Korean monks tear down evil Japanese fence
A group of Buddhist monks at Beomeosa in Busan show their national pride for Korea’s “Liberation Day” by tearing down a stone fence that was apparently built during the Japanese occupation. [via Brian in Jeollanam-do]
Meanwhile, South Korean netizens are outraged by the existence of a Japanese poop character that is meant to insult their great nation.
The character, a part of the unlucky group of the Unko-san turd collection, can be seen in the upper right hand corner of this image. His name is “Kim Ben,” and he is described as, “A tough high school student who is easily angered.” He also “loves kimchi.” Kim Ben’s classification as unlucky, along with his small-eyed appearance are apparently examples of Japanese hatred of Korea.
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I love reading these stories of Korean nationalism, and Dokdo or whatever. So funny. It’s amazing they have diplomatic relationships with other countries.
Yeah, they are amusing. They tend to defeat their own goals of gaining sympathy. Takeshima is one thing, but the Sea of Japan / East Sea issue makes the nationalists look very stupid. Tearing down the old Japanese govt building in front of the palace is one thing, but pulling down a wall? What, did it have Property of the Imperial Japanese Empire all over it?
I wonder what they’ll tear down next year? And the year after that? What happens when they run out of things to tear down? Hmmm.
Mr. Kim, tear down this wall!
Of course they tear down a useless wall and leave all the other buildings the Japanese built, like Seoul Station.
Worst monks ever.
“His name is “Kim Ben,” and he is described as, “A tough high school student who is EASILY ANGERED.”
“South Korean netizens are OUTRAGED by the existence of a Japanese poop character that is meant to insult their great nation.”
You can’t make this shit up.
Well said, nigelboy!
“I am deeply offended that you would portray me as easily offended!” It sounds like every ex-girlfriend I had in high school.
What are the nationalities of the other poop piles?
“You can’t make this shit up.”
No pun intended, of course.
should i be similarly upset that my nation seems to have some representation with my national symbols adorning a festering turd with blue eyes? and if i’m reading correctly, he only ever says, “yes” which would indicate an inability to learn japanese. frankly, i don’t give a … damn. and the koreans shouldn’t be wasting their time worrying about this stuff either. they’ve got fences to tear down.
I’m not really sure why they’re obsessing over turds. Aren’t there more important matters they should be worrying about? Like the fact that North Korea shares a border with them?
Cry me a river! You should see the things they teach, that’s right, actually teach school kids in Korea about all Japanese people. A wee bit worse than this (though I am not justifying this poop character as it would be offensive).
Let the riots begin!
Incidentally, Kim Ben must surely be taken from 勤勉, to study hard? Isn’t this a GOOD thing?
take Japanese cherry tree out and send back to Japan
That’s called cutting off your nose to spite your face.
I thought it was called poor grammar?
Maybe he’s related to the (spunky) Dutch garden gnome named Plop?
Back in 1995, the president of SK marked the August 15th holiday by starting the demolition of the old Seoul Capitol building, constructed by the Japanese. Granted, it was nefariously built to obscure Gyeongbokgung, one of the city’s five palaces, though there were arguments for and against tearing it down some 50 years later.
And we should all be upset over the West tearing down Nazi monuments, right?
They didn’t tear down a monument to Imperial Japan, they tore down an old, inconspicuous fence. For great justice, no doubt.
Did this fence have 天皇陛下万歳 or similar inscribed on it? I can’t see anything distinctly Imperialist Japanese on it in the photo, or anything that would classify it as a “monument”, perhaps you could shed some light on the matter?
I’ll bet a year’s supply of kimchi that this was a wall that was old and about to come down anyway, and the monks decided a political statement would be a good idea.
Looking at the article again, it doesn’t say that the fence itself was built by the Japanese, so it’s just a political statement with no physical relation to Japanese imperialist rule.
That being said, it’s an important political statement for Koreans – It was never meant for the rest of the world. The insinuation in the title of this post with the wording “evil” gives the story a negative bias towards Koreans, when no such wording was ever mentioned in the original article. In fact, it says,
Not all Koreans even agreed with the demolition in the first place. This is about an obscure group of monks making a message, and then the pro-Japan/anti-Korea crowd making a uproar over nothing. If you’ve lived in Korea long enough, you’ll notice that many Koreans have a negative image of Buddhist monks in the first place. (Mostly, they consider them loud beggars)
That reference is to the old Seoul Capitol building, which has been torn down.
You’re right. There has been no original article linked anywhere, so I assumed it was a blockquote from it. There’s just a picture and James claiming that the Koreans are calling the Japanese “evil”, and then a bunch of comments about Koreans this and Koreans that. Keep in mind the pictures are from the Chosun Ilbo, which is regarded by both left and right leaning expats as the worst Korean news source ever (Including Brian in Jeollanam-do!):
http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2009/07/suncheon-school-principal-stabs-himself.html
http://koreabeat.com/?p=8559
http://www.koreanmediawatch.com/2009/07/the-chosun-ilbo-has-besmirched-itself/
http://www.diffism.com/2009/07/21/chosun-ilbo-we-love-irony-and-scantily-clad-women/ (mine)
The comments by expats in Japan on Korean news stories sort of remind me of the Debito followers (or Jon Huer followers, if any even exist), but applied to Korea instead. What you do is take a minority of obnoxious examples (say, the Uyoku Dantai, or Chosun Ilbo) and then claim that they represent the entire nation. It’s such an easy setup!
Monuments, or fences…?
Alex, I think you linked to the wrong post up there.
Anyway, Alex, I still feel these kinds of displays demonstrate that it’s more profitable to hate Japan here than it is to move on. Why else the need to remove a pillar and a fence 64 years after the end of Occupation? Now, yeah, I get that these wounds are slow to heal, and that Koreans still perceive that Japan has never sincerely apologized or atoned for stuff like comfort women or those conscripted into the army or into factories. But displays like this aren’t conducive to any healing process.
Here’s an example of the local media at its worst (though it seems a routine practice):
http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2009/08/korea-herald-has-more-on-ulsan-teacher_11.html
I wholeheartedly agreed that the Korean media is shooting itself in the foot. I just can’t stomach it when people see some random display of nationalism and then start attacking Koreans over it, like the Chosun Ilbo represents the entire country.
Here’s an example of the Korean media at its worst (unfortunately, it seems a routine practice):
http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2009/08/korea-herald-has-more-on-ulsan-teacher_11.html