The Oberdorfer Take on Seoul Protests
Don Oberdorfer, the author of one of the best books on the Korean peninsula, The Two Koreas, is a straight arrow on Korean issues. When he argues that «Seoul's 'Beef' Not About Beef», it carries weight.
We've been reading in the U.S. press almost every day about big street demonstrations by thousands of South Koreans protesting the import of U.S. beef for safety reasons. Recently, the United States modified the trade agreement saying that only beef younger than thirty months would be exported. Koreans eat a lot of beef— but are they really that worried about the safety of American beef?
I don't think you can make a generalized statement about what all Koreans believe or are worried about. But, in my view, there are a lot of other elements here in addition to beef. In some ways beef is the least of it. Really, a lot of it has to do with Korean nationalism, with protests between various groups in Korea. There were these huge candlelight protests with literally hundreds of thousands and even millions of people out in the streets at one time. These had to do with the fact that after ten years of progressive governments, the Koreans have elected a conservative as their president. A lot of this has to do with the current politics opposition to the conservatives on the part of many of the progressive groups.
This is an excellent interview, including opinions on DPRK policy and FTA. A must read!
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