Well, the monsoon season is well and truly here. It’s rained steadily most of every day this week and, yesterday, my coworkers told me that flooding closed parts of the No. 3 subway line in the northwest part of the city.
As for me, the rain hasn’t been much of an impediment, but the FTA protests have. A masssive protest near City Hall downtown closed off two major streets just as I was trying to get to work. Traffic backed up through the Namsan tunnel, stranding my bus in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
After we exited the tunnel, we could see why. The street was closed just after the toll booth and large tour buses full of people wearing red and yellow protest headband things and carrying signs were disembarking. (Of course, this is the day I leave the camera at home to keep it from getting wet!)
(Picture ripped from here.)
The U.S. embassy said they expected around 20,000 participants to protest the free-trade agreement, and I’d say they got that many at least.
As the road was blocked, we all had to get off the bus and walk. Fortunately, at that point, I was within about a quarter mile of the office and could find my way there. I was a little nervous because I had to walk through throngs of the demonstrators as they headed for city hall. I kept practicing a few key French phrases and debated whether I’d try for Canadian, French or German, if confronted. But no one paid me any mind.
The only angry words I saw were between two ajummas arguing in the doorway of a shop, which appeared unrelated to any free trade with the United States. More of a limited immediate trade dispute . . .
I’m sticking with the subway the rest of this week, which is a real bummer because I finally found a bus route that takes half the time. At least on normal days.
{ 6 comments }
Brian B 07.13.06 at 1:07 pm
Don’t worry, you will have plenty of opportunities to photograph protestors in Seoul, especially with presidential elections coming up next year. The protests rarely get violent, but caution is always advisable of course.
Rose Byrd 07.13.06 at 10:55 pm
Cat, sorry to hear you are having getting to work blues so early in your job life there in Seoul. Continue to keep us posted on other Seoul public demonstrations. You are living in a city viewed by many as an accurate barometer of the N-Missile AND FTA situations. Sounds like you are handling it well. Possibly had some of that in Atlanta, huh?
Kay 07.14.06 at 12:33 am
Hey there Cat! Hang in there. When I saw the protests on the news, I just kept telling myself “Dave and Cat are ok.Dave and Cat are ok.” I had no idea you’d have to go right through it. Wow!
So, do tell more about the job!
Jodi 07.14.06 at 10:35 am
It’s interesting to read comments coming from those Stateside as I don’t often realize what is being shown overseas.
It’s also interesting because demonstrations in Korea are a way of life with anti-American ones being a daily occurence it seems.
At my office we once had to call in squads of riot police who stationed themselves not only outside our company doors but also in the stairwells and elevators. That was a small, MINOR protest. So imagine the bigger ones like these anti-FTA things. Even though the chances of something bad happening are usually low, there is always a risk.
I’m not sure it’d be a wise thing to do, showing with a camera at such things. That’s almost kind of asking for trouble, especially if it’s an anti-American protest. I think it’d probably just be best to avoid these gatherings altogether. But good luck to you if you try it!
Cat 07.14.06 at 11:52 am
Actually, there’s no way in hell I’d have had the nerve to take pictures of the protestors up close. But, as I was leaving work, I saw the actual march. The sight of thousands of people in raincoats marching up to City Hall was pretty impressive. And, I do wish I’d had the camera for that reason.
Olaf Gradin 07.18.06 at 1:55 am
It’s ironic that an assault is made upon foreigners living in another country. I mean, you did choose to live there, afterall. You still hold an opinion of your own that may go against the general public, but since when is that a greater antogonist than anything else. The same is true anywhere, however. Just try and keep your head up and language covered ;-)
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