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Happy Lunar New Year!

Got the job finished(well, they want me to make some improvements before publication, but finished), and now some new year’s resolutions for this blog. Will strive to post:

1. The dilemma of Koreans who enjoy feudal-era Japan media-or maybe the other way around; how Japanese entertainment treat (or actively avoid) the Japanese invasion of Korea.

2. Reviews (comics, video games, movies…whatever I’ve seen)

3. Webcomics in South Korea: really, almost the entire comics world has gone to the web in South Korea-and of course it has its shares of problems, such as the lack of stable revenue despite the huge hype.

4.My webcomic: some old, some new.

Probably will be posting more often from now on, although not necessarily on politics. Might do some reviews on comics, animation, film, video games. Wish I had more time to do so-I only got to watch, like, two films in theatres last year. (13 Assassins and Tintin) Still have that ongoing love-hate relationship with Koei, which is now Koei-Tecmo. Which means I’m hugely looking forward to Romance of the Three Kingdoms 12 and Pocket Monster+Nobunaga’s Ambition. Damn you Koei, damn you!

What else, oh yeah, was-and actually still is-infatuated with Sword of the Stranger, the 2007 anime feature film from Bones. I love it so much I am unable to write a fair, objective review about it because I believe it’s the perfect anime film ever, at least for me. I love it as an excellent piece of work, and also as an object of guilty fanfictionous desire. I’ve even made three doujinshi comic books off it-two joke books and one R-rated yaoi piece. (basically has no plot except Rarou/Luolang totally having his way with Nanashi) And it was also my first yaoi work! (also, it’s in Korean and sold out) I did read some yaoi fiction before, but I’ve never been creating yaoi before, nor a sexually explicit work, so personally it was a real creative breakthrough.

Oh right, I was also briefly hired by AK Communications, a South Korean publisher, as editor and marketer. The publisher is primarily known for its Gundam-related publications, so I updated Gundam news everyday to the publisher’s online cafe, organized Gundam-related promotional events like a relay novel on the comments section, quizzes, prizes and stuff. Also recommended, edited and marketed the Korean edition of Ekiben Hitori Tabi, a manga about ekiben (train station-based bento lunches). Apprently it’s doing moderately well. And I was entrusted with creating a brand-new yaoi imprint for the company-I got to plan which books to import, the imprint name, editing, setting up a blog and marketing it, which was challenging but fun. So why did I quit? Well the pay was shitty(I was getting paid like an intern because I was new and inexperienced to the field, although the job I was given to do wasn’t intern-level stuff at all), but actually I got fired, haha. The president of the company acknowledged my skills, but he said I had “attitude problems” and “you have a demon in you.” (I regret to say I was too shocked at the moment to retort, “You mean like daemons? Animals?”) Maybe I do have a problem or he was part of it, considering most workers quit after 3-6 months and the most talented editor I met there was throughly being abused and bullied by the president. (fortunately, he moved onto a better job in a Tokyo-based agency) I admit I do lack social ass-licking skills and asshole tolerence, though. Since then, I was back…in grad school…doing odd T.A. jobs and making powerpoint presentations for my advisor…and still unable to finish that goddamn Master’s thesis either due to prolonged writer’s block or something-always-coming-up, sigh. Currently working on a project for the Bucheon Cartoon & Animation Center; but seeing little progress, with deadline coming up next Wednesday, sigh…and as a distraction I somehow remembered the workdpress blog, so here am I procrastinating.

So yeah, that’s pretty much what’s been going on now. Will be coming back next Thursday…if I finish this project in time. Wish me luck!

Since the prsidency of Lee Myung-bak, the quality of democracy in South Korea has deteriorated sharply and this tragedy marks the extreme heights–or more precisely the lows–of the consequences when a political philosophy values anything–whether it be law and order or economic development–over the very basic foundation of our existence, human rights. Apallingly enough the government has failed even in the most artificial level to convey any form of believable respect and condolences towards the precious human lives lost in the incident,  instead attempting to use the tragedy as a chance to expand and strengthen authority and control at the expense of spitting on graves and adding salt to injuries. The “problem” of Yongsan, the “reponsibilities (“they had it coming”),” the “truth”–the problem is actually very simple: PEOPLE DIED, STUPID!!!

And whatever awaits the fate of the regime after the Lunar New Year holiday ends and people take to the streets on a candlelight vigil scheduled on the 31st–ironically in Chongyechon, the artificial stream constructed by President Lee when he was mayor of Seoul–whatever happens then, they had it coming.

