Post by Sunday at midnight.
1. Mark Whitaker
2. Dozens of Unionized Media workers go on Hunger Strike to Protest Working for Lee's Political Appointee at YTN
3. I'm endlessly amazed at the high level of brinkmanship in Korean protest strategies. Recall the 'normal' behavior in the 1946 Peasant Protests we discussed in class. When we get to our discussion of culture and social movements, I think it will begin to make a lot more intellectual sense how cultural perspective on social movements helps us understand different societies levels of acceptable mobilization and strategies of mobilization.
The interesting question for me is still historical: what cultural strategies of protest factors would come up in a comparison of protest behavior in Japan, Korea, China, and Vietnam?
This is just another normal day in Korean culture, I think. However, as Chenyang from China said in his post, coming from cowed China's culture of more tentative protest given past state repression realities and the lack of political opportunities there, he's amazed as well at the level of culture mobilization in Korean social movement activities.
As I am fond of noting, and I admit I admire, it's only because France is in the streets every time it's government does something it dislikes that it has kept (so far...) its sturdy distributionary forms of democratic socialism. However, this is perhaps a durable cultural issue, and cultures only change slowly I think.
It would be interesting to attempt to compare features of highly mobilized cultures like Korea and France with those that are more terrified (rationally due to state/movement histories of the past) or limited in their actions.
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09-29-2008 17:44
YTN's 55 Junior Reporters Go on Hunger Strike
By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
A group of junior employees at cable news channel YTN started a relay hunger strike Monday to protest the appointment of President Koo Bon-hong, and management's punitive measures against unionized workers.
The group calling themselves ``YTN's Young Employees'' opposed President Lee Myung-bak's appointment of Koo, who helped Lee during his presidential campaign, claiming the news channel's political neutrality will be significantly compromised. Fifty-five unionized workers will join the relay protest. [So the movement strategy has moved to other unionized workers? I'm not sure what that sentence means--whether these 55 hunger strikers were unionized or whether yet another group at the station will be hunger striking with them in solidarity! Remember Social Movement Organizations with the same 'frame bridge'. Multiple organizations clear here as well as culture I think.]
They also demanded the withdrawal of punitive measures against 33 unionized workers, and the cancellation of lawsuits against 12 union members and recent job transfers of employees.
``We are facing the most serious crisis since the establishment of our company,'' a member of the group said during a news conference in front of company headquarters in Namdaemun, downtown Seoul. ``We will fight for fair news reporting and YTN. If the management keeps turning a deaf ear to our demands, we will fight in more aggressive ways.''
The group, which consist of employees who have joined the company since 2001, went on hunger strike together, but from next month, they will continue on a relay-basis.
e3dward@koreatimes.co.kr
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http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/09/117_31848.html
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6 comments:
1. Mark Whitaker
2. Nice Framing Issue: Nude Activist gets quoted on his intentional symbolic framing/reframing of a military parade in Korea, when he went nude (with a cookie-shaped gun) to protest the Korean military budget and the universal male draft in Korea.
3. He stopped the parade for a minute or so, so he achieved his goal. Though the issue becomes how this action will be later spun. Remember what I said about how historical events can 'intrude' or be created by savvy social movements to call attention to something that is a 'contradition' already in society.
It's free public relations if a historical event can be staged. Then with a great deal of coverage, it gets debated in the media or in the larger culture.
The 'trick' is designing an activity that interests the media to cover.
This is definitely something that will titillate the masses and mass-based publications interested in the numbers of people looking at their magazines and newspapers. It's the same principle that led the U.S. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to adopt a public social movement strategy that features equally nude into remembering his protest against the military instead of the military parade.
I note that he is definitely not a 'loner.' He's well connected in many SMOs, a law student, and goes to Seoul National University. He's even the leader of some social movement organizations the article says.
Just goes to show the heavy organizational content of many mobilizations.
Note how he reframes the whole historical event of the day in a 'movement/countermovement' way: the military parade merely becomes a 'side show' for the protest. He gets interviewed as well about his motivations (about financial issue of war compared to how 'cheap' it comparatively would be to have solved world hunger, etc.) In other words the seeming zany activity is a very soberly thought out symbolic act for its repercussions, and to get people talking he hopes.
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10-01-2008 19:30
Activist Detained for Streaking at Military Parade
Social activist Kang We-suck is apprehended by police Wednesday for streaking through the 60th Armed Forces Day anniversary parade. / Yonhap
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Social activist Kang We-suck was detained by police Wednesday for running naked into the 60th Armed Forces Day anniversary parade.
