Left Flank

Reuters has the least spin for its story on American beef protests in Seoul. Scott commenting at Two Koreas concurs that the issue is not ideological, but technical.

I've been going to the demos almost every night and anti-Americanism is not a part of the equation at least amongst the ordinary people I've spoken with and going by all the signs I've seen and slogans I've heard. As far as U.S. beef goes, the main issue everyone is hung up on is importing beef over 30 months old, that's really it.

The main focus, however, has been against Lee Myung-bak, and then secondarily against the police as a symbol of power I suppose. But there seems to be little critique or consciousness of Lee's neo-liberal globalist agenda, which would include the KORUS FTA, so a part of me sees these protests as rather reactionary instead of driven by a well-articulated philosophical opposition to Lee's basic economic policies, and certainly no one is bringing up the grand canal, for example, or his policies against the poor here and urban development in Kangbuk and so on. I have also met a lot of people who voted for Lee Myung-bak at the demonstrations and they all say, "I was fooled by him and regret my vote now," but it was obvious last year what his agenda was so such people are not thinking about these issues very deeply. On the one hand, they voted for him because he would bring CEO-style efficiency and productivity to governance, on the other hand they are upset now because he is leading the government CEO-style now. So they voted for him because of his big-business corporatist methods and ideology, and now they against that approach a mere few months later.

So there is a huge element of reaction here that troubles me, rather than people looking at the bigger picture here. The fact that mad-cow disease is the main hook they are hanging their opposition on shows how vague and short-sighted their opposition really is. At least they could worry about more serious concerns like unsafe U.S. beef produced by agribusiness and pumped full of all sorts of shit like antibiotics and hormones which is far more troubling in my opinion.

The fact of the matter is that if Lee had relented and agreed to ban imports of US beef over 30 months, the protests would have stopped immediately, and his broader neo-liberal corporatist agenda would have continued unabated without significant opposition because a majority of Korea voters are driven mainly by basic pocketbook issues. I predict that there will be not fundamental change on this issue or broader expansion of progressive opposition to the Lee/GNP government, and 6 months from now, it will be business as usual.

What Scott is describing are disagreements similar to American concerns for lead-coated toys from China, not a radical cabal. This observation jives with expletive-laden comments my wife makes every morning, like "How could he agree to 30-month old beef?" But then, she says, "I don't care, we eat Australian! And, lamb is even cheaper!" (Note: We had 10 broiled lamb chops last night dipped in Indian curry for 16,000 won, and my wife cried uncle due to the heat!) Scott is responding to a post which embraces the liberal position on the protests. There's some interesting stats and observations in the posts, comments, and the links provided.

For the conservative, and international perspective, Victor Cha weighs in:

The protest, which has escalated over the past month, appears to have caught officials in both countries by surprise. Many said that US-Korean relations were vastly improving after strains under the left-leaning presidents who ruled Korea for a decade before Mr. Lee's landslide election victory in December.

"Groups in Korea have made a big deal of beef for reasons that have nothing to do with science," says Victor Cha, director of Asian studies at Georgetown University in Washington and former Asia expert for the National Security Council. "The way the leftists have gone after Lee on beef, it's not beef or science at all. The left has got hold of this and beat him with it."

Both the liberal and conservative spin is irresponsible, but the big tent of groups attending the protests has invited unwanted guests who continue to walk right through the door. By mixing into the volatile mix tangential issues like the former South Korean administration and issues related to the ROK-US FTA, all sides are not listening to the South Korean people too hardworking and cynical to waste their nights on the streets.