd Division, had beaten her head and body to death with the bottles, putting them into the dying woman. The whole of her body showed bruises too severe to be described. The private spread white detergent on her dead body and put matches into her mouth to get rid of the evidence. Her head fracture had bleed copiously and was the direct cause of her death. Based on reported facts, the death was seen as one of the most tragic sexual assaults committed by GIs.
After a trial in April 1993, the accused was sentenced to life imprisonment. He appealed to the court in December of that year, and the sentence was reduced to 15 years. He appealed again on April 29, 1994, to the Supreme Court, which rejected the appeal. Custody of Markle was handed over to the Korean government on May 17, 1994. On August 14, 2006, Markle was released on parole and flown back to the USA. He had been imprisoned a total of 13 years, 6 months, 4 days.
During his trials and afterwards in Korea, Korean public anger was growing over the Korea and US authorities' handling of the case. Human rights activists and the public have called for reform of investigations into the case and also for reform of the SOFA, the Status Of Forces Agreement between the two countries, which they claim have often infringed the human rights of Korean victims.
. The incident provoked anti-American sentiment in South Korea when a US military court found the soldiers involved, who were sent back to the United States immediately after the decision, not guilty. This prompted hundreds of thousands of South Koreans to protest against the U.S Army's continued presence.
, Apolo Anton Ohno
emerged as a popular athlete among US fans for reportedly charming them with his cheerful attitude and laid-back style. He became the face of short track speed skating in the US, which was a relatively new and unknown sport at the time, and carried the medal hopes of America in that sport. Ohno medaled in two events, although there was some controversy associated with the results.
In the 1500 m race, Ohno won the gold medal, with a time of 2:18.541. During the 1500 m final race, South Korean Kim Dong-Sung
was first across the finish line, but was disqualified for blocking Ohno, in what is called cross tracking. Ohno was in second place with three laps remaining, and on his third attempt to pass on the final lap, Kim drifted slightly to the inside where Ohno raised his arms and came out of his crouch to signal that he was blocked. Fourth-place finisher of the same race, Fabio Carta of Italy, showed his disagreement with the decision saying that it was "absurd that the Korean was disqualified." China's Jiajun Li, who moved from bronze to silver, remained neutral saying: "I respect the decision of the referee, I'm not going to say any more." Steven Bradbury
of Australia, the 1000 m gold medal winner, also shared his views: "Whether Dong-Sung moved across enough to be called for cross-tracking, I don't know, he obviously moved across a bit. It's the judge's interpretation. A lot of people will say it was right and a lot of people will say it's wrong. I've seen moves like that before that were not called. But I've seen them called too."
The disqualification upset South Korean supporters, many of whom directed their anger at Ohno and the Olympic International Olympic Committee
. A very large number of e-mails protesting the race results crashed the Olympic Committee's email server, and also thousands of accusatory letters, many of which were death threat
s, were sent to Ohno and the committee. Ohno shared his thoughts on the Koreans' hostile reaction by saying, "I was really bothered by it. I grew up around many Asian cultures, Korean one of them. A lot of my best friends were Korean growing up. I just didn't understand. Later on I realized that was built up by certain people and that was directed at me, negative energy from other things, not even resulting around the sport, but around politics, using me to stand on the pedestal as the anti-American sentiment."
The Government of South Korea
blocked most imports of US beef
in 2003 because of fears over mad cow disease (BSE). The United States Department of Agriculture
had identified two BSE-infected cows, and only one that was born in the USA (one of the animals actually came from Canada). When Lee Myung-bak was inaugurated some 5 years after the BSE infections in the US, he agreed to relax restrictions on beef imports from the US, while still banning the most risky parts of cattle (brain, spinal cord). This caused an outbreak of anti-US sentiment and even calls for his impeachment
.
has been described as anti-American. The film was in part inspired by an incident in 2000 in which a mortician working for the U.S. military in Seoul dumped a large amount of formaldehyde
down the drain. In the film the dumped chemicals engender a horrible mutated monster from the river which menaces the inhabitants of Seoul. The American military situated in South Korea is portrayed as uncaring about the effects their activities have on the locals. The chemical agent used by the American military to combat the monster in the end, named "Agent Yellow" in a thinly-veiled reference to Agent Orange
was also used to satirical effect.