Kang ran into the middle of the procession in Samseong-dong, one of the richest areas in Korea, holding a gun-shaped cookie, which he blew on before eating it.
His demonstration halted the parade for about a minute before he was taken away to Suseo Police Station.
In an interview with The Korea Times a day earlier, Kang said his acts were designed to promote pacifism and highlight the necessity of abolishing the military draft.
`` Being nude is a symbol of peace and disarmament. It represents being actively involved in a nonviolent movement for peace. The distribution of gun-shaped cookies implies that a world without arms is sweet and peace is delicious,'' he said.
``It would only cost $1.5 trillion to solve worldwide poverty and cure all diseases. We are spending over $1.7 trillion in Korea for our military budget. It caused the killing of innocent citizens in Geochang, Gwangju, and Jeju, and the overthrow of the democratic government of Korea at the same time. Recent military actions include depriving citizens of their homes and taking violent action against candlelit rallies,'' he said.
Kang said his nude performance was a way of showing that there was no compromise in his beliefs. ``First I thought recruiting soldiers could be okay. But later I thought we do not need a military system at all,'' he said.
Kang is mostly known for acts such as going on hunger strike to protest high school religious education, and finding 100 young men to reject the draft and go to prison with him.
He is also a law student of Seoul National University and leads several groups for minorities in society.
bjs@koreatimes.co.kr
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http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/10/113_32016.html
1. Hojin Yoo
2. New Strategies
3. Unionized workers of YTN are campaigning against YTN's president Koo, and it has been already a few month. The protesters are getting more and more sensational with their strategies to get attention from the public. To invade the newsroom and protesting infront of a live camera is a extraordinary way of picketing in korean history of protesting.The strategies are evolving as time goes by and as the society changes. 10 years ago this kind of picketing could never have happened.
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YTN Apologizes for Broadcasting Picketing Live During News Program
Picket signs against YTN president are seen in the background behind an anchor during a live news program, Tuesday. / Yonhap
By Kim Rahn
Cable news channel YTN apologized Wednesday for showing placards denouncing the company's president as the background for an anchor during an afternoon live news program the previous day.
Unionized workers of YTN staged a rally against their new president Koo Bon-hong and rallied behind an anchor during a live broadcast. It is the first time a picketing scene has been aired in the background while an anchor commented on other news.
A dozen members of the union held placards criticizing the appointment of Koo. They appeared in the background for about 17 minutes from 1 p.m. during the afternoon news.
They have opposed President Lee Myung-bak's appointment of Koo, who helped Lee during his presidential campaign, claiming the news channel's political neutrality will be significantly compromised. The placards read: ``Out paratrooper'' and ``Keep fair news.''
Unionized reporters began to wear badges for ``fair news,'' Wednesday, as a step prior to a walkout, the schedule of which has yet to be decided. Management said the broadcasting authorities may order a correction for the badge wearing and in that case, those in question will be punished.
Management is also seeking punitive measures against 24 workers who refused to accept recent job transfers. Union members claimed the changes were in retaliation for their opposition to Koo.
rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr
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http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/10/117_31187.html
1. Kyung-Hee Kang
2. "Blind masseurs jump from bridge"
3.
As said above, protest culture and strategies in Korea is quite radical, which has resulted from intense interactions with counter power and extreme repressions of not only the state but of overall upper power and hegemony of the society in direct and indirect ways. Hunger strike, tonsuring and even burning oneself are not uncommon in this country. According to 'Forces of Labor: Workers' Movements and Globalization Since 1870'(I didn't read it though, just heard of the summary), labor movments move along with the transition of industry since the Industrial Revolution, so societies within industrial transition are likely to have radical labor protests.
On 18th September, there was a protest of blind masseurs on the bridge over the Han River. Quite a many protesters chose bridge since this causes traffic congestion and can get the attention. Though there were few Korean medias that covered this news. And 30th Sep, a blind masseurs leapt from the roof.(not dead) Despite continous radical protests of the handicapped, farmers and irregular workers in the country, they get little attention and sympathy, which makes their strategies go more extreme and thus isolates them from the public more.
See the link below for further understanding of the situation.
http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Blind-law-plunges-Korea-into.4513005.jp
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September 18, 2008 -- Updated 1500 GMT (2300 HKT)
SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- Police in South Korea have arrested 26 blind masseurs who were threatening to jump from a bridge to protest a government decision they say will rob them of their livelihood.
