Korean civil rights vanishing

[Sendo]

On the 29th anniversary of the May 18th Uprising in Gwangju Korea against the military dictatorship, Korea is backpedaling fast on civil rights. The people are fighting it, but the govt is declaring everything to be an illegal protest (even bike rides, banners, and press conferences)

Check out Hankyoreh for a plethora of articles on the issues.
http://english.hani.co.kr/kisa/section-014000000/home01.html

the big things now are labor rights, FTAs, and the proposed Canal through Korea which would destroy people's drinking water in many areas and render much of the environment beyond repair.

Oh and here's been a rule in effect for a year requiring all Korean websites to demand Social Security number registration on forums and portals. So good luck organizing a protest. You get sued for everything damaged. Imagine if they rounded up a couple dozen people after Seattle 1999 and demanded damages money. Ridiculous.

But it shows how pathetic Americans and Canadians can be with protests lately (as in after the early 1970s). Howard Zinn and Chomsky point out that we are relatively very free to protest in the States. Yet in places where the consequences are severe or even deadly (Oaxaca) the people protest far far far more.

[Dust Bunnies]

I guess South Korea wants to be authoritarian like its northern neighbor now.

[marxistcritic]

Interesting...noones told me about this.

[RedHal]

I guess South Korea wants to be authoritarian like its northern neighbor now.

no, just returning back to it's dictatorial roots

[Dimentio]

This is surely a consequence of the crisis.

[Sendo]

i know this board likes to focus on US, Japan, CUba, China, the Anglophone coutnries and Latin America and a few others like Nepal. But I feel that these happenings are not reported at all in the West. It's really sad to see such a traditionally bright and still vibrant labor and citizen force having to put up with this shit. the current pres has to be the most reviled pres in any bourgeois republic today.

Living here gives me a sense of solidarity with the natives, and though I've only been to one protest (last summer) seeing smoke bombs and water cannons make an impression.

The domestic news doesn't give much analysis either, showing how US media is not unique at all. It's just indicative. The Hankyoreh is the only mainstream paper that is left of the fascist and racist and xenophobic and corporatist rags like Dong-A and Chosun Ilbo. It's strange seeing a country much more politiclally aware than America suffering a likewise fate (corporatism, moving to center of left parties, 2-party-ization, etc)

The funny thing is that the crisis has hit Korea very minimally compared to the States and Japan especially. Construction continues, shops stay open, prices are more or less stable (esp compared to the West). Well, the privatized education sector has floundered because the low birth rate and slightly tighter purses make $1000/month for tutoring less appealing.

Not directly relevant to anyone outside of Korea, but interest to look for parallels and worth noting since Korea's continually looked over, unless someone's discussing Kim Jongil

[mykittyhasaboner]

I guess South Korea wants to be authoritarian like its northern neighbor now.
As if South Korea wasn't already 'authoritarian'. Ever heard of Syngman Rhee? Park Chung-hee?