The CGI
for the film was done by The Orphanage
, which also did the CGI of The Day After Tomorrow
. The director, Bong Joon-ho, commented on the issue: "It's a stretch to simplify The Host as an anti-American film, but there is certainly a metaphor and political commentary about the U.S." Because of its themes that can be seen as critical of the United States, the film was actually lauded by North Korean authorities, a rarity for a South Korean blockbuster film.
" is a protest song
written by South Korean singer and activist Yoon Min-suk. Strongly anti-US foreign policy and anti-Bush, the song was written in 2002 at a time when, following the Apolo Ohno Olympic controversy and an accident in which two Korean middle school students were killed under the wheels of a U.S. Army vehicle; anti-American sentiment in South Korea reached high levels.
Division of Korea
The division of Korea into North Korea and South Korea stems from the 1945 Allied victory in World War II, ending Japan's 35-year colonial rule of Korea. In a proposal opposed by nearly all Koreans, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to temporarily occupy the country as a trusteeship...
. In both North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
and South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, anti-Americanism after the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
has focused on the presence and behavior of American military personnel (USFK), aggravated especially by high-profile accidents or crimes by U.S. servicemembers, with various crimes including rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
, among others. The 2002 Yangju highway incident
Yangju highway incident
The Yangju highway incident also known as the Yangju training accident or Highway 56 Accident, occurred on June 13, 2002 in Yangju, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea...
especially ignited Anti-American passions. The on-going U.S. military presence in South Korea, especially at Yongsan Garrison
Yongsan Garrison
United States Army Garrison Yongsan is located in Seoul, South Korea and is home to the headquarters for the U.S. military presence in Korea, known as United States Forces Korea , as well as the headquarters for the Eighth United States Army and Installation Management Command Korea Region...
(on a base previously used by the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
from 1910-1945
Korea under Japanese rule
Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion . Japanese rule ended in 1945 shortly after the Japanese defeat in World War II....
) in central Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
, remains a contentious issue.
While protests have arisen over specific incidents, they are often reflective of deeper historical resentments. Robert Hathaway, director of the Wilson Center's Asia program, suggests: "the growth of anti-American sentiment in both Japan and South Korea must be seen not simply as a response to American policies and actions, but as reflective of deeper domestic trends and developments within these Asian countries." Korean anti-Americanism after the war was fueled by American occupation and support for authoritarian rule
Park Chung-hee
Park Chung-hee was a Republic of Korea Army general and the leader of South Korea from 1961 to 1979. He seized power in a military coup and ruled until his assassination in 1979. He has been credited with the industrialization of the Republic of Korea through export-led growth...
, a fact still evident during the country's democratic transition in the 1980s. Speaking to the Wilson Center, Katharine Moon notes that while the majority of South Koreans support the American alliance "anti-Americanism also represents the collective venting of accumulated grievances that in many instances have lain hidden for decades."
Taft–Katsura Agreement
The Taft–Katsura Agreement (Japanese: 桂・タフト協定 Katsura-Tafuto Kyōtei) was a set of notes taken during conversations between United States Secretary of War William Howard Taft and Prime Minister of Japan Katsura Taro on 29 July 1905. The notes were discovered in 1924; there was never a signed agreement or secret treaty, only a memorandum of a conversation regarding Japanese-American relations.Some Korean historians have assumed that, in the discussions, the United States recognized Japan's sphere of influence in Korea; in exchange, Japan recognized the United States's sphere of influence in the Philippines. However, American historians examining official records report no agreement was ever made—the two men discussed current events but came to no new policy or agreement. They both restated the well-known official policies of their own governments. Indeed, Taft was very careful to indicate these were his private opinions and he was not an official representative of the U.S. government (Taft was Secretary of War, not Secretary of State).
This agreement evoked negative Korean reaction. Some Korean historians (e.g., Ki-baik Lee, author of A New History of Korea, (Harvard U. Press, 1984) believe that the Taft–Katsura Agreement violated the "Korean–American Treaty of Amity and Commerce" signed at Incheon on May 22, 1882 because the Joseon Government considered that treaty constituted a de facto mutual defense treaty while the Americans did not. The Joseon Dynasty, however, ended in 1897. In recent years, while the Taft–Katsura Agreement is all but an obscure footnote in history, the Agreement is attacked by some left-leaning Korean activists as an example of how the United States cannot be trusted with regards to Korean security and sovereignty issues.