A blind masseur jumps into the Han River to avoid his arrest, as riot police struggle with other protesters.
A blind masseur jumps into the Han River to avoid his arrest, as riot police struggle with other protesters.
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Some of the men set fire to a car and two jumped off the bridge into Seoul's Han river, the country's national news agency Yonhap said on Thursday. No injuries were reported.
The South Korean health ministry recently decided to grant licenses to sighted masseurs and masseuses to practice certain kinds of massages.
Since 1963, the law allowed only blind people to practice the profession, Yonhap said.
The protesters said the new policy puts their jobs at risk. There are about 15,000 licensed masseurs in the country, which has a blind population of 216,000.
"Medical massage is almost the only profession that is open to the blind people. The ministry's decision is threatening our right to live," Shim Wook-seop, one of the protesting masseurs, was quoted as saying.
Another blind masseur, Dong Seong-geun, staged a lone protest in front of the Constitutional Court recently.
"I have a wife and two children to support," he told the New York Times.
"If I lose this job, I will have to beg on the streets. How can taking away one job from people who only have one compare with taking one job away from sighted people who have a hundred jobs to choose from?"
The country's Constitutional Court is expected to rule soon on an appeal filed by several sighted people who argued that the profession cannot be the exclusive domain of the blind.
The Massager Association of Korea, representing 120,000 unlicensed masseurs who are working openly and in defiance of the law, is leading the legal challenge.
The association keeps a file of members accused of practicing without a license. Those people are usually fined between $450 to $4,500, although the law calls for up to three years in prison.
"It breaks my heart when I think that what I am doing every day, what I consider my calling, is a crime," Park Yoon-soo, president of the association, told the NYT.
"We are not trying to steal jobs from the blind. We just want to share the market. We want to live as normal citizens, not as criminals."
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http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/18/korea.blind.masseurs/
1. Martine Ibsen
2. Thai MPs elect new prime minister
3. What I find interesting in this article about the election of the new prime minister in Thailand, is the way the People’s Alliance for democracy (PAD) try to demonstrate against it. The PAD has been occupying key government buildings for three weeks, and in that way demanding the government’s resignation. There is an ideology behind this way of protesting, but does it get much support from the thai culture? How do they frame their ideology to get supporters? I haven’t been able to find a proper answer. But think it is interesting the way they protest, because it seems more aggressive than what I would have expected from the thai people.
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Wednesday, 17 September 2008 15:02 UK
Thai MPs elect new prime minister
The brother-in-law of ousted Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra has won a majority parliamentary vote to become the country's new prime minister.
Somchai Wongsawat, whose candidacy was supported by the governing People Power Party (PPP), has promised to do his "very best" as prime minister.
Mr Somchai became acting PM last week after a court forced his predecessor, Samak Sundaravej, to step down.
Protesters in Bangkok claim the present government is a proxy for Mr Thaksin.
Clashes between government supporters and opponents earlier this month left one person dead.
Demonstrators from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) have been occupying key government buildings in Bangkok for the past three weeks, demanding the government's resignation.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court in Thailand has issued a third arrest warrant for Mr Thaksin after he failed to appear in court to hear corruption charges relating to a land sale.
'Erase doubts'
Mr Somchai, 61, won the simple majority vote in Bangkok's lower house of parliament after five days of negotiations.
He thanked the members of parliament who voted for him for having confidence in him.
He might have a better reputation than everyone else, but blood is thicker than water
Somsak Kosaisuk, PAD
Mr Somchai told reporters that the country had seen many conflicts, but that he personally harboured no anger or hatred.
"It's about time for national reconciliation in Thailand," he said.
Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said Mr Somchai must hold urgent meetings with anti-government protesters.
"The new prime minister must clearly show how he is going to ease the situation. He must work to erase any doubts," said Mr Abhisit.
Decisions scrutinised
Protesters say the government is a proxy for Thaksin Shinawatra
Mr Somchai's government is expected to face continued opposition because Mr Somchai is married to Mr Thaksin's sister, says the BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok.
Every decision the new prime minister makes will be scrutinised for signs of his brother-in-law's hand in it, our correspondent adds.
Somsak Kosaisuk, a key leader of the PAD, has dismissed Mr Somchai as "only a nominee" for Mr Thaksin, adding: "How can people accept this?"
He told demonstrators camped in the grounds of Government House that Mr Somchai "might have a gentlemanly nature, a soft-spoken style and he might have a better reputation than everyone else, but blood is thicker than water".
