Korean monks tear down evil Japanese fence

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.

“You can’t make this shit up.”

No pun intended, of course.

That’s called cutting off your nose to spite your face.

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?

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,

Opponents countered that Korea, now a wealthy land, was no longer troubled by such symbolism, and that reminders of the Japanese era were needed; many opposed the move on the grounds of the expense incurred, and the merit of the existing building. (Other Japanese-era buildings, such as the old Seoul Station, and Seoul City Hall, are considered landmarks of the city.) A proposal was made to move the building to a new site, although this would have been far more expensive than demolition.

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)