Pre-Korean War
After the Japanese defeat in World War II the United States set up a self-declared government, United States Army Military Government in KoreaUnited States Army Military Government in Korea
The United States Army Military Government in Korea, also known as USAMGIK, was the official ruling body of the southern half of the Korean Peninsula from September 8, 1945 to August 15, 1948...
, in Korea which pursued a number of very unpopular policies. In brief, the military government first supported the same Japanese colonial government. Then it removed the Japanese officials but retained them as advisors. At the same time the Koreans, before the Americans had arrived, had developed their own popular-based government, the People's Republic of Korea
People's Republic of Korea
The People's Republic of Korea was a short-lived provisional government organized to take over control of Korea after the Surrender of Japan at the end of the Pacific War. It operated as the government in late August and early September of 1945 until the United States Army Military Government in...
. This popular government was ignored, censored, and then eventually outlawed by decree of the U.S. military government. The military government also created an advisory council for which the majority of seats were offered to the nascent Korea Democratic Party
Korea Democratic Party
The Korea Democratic Party was the leading opposition party in the first years of the First Republic of South Korea. It existed from 1945 to 1949, when it merged with other opposition parties. Prominent members included Yun Po-sun...
(KDP) which mainly consisted of large landowners, wealthy businesspeople, and former colonial officials. The military government, and this advisory council, set up elections for a legislature.
The elections were boycotted and protested throughout the country
Autumn Uprising of 1946
The Autumn Uprising of 1946 in Korea was a peasant uprising throughout the southern provinces of Korea against the policies of the United States Army Military Government in Korea and in favor of restoration of power to the people's committees that made up the People's Republic of Korea...
by the peasantry. The uprising was suppressed with police, U.S. troops and tanks, and declarations of martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
. The only representatives elected that were not of the KDP or its allies were from Jeju-do
Jeju-do
Jeju-do is the only special autonomous province of South Korea, situated on and coterminous with the country's largest island. Jeju-do lies in the Korea Strait, southwest of Jeollanam-do Province, of which it was a part before it became a separate province in 1946...
. Upon arrival in Seoul, they were kidnapped and killed. Furthermore, the U.S.'s refusal to consult existing popular organizations in the south, as agreed upon at the Moscow Conference
Moscow Conference (1945)
The Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers of the United States , the United Kingdom , and the Soviet Union met in December 1945 to discuss the problems of occupation, establishing peace, and other Far East issues.The Communique issued after the Conference on December 27,...
, and thus paving the way towards a divided Korea, embittered the majority of Koreans. Finally, pushing for United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
elections that would not be observed by the USSR-controlled north, over legal objections, enshrined a divided Korea, which the majority of Koreans opposed.
The Geneva Conference of 1954
The armistice at the end of the Korean War required that a political conference be pursued where the question of a unified Korea would be addressed. Despite many proposals for independent national elections and a unified, democratic, independent Korea no declaration for a unified Korea was adopted. Some participants and analysts blame the U.S. for obstructing efforts towards unification.No Gun Ri massacre
No Gun Ri massacre was a massacre during the Korean War in which between eight and about 150 South Korean civilianCivilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
s were killed by soldiers of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment
U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment
The 7th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army Cavalry Regiment, whose lineage traces back to the mid-19th century. Its official nickname is "Garryowen," in honor of the Irish air Garryowen that was adopted as its march tune....
between 1950-07-26 and 1950-07-29 near the village of No Gun Ri
No Gun Ri
No Gun Ri is a village in Hwanggan-myeon, Yeongdong County, North Chungcheong Province in central South Korea. The village was the site of the No Gun Ri Massacre during the Korean War in which U.S...
.
This incident gained widespread attention when the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
published a series of articles in 1999 that subsequently won the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for investigative reporting. The village is located in Hwanggan-myeon, Yeongdong County
Yeongdong County
Yeongdong County is a county in North Chungcheong Province, South Korea. The county should not be confused with the similarly named Yeongdong region.During the Korean War, this county was the site of the No Gun Ri incident.-Climate:-External links:*...
