Hong’s Cave

I read this article today.

There has always been anti-U.S. resentment in Korea since 1980. You can say it’s a love-hate thingy. Some part of the population (maybe most, unconsciously) felt the need of the U.S. military presence. However, some resented having a foreign military effectively controlling one’s own army. This is especially true for most of the younger generations.

I am sorry to say this to the men and women who serve their country, but they don’t really represent the finest in the soft power that the U.S. has to offer. Maybe, the hard power, but definitely not the soft. There have been many incidents between the U.S. military personnel and the Korean civilians, and most of the times, people will talk about it for a couple of weeks and it would quiet down.

However, this time it seems a bit different. It involved two middle school girls. There are already several agendas against the U.S. (the North Korea issues, the next-generation fighter selection, the HDTV formats, etc.) that it just exploded. Also, I think the success of the World Cup 2002, and the confidence that the Korean people got from that seem to play a bigger part. Also, there is a presidential election soon.

Anyway, maybe this, 2002, is the year that would change the attitude of Korea. Or maybe not.