2002 Witnesses Dynamic Koreans

Koreans&’ Anger and Empowerment Reflected in Candlelight Rallies

Prologue

As a social affairs reporter, I use about two notebooks a month for my news reporting. In last December, however, I used up five notebooks. This implies that I was out in the field more often than usual, and those field reports contain a lively record of candlelight rallies that manifested Koreans?renewed self-pride and self-determination.

The focus of the rallies was the deaths of two girls, Shin Hyo-Soon and Shin Mi-Sun, who were killed by a U.S. armored vehicle last June. Koreans realized that the tragic deaths were caused by the unequal and irrational provisions of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which were perceived to be a reflection of the inequality of the Korea-U.S. relationship. The anger was also aimed at the Korean government, which took no relevant and independent position towards the U.S. government.

The anger and resentment pushed Korean people out on to the street. The candle rally was first proposed by an Internet user on November 30, 2002, and citizens since then have held rallies in cities all over the country every weekend.

Now I”m about to open my “Reporter’s notes” from last December. The notes contain a series of stories narrating the Korean anger at the unequal relationship between South Korea and the U.S., eloquently manifested by successive candle rallies since last November.

Scene #1

Front of Kyo-bo Building near Kwanghwamoon on November 30, 2002

“Netizens out on the street”

The candlelight rally at first was an unsure thing. The gathering was made by a series of online postings, so no one was sure of it until the last minute. However, netizens, meaning Internet users, were there. A sincere proposal by a netizen inspired thousands of netizens to rush out “Offline.”

The first proposal was made by Kim Ki-bo, an instructor at a private institute. He appealed to people through the online discussion forum of Internet Hankyoreh, saying “Let’s extinguish the violence of the U.S. by creating a sea of fireflies, which are the souls of the two deceased girls.” For the initial three days, just 80 people read this posting. However, the message soon spread like wildfire. The power of netizens was overwhelming. Eventually, about ten thousand netizens appeared at Kwanghwamoon on November 30 last year, with candles in their hands. Park Jun-suk (32, an office worker) said, “I made up my mind to join as soon as I read the writing. I was so angry at the process of settling the accident.” Kim Ki-hyun (27, an office worker) said he was “ashamed” from the thought that “our government is not doing what it should justly do.” Suh Seung-ho (33, an office worker), standing right beside them, said “I felt moved by the candles emitting lights all the way from Kwanghwamoon, but I feel angry towards the U.S. and am ashamed of my own country. This is not enough. We need more people on the street.”

Besides office workers, primary and secondary school students joined the rally. Two brothers named Hong Yoon-keon and Hong Yoon-jun, attending primary and secondary schools, respectively, collectively said, “We were just wondering about this strange situation in which Korea is controlled by the U.S. and we joined this candlelight parade with hopes to change this situation.” They also added that they were very sad about the tragic deaths of the two “sisters.”

Friends of the two girls were also out there. One schoolgirl stepped onto the platform in front of the Kyobo building and shouted, “Do U.S. soldiers have a heart? How can human beings with a heart commit such a thing?” She added, “We rejoiced during the World Cup 2002, but this tragic accident was shadowed by the World Cup fever. I am so grateful to all of you, who are here to remember and pay respect to my two friends.”

Participants, upholding candles, sang together “Arirang,” a popular folk song, “A march for the Deceased,” and “Reunification, Our Wish.” They also shouted catchphrases like “Punish the U.S. Murderers!” and “Revive Mi-sun and Hyo-soon!”

As songs and catchphrases resounded, more and more people arrived at the spot. Reverend Han San-yol (Co-representative of the Nation-wide Committee to Deal With the Killings of Shin Hyo-soon and Shim Mi-sun) was so moved by the dramatic scene that he said, “We are watching a scene that deserves to be included in the writing of the history of the national independence movement.”

Seoul citizens have thus lit the flame of another legend succeeding the legend of the World Cup 2002. The rallies, held every weekend for the first couple of months and now held once a month, draw thousands of people. About ten thousand people who showed up for the November 30 rally were the living proof of the dynamic vitality of the Korean people. The crowd first sang the national anthem of Korea. However, it sounded so depressing, as the participants felt sad about the fact that they do not have an “independent” government that can protest against the U.S., even after two innocent girls were crushed to death.

Scene #2

The Second Candle Light Rally held on December 7, 2002, in front of the U.S. Embassy, the forbidden place.