, Chungcheongbuk-do
Chungcheongbuk-do
Chungcheongbuk-do is a province in the centre of South Korea. It was formed in 1896 from the northeastern half of the former Chungcheong province...
, in central South Korea. The 1999 Associated Press articles alleged that refugees at No Gun Ri were strafed
Strafing
Strafing is the practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. This means, that although ground attack using automatic weapons fire is very often accompanied with bombing or rocket fire, the term "strafing" does not specifically include the...
from the air and machined gunned at close range by U.S. soldiers under direction of military policy.
The AP reporting was partially based on a falsified firsthand account by Edward Daily. Army records suggest that Daily was never a machine gunner and was not present at No Gun Ri. The AP later corrected the false Daily claim and other details of the No Gun Ri articles. In 2001, the U.S. military responded to the AP account with a report that included detailed aerial photographs taken on August 6, 1950 and September 19, 1950.
Gwangju massacre
The Gwangju democratization movement was a popular uprising in 1980 in the city of GwangjuGwangju
Gwangju is the sixth largest city in South Korea. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister...
. The U.S. supported the military dictator, Chun Doo-hwan
Chun Doo-hwan
Chun Doo-hwan was a ROK Army general and the President of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. Chun was sentenced to death in 1996 for his heavy-handed response to the Gwangju Democratization Movement, but later pardoned by President Kim Young-sam with the advice of then President-elect Kim Dae-jung,...
, whom the protests were against. In addition, it is alleged that the U.S. was also complicit in the brutal crackdown that followed.
Busan American Cultural Service building arson
On March 12, 1982 in BusanBusan
Busan , formerly spelled Pusan is South Korea's second largest metropolis after Seoul, with a population of around 3.6 million. The Metropolitan area population is 4,399,515 as of 2010. It is the largest port city in South Korea and the fifth largest port in the world...
arsonists set fire to the American Cultural Center. They killed one and injured several others. Moon Bu Shik and Kim Hyon Jang were sentenced to death but later commuted to life sentences and then to 20 years.
Yun Geum-i murder
A U.S. Army soldier named Kenneth Lee Markle murdered a prostituteProstitution in South Korea
Prostitution in South Korea is illegal, but according to The Korea Women's Development Institute, the sex trade in Korea was estimated to amount to 14 trillion South Korean won in 2007, roughly 1.6 percent of the nation's gross domestic product....
Yun Geum-i (윤금이) in 1992. This incident led to the South Korean public demanding a revision of the Status of Forces Agreement
Status of Forces Agreement
A status of forces agreement is an agreement between a host country and a foreign nation stationing forces in that country. SOFAs are often included, along with other types of military agreements, as part of a comprehensive security arrangement...
in South Korea.
At 1:00 AM, October 28, 1992, Yun Geum-i, who was 26 and worked at a club near the US Army base in Dongducheon, South Korea, was murdered.
When her house lord found her dead at 16:30 of the day, she was naked. Two bottles of beer were stuck inside her uterus and one bottle of coke was hung there. And an umbrella was inserted 27 cm along inside her anus up to the rectum. The fingerprints on the beer bottles helped find the murderer.
Private Kenneth Lee Markle, 20 at the time, who served in the 2nd Division, had beaten her head and body to death with the bottles, putting them into the dying woman. The whole of her body showed bruises too severe to be described. The private spread white detergent on her dead body and put matches into her mouth to get rid of the evidence. Her head fracture had bleed copiously and was the direct cause of her death. Based on reported facts, the death was seen as one of the most tragic sexual assaults committed by GIs.
After a trial in April 1993, the accused was sentenced to life imprisonment. He appealed to the court in December of that year, and the sentence was reduced to 15 years. He appealed again on April 29, 1994, to the Supreme Court, which rejected the appeal. Custody of Markle was handed over to the Korean government on May 17, 1994. On August 14, 2006, Markle was released on parole and flown back to the USA. He had been imprisoned a total of 13 years, 6 months, 4 days.
