tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536957542993057070.post7871892644382748413..comments2023-12-01T14:23:43.504+09:00Comments on Korea's Information Society: Information Age Politics--Mad Cow Disease and Anti-AmericanismJames F. Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15659716363701288402noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536957542993057070.post-44324060852319139102008-05-08T14:52:00.000+09:002008-05-08T14:52:00.000+09:00While I was looking for some articles written in f...While I was looking for some articles written in foreign press about South Korea’s candle light vigils against importing US beef, I happened to visit your blog. However, I think you are absolutely missing a point. You think that recent protests are based on anti-American sentiment. <BR/><BR/>However, I really don’t understand why you think Korean people’s outrage is because of anti-American sentiment. Koreans are upset about Lee Myung-bak administration and its officers who did not regard Korean people’s health at all in the process of negotiation to resume importing US beef. As well, there are other issues included such as privatizing national health insurance, grand canals construction project, etc, which are main issues and plans that Lee has pursued and many people are opposing. <BR/><BR/>Possibly, there might be anti-American sentiment as the US pushed for South Korean government to accept all these garbage articles that they couldn’t get any other country endured. However, Koreans are not that stupid or emotional anymore. We are angry because Korean negotiators were like such pushovers and they didn’t seem to consider about Korean people’s life and health at all. <BR/><BR/>The reason that Lee’s support rate has decreased is not because of anti-American sentiment but certainly because of his mislead policies including this beef import resumption, privatizing national health insurance, grand canals construction project, etc, as I mentioned above. <BR/><BR/>You are offering a survey result about cadets to explain anti-American sentiment. It doesn’t seem very reasonable, either. As you already know, there is not like sincere ‘brotherhood’ or ‘alliance’, etc, in such a fiercely competitive world. In Korea, many people had kind of fantasy about the US as a savior in our hard times. However, we know that it was certainly because of strategic reasons, no more or less than that and we don’t need to be thankful for that. Moreover, now we know that the US army has always demanded us very unfair treaty and agreement. Probably that’s why the result came out as it is. We are still struggling to be completely independent when in comes to making a military-related decision because of old commanders. However, especially young people have got to know the truth and that’s why some of the cadets regard the US as enemy, which doesn’t seem to provide a proper foundation to explain anti-American sentiment in Korea. <BR/><BR/>I hope you could have a chance to reflect your biased or wrong critical point of view from my message. There might be some awkward sentences or grammatical errors as I am not Korean-Amerian or native English speaker, but just an ordinary 26-year-old girl(?) who is seriously worried about me and my family’s future including other Koreans.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com