Koreans cannot access the street in front of the U.S. Embassy for any kind of public meeting or gathering. As long as the unequal relationship between Korea and the U.S. persists, the spot will remain a sanctuary and deny access to Korean people.

However, 50,000 Koreans lit up their candles of peace-and anger-and marched their way through the police line to the street in front of the U.S. Embassy. No violence attended the progress: they were just upholding candles.

People sang Arirang and the national anthem towards the embassy. They also shouted slogans such as “President Bush should apologize on his knees,” “Revise the unequal SOFA,” and “Settle the resentment about the two girls.”

The parents of the two deceased girls participated in the rally for the first time. Moved to tears by more than 50,000 participants upholding so many candles, they could not suppress their deep sorrow and resentment. Shim Su-bo, father of Shim Mi-sun, said, “There have been too many mistreated deaths. I hope SOFA will be revised right now.” Jun Myung-ja, mother of Shin Hyo-soon, tearfully expressed her gratitude to the participants for showing their support.

The participants were no longer strangers to one another. They were there with one aim and with one voice. They greeted each other by saying “Keep up the good work!” and “See you again next weekend.” When did we last witness this kind of scene, reminding us that we are “One”

SBS (Seoul Broadcasting System), a major television and radio network, joined this rally. It broadcast a song for remembering the two girls’s deaths via a radio program called “Son Suk and Bae Ki-wan’s Beautiful World,” which was very rare for the commercial media. Son Geun-pil, producer of the program, said, “Citizens, and religious and social sectors are in action; students are also participating in this wave. Only the media have remained silent. The program has been designed to participate in this huge wave and give vitality to the nationwide SOFA revision movement.” He also added, “I want to say with confidence that people, especially students on the street, have a just cause.”

Scene #3

The third candlelight rally on December 14, 2002, with a crowd of 100,000 at Kwanghwamoon

‘Now it”s time to talk about ‘Peace of the World'”

One hundred thousand people gathered at Kwanghwamoon on December 14. On the previous day, President Bush called to President Kim and expressed his “deepest sorrow” for the accident. Conservative newspapers in Korea described this as “The first direct [official] apology from the President of the U.S.,” although the U.S. Department of State issued an official statement saying that “the call was not an official apology as President of the U.S.” Bush’s “personal” apology further angered the Korean people. People shouted again “President Bush should apologize in person!” and “Revise SOFA right now!” They also made clear that the movement is a just demand for securing national pride and independence, not just an expression of blind anti-Americanism.

Like the other rallies, people joined in a non-violent parade from Kwanghawmoon to the front of the U.S. embassy. The candlelight rallies were also held at 60 other cities as well as 15 cities in other parts of the world.

The candlelight rally was also held on December 28 as scheduled. In spite of the police뭩 rough treatment, citizens made a human belt surrounding the U.S. embassy and expressed their wish for peace and for resolving inequality.

It is also worth noting that the rallies soon turned into an occasion for expressing the participants?concern for world peace. In view of the imminent U.S. invasion of Iraq, people at the rally shouted in one voice, “Let’s overcome narrow-minded nationalism and appeal for peace in the world on behalf of Mi-sun and Hyo-soon.”

The wish was also expressed at the special event named “Arirang with Mi-Sun and Hyo-soon for World Peace-Candle Wave of Global Villages.” On December 31, 2002, Ohmynews, an Internet newspaper, announced its plan to make 2003 “the Year of Peace,” urging people in 15 countries to join this campaign by holding candlelight rallies. The campaign drew enthusiastic responses from people in many parts of the world, including those in New Zealand and Hawaii. People from all walks of life all over the world, including students, immigrants, children, elderly and pacifists, joined in the rally to remember the deaths of two innocent girls and wish for peace. Seemingly anti-American sentiment, which gained wide public support for the first time in Korean history, is now being sublimated in the wish and movement against war and for world peace.

Epilogue

The year 2002 will be remembered as a very significant year for the Korean people. They created the legendary “street support” during the World Cup 2002, kept in check the biased coverage of the conservative media, and changed Korean politics through the election of the most progressive president in Korean history. They are now on the street with candles upheld to secure peace on the Korean Peninsula and express the pride of one independent nation.

Korean sociologists do not hesitate to claim 2002 as a turning point for Korean society. History will mark 2002 as a year which witnessed Koreans’s dynamism and potential. This potential dwells in the heart of each of us in the name of “hope” and “confidence.” We have just begun a fight, which will probably last long, and we will not give up our goal of seeking fairness and justice.