During his trials and afterwards in Korea, Korean public anger was growing over the Korea and US authorities' handling of the case. Human rights activists and the public have called for reform of investigations into the case and also for reform of the SOFA, the Status Of Forces Agreement between the two countries, which they claim have often infringed the human rights of Korean victims.
Yangju highway incident
On June 13, 2002, a U.S. military vehicle fatally injured two 14-year-old South Korean girls, Shim Hyo-sun (심효순) and Shim Mi-seon (심미선), who were walking along a street in Euijeongbu, Gyeonggi-doGyeonggi-do
Gyeonggi-do is the most populous province in South Korea. The provincial capital is located at Suwon. Seoul—South Korea's largest city and national capital—is located in the heart of the province, but has been separately administered as a provincial-level special city since 1946...
. The incident provoked anti-American sentiment in South Korea when a US military court found the soldiers involved, who were sent back to the United States immediately after the decision, not guilty. This prompted hundreds of thousands of South Koreans to protest against the U.S Army's continued presence.
Apolo Ohno 2002 Winter Olympics controversy
In Salt Lake City, UtahSalt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
, Apolo Anton Ohno
Apolo Anton Ohno
Apolo Anton Ohno is an American short track speed skating competitor and an eight-time medalist in the Winter Olympics. He is the most decorated American Winter Olympic athlete of all time....
emerged as a popular athlete among US fans for reportedly charming them with his cheerful attitude and laid-back style. He became the face of short track speed skating in the US, which was a relatively new and unknown sport at the time, and carried the medal hopes of America in that sport. Ohno medaled in two events, although there was some controversy associated with the results.
In the 1500 m race, Ohno won the gold medal, with a time of 2:18.541. During the 1500 m final race, South Korean Kim Dong-Sung
Kim Dong-Sung
Kim Dong-Sung is a former South Korean short track speed skater. He won a gold medal in 1000m race and silver medal in 5000m relay at the 1998 Winter Olympics...
was first across the finish line, but was disqualified for blocking Ohno, in what is called cross tracking. Ohno was in second place with three laps remaining, and on his third attempt to pass on the final lap, Kim drifted slightly to the inside where Ohno raised his arms and came out of his crouch to signal that he was blocked. Fourth-place finisher of the same race, Fabio Carta of Italy, showed his disagreement with the decision saying that it was "absurd that the Korean was disqualified." China's Jiajun Li, who moved from bronze to silver, remained neutral saying: "I respect the decision of the referee, I'm not going to say any more." Steven Bradbury
Steven Bradbury
Steven John Bradbury OAM is a former Australian short track speed skater and four-time Olympian, who won the 1,000 m event at the 2002 Winter Olympics after all of his opponents were involved in a last corner pile-up...
of Australia, the 1000 m gold medal winner, also shared his views: "Whether Dong-Sung moved across enough to be called for cross-tracking, I don't know, he obviously moved across a bit. It's the judge's interpretation. A lot of people will say it was right and a lot of people will say it's wrong. I've seen moves like that before that were not called. But I've seen them called too."
The disqualification upset South Korean supporters, many of whom directed their anger at Ohno and the Olympic International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
. A very large number of e-mails protesting the race results crashed the Olympic Committee's email server, and also thousands of accusatory letters, many of which were death threat
Death threat
A death threat is a threat of death, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or groups of people. These threats are usually designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behavior, thus a death threat is a form of coercion...
s, were sent to Ohno and the committee. Ohno shared his thoughts on the Koreans' hostile reaction by saying, "I was really bothered by it. I grew up around many Asian cultures, Korean one of them. A lot of my best friends were Korean growing up. I just didn't understand. Later on I realized that was built up by certain people and that was directed at me, negative energy from other things, not even resulting around the sport, but around politics, using me to stand on the pedestal as the anti-American sentiment."
US beef imports in South Korea
Government of South Korea
The Government of South Korea is divided into executive, judicial, and legislative branches. The executive and judicial branches operate primarily at the national level, although various ministries in the executive branch also carry out local functions. Local governments are semi-autonomous, and...
blocked most imports of US beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
in 2003 because of fears over mad cow disease (BSE). The United States Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
had identified two BSE-infected cows, and only one that was born in the USA (one of the animals actually came from Canada). When Lee Myung-bak was inaugurated some 5 years after the BSE infections in the US, he agreed to relax restrictions on beef imports from the US, while still banning the most risky parts of cattle (brain, spinal cord). This caused an outbreak of anti-US sentiment and even calls for his impeachment
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
.