Smiling pro-Chinese protesters carry a banner in Korean saying, [Tibet is Forever Chinese Land!]

Estimated 6000 to 10000 pro-Chinese protesters gathered to celebrate the Beijing Olympics and protest against human rights activists protesting against China.

Around 300 or so activists from various human rights groups (on left) are vastly outnumbered by pro-Chinese protesters(right). They had to be protected by the police.

Angered by the “No human rights, no Olympics” slogan, the pro-China protesters made a rush and broke down the police line.

Either 8000 was not enough to contain a 6000-strong angry mob, or the police was probably ordered to avoid aggressive control (which the Korean riot police is traditionally infamous for, and only recently begun to subdue) in light of the Olympic ceremony. The Korean government is usually able to mobilize some 10000-20000 men to control public protests and riots, which it did several days ago to contain protesters against the FTA.

Human rights activist Dr. Norbert Vullertsen is confronted by pro-Chinese protestors. North Korean human rights activists made up a large portion of the anti-China protesters, as China is criticized for sending North Korean refugees back to North Korea, where they will be executed for certain.

A Canadian spectator is surrounded by pro-China protestors for wearing a “Free Tibet” t-shirt. He was one of five Canadians and American onlookers wearing a ”Free Tibet” t-shirt, surrounded and pushed onto the Deoksu Palace walls, and beaten until police interfered.

A Tibetan protester is beaten by pro-Chinese protestors.

Seoul citizen Park Cheol-hoon is kicked and beaten by three young pro-Chinese protesters. He claims the beating continued for 30 minutes and his injuries require a two-week physical treatment therapy for full recovery. Park is currently seeking out the assailants via the web.

A pro-China protester aims to throw.

Korean reporter Hong In-gi bleeds from a square bar thrown from the pro-China side.

Korean protestors show the objects thrown from the pro-China side.

More thrown objects.

Feeling threatened by the pro-Chinese protestors, anti-China protestors ran inside the  Plaza Hotel for safety. The pro-Chinese protestors followed in, rushed a Tibetan to a corner and beat him, and also the police officers trying to shield him.

See the video here.

The Chinese Embassy obviously sees that the (300 or so) Korean protesters provoked the (6000 and more) Chinese, who righteously retailiated in self-defence. Anybody send them a calculator?

Before discussing overseas Chinese and Tibet, let me introduce a family account. This involves my parents, who temporarily resided in Illinois in the early 90s.  Once, they went to a screening held by one of the local Korean communities, a club based on the Jeolla province. Mother recalls being surprised that not only Koreans, but also some American professors and students showed up as well. The film was a documentary about the 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement in Jeolla province,  showing graphic footage of civilians brutally beaten, arrested, and gunned down by the army and explaining how the government manipulated the Korean people from learning the truth. The incident was covered up by the then-military regime and distorted as a Communist rebellion by the media. This ”myth” was so successful that many people, even now, believe the uprising was a Communist conspiracy and is one of the basis of deep inter-regional hatred and prejudice yet pervasive in South Korea.  Now after the screening, every Korean at the screening was completely taken aback by shock, shame, and to mask it, anger. As foreign students or immigrants they are always aware of their minority status, are socially vulnerable or feel victimized, and when attacked, are incliend to react aggresively as means of defense. Even a well-to-do, healthy, heterosexual white male might feel uneasy when a non-Western country he resides constantly depicts white men as criminals. Added to the aggressive protectionism is of course the political factor; how would you feel, if you’re suddenly told your country (or maybe somebody or some organization you dearly love, respect, or follow) did something extremely evil, like slaughtering people and doing everything to cover it up? And I mean totally out of the blue; you’re only informed of it now. I think most people will shut it out, deny it, declare the informer a liar or traitor, no matter the amount of solid evidence. The same thing happened when survivors of the Holocaust first came out with their accounts; the truth was just too terrifying to handle so many tried to deny it ever happened. Denial is an extremely powerful defence mechanism, and combined with effective political propaganda or lack of political interest can produce social unity and shared consciousness functioning upon a common social myth, and havily fueled by hatred. The point is that overseas Chinese are not so different from overseas Koreans in that Illinois screening room.

Of course, this does not mean that the truth will be forever buried; now everybody (sane enough) acknowledges the Holocaust, and the victims of sexual slavery in the Pacific War (known as the euphemism “comfort women”)  are finally gaining recognition. Last week 29 dissidents in China spoke out against the government’s propaganda campaign. Small yet significant movements as such can shape an environment where individuals are less afraid to consider alternative or conflicting perspectives. That’s where the possibility of change begins.