The Host
The 2006 Korean monster film The HostThe Host (film)
The Host is a 2006 South Korean monster film, which also contains elements of comedy and drama films. The film was directed by Bong Joon-ho, who co-wrote the screenplay, along with Baek Chul-hyun....
has been described as anti-American. The film was in part inspired by an incident in 2000 in which a mortician working for the U.S. military in Seoul dumped a large amount of formaldehyde
Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde is an organic compound with the formula CH2O. It is the simplest aldehyde, hence its systematic name methanal.Formaldehyde is a colorless gas with a characteristic pungent odor. It is an important precursor to many other chemical compounds, especially for polymers...
down the drain. In the film the dumped chemicals engender a horrible mutated monster from the river which menaces the inhabitants of Seoul. The American military situated in South Korea is portrayed as uncaring about the effects their activities have on the locals. The chemical agent used by the American military to combat the monster in the end, named "Agent Yellow" in a thinly-veiled reference to Agent Orange
Agent Orange
Agent Orange is the code name for one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. Vietnam estimates 400,000 people were killed or maimed, and 500,000 children born with birth...
was also used to satirical effect.
The CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
for the film was done by The Orphanage
The Orphanage (company)
The Orphanage was a visual effects studio located in California. It had offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco. It was co-founded in 1999 by Stu Maschwitz, Jonathan Rothbart and Scott Stewart, who all previously worked at Industrial Light and Magic. Scott Kirsner at Hollywood Reporter...
, which also did the CGI of The Day After Tomorrow
The Day After Tomorrow
The Day After Tomorrow is a 2004 American science-fiction disaster film that depicts the catastrophic effects of global warming in a series of extreme weather events that usher in global cooling which leads to a new ice age. The film did well at the box office, grossing $542,771,772 internationally...
. The director, Bong Joon-ho, commented on the issue: "It's a stretch to simplify The Host as an anti-American film, but there is certainly a metaphor and political commentary about the U.S." Because of its themes that can be seen as critical of the United States, the film was actually lauded by North Korean authorities, a rarity for a South Korean blockbuster film.
Fucking USA
"Fucking USAFucking USA
"Fucking USA", often called "Fuck'n USA", is a protest song written by South Korean singer and activist Yoon Min-suk. Strongly anti-US Foreign policy and anti-Bush, the song was written in 2002 at a time when, following the Apolo Ohno Olympic controversy and an incident in which two Korean middle...
" is a protest song
Protest song
A protest song is a song which is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of topical songs . It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre...
written by South Korean singer and activist Yoon Min-suk. Strongly anti-US foreign policy and anti-Bush, the song was written in 2002 at a time when, following the Apolo Ohno Olympic controversy and an accident in which two Korean middle school students were killed under the wheels of a U.S. Army vehicle; anti-American sentiment in South Korea reached high levels.
See also
- Anti-AmericanismAnti-AmericanismThe term Anti-Americanism, or Anti-American Sentiment, refers to broad opposition or hostility to the people, policies, culture or government of the United States...
- Demonstrations at Yongsan Garrison
- Axis of evilAxis of evil"Axis of evil" is a term initially used by the former United States President George W. Bush in his State of the Union Address on January 29, 2002 and often repeated throughout his presidency, describing governments that he accused of helping terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction...
- Anti-Japanese sentiment in KoreaAnti-Japanese sentiment in KoreaThe Anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea is complex and multi-faceted. Anti-Japanese sentiment attitudes in the Korea can be traced back to the effects of Japanese pirate raids and the Japanese invasions of Korea , such as dismembering more than 20,000 noses and ears from Koreans and bringing them back...
- Busan American Council Fire Accidents
External links
- How the World Sees AmericaHow the World Sees AmericaHow the World Sees America is a video blog run by global correspondent Amar C. Bakshi and sponsored by The Washington Post and Newsweek Magazine...
videoblog: South Korea - Yun Geum-i murder Incident