Mr Somchai said that there was no denying his family connections but that he would "do things the right way" to show his "sincerity in trying to solve our problems".
Mr Thaksin fled to Britain in July to avoid corruption charges, which he says are politically motivated.
With the formality of a parliamentary vote behind him, the immediate task now confronting Mr Somchai is to get the government functioning again, our correspondent says.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7620257.stm
1. Graciëla Nooitgedagt
2. The Dalai Lama: The devil within
3. This articles discusses the protests by buddhist tibetans. And takes a different viewpoint than normally is the case.
It is a bit ironic that the Dalai Lama and his followers are accusing China of oppression for not allowing religious freedom, when they are actually doing something similar.
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UPDATED ON:
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
12:30 Mecca time, 09:30 GMT
The Dalai Lama: The devil within
The Dalai Lama has imposed a ban on the worship of a 500-year-old deity called Dorje Shugden
The Dalai Lama has imposed a ban on the worship of a 500-year-old deity called Dorje Shugden.
Across the world 4 million Buddhist Tibetans worship this particular deity. The ban has created tension and dissent amongst the one million Tibetans living in India and in May 400 monks were thrown out of monasteries because of their religious beliefs.
In the Tibetan refugee camps, Shugden worshippers have been turned away from jobs, shops and schools. Posters with the message "no Shugden followers allowed" cover hospital and shop fronts.
The tension has been fueled by the Tibetan exile government who brandish Shugden worshippers as terrorists closely linked to China.
Shugden followers in India have decided to take matters into their own hands, taking the Dalai Lama to court for religious discrimination.
Tibetans in Nepal
Nepal has used a heavy hand to crack down on Tibetan protestors
When China cracked down on protests in Tibet earlier this year thousands of Tibetans in Nepal gathered outside the Chinese embassy and UN offices in Kathmandu to show their anger. These demonstrations were the first of many.
Nepal, which borders China's Tibetan region, is home to some 20,000 Tibetan exiles, refugees and asylum seekers.
It has seen numerous protests against China by the Tibetans before but this year, with Beijing's growing influence and pressure, the Nepalese government has curtailed their right to demonstrate, and with a heavy hand. From batons to teargas, surveillance to illegal detentions, Beijing's active interference can be felt at every level of the Tibetan communities in Kathmandu.
Protestors have been beaten, rounded up and held without charge, stopped from reaching their protest destination, spied on and threatened with deportation.
Nepal justifies its actions by saying it will not tolerate demonstrations against 'friendly countries'. China says the demonstrators are exploiting the media to gain sympathy, but Tibetans, old and young, are as determined as ever to get their voices heard.
In this film we see the Tibetan movement, the security response, and China's impact through two characters: Kelsung, a 24-year-old tourist guide who has been to every single protest, and Ngawang Sangmo, the president of the Tibetan Woman's Association, who was held by police for a month, accused of undermining the relationship between China and Nepal.
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http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/peopleandpower/2008/09/200893014344405483.html
1. So youn Kim
2. A decade old, MoveOn finds success and detractors
3. This article is about the MoveOn organization, a leading online liberal political advocacy group. In my opinion, the MoveOn organization in this article is a good example to look at how the social movement organization has made and raised in a specific way. For instance, MoveOn mobilize by prasing, sympathize people by being opened to controversy and criticism. Also with these processes, they present their frame alignment well, I think.
Therefore, looking at this organization is helpful us to understand how social movement organization works I guess.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- MoveOn.org turned 10 last week, and as part of its "celebration," the organization compiled a list of favorable quotes attesting to its effectiveness.
Eli Pariser says his group speaks for voters frustrated with how business is being done in Washington, D.C.
As a leading online liberal political advocacy group, one would think the words of Democratic leaders and political stalwarts would be highlighted. You would be hard-pressed to find one. Instead, the likes of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, House Minority Leader John Boehner and even President Bush are quoted in MoveOn's memo.
The "praise" is a testament to MoveOn's efficiency in helping to quickly mobilize its members to raise money or organize on behalf of Democratic candidates.
But at the same time, the group does not shy away from controversy; and while it has been an asset, it has also been a liability. Think the September 2007 "General Betray Us" newspaper ad, which accused Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, of "cooking the books" on whether the "surge" strategy was working.
"They are like a guerilla movement and get attention by doing hard-hitting, free media-generating attacks that in turn drives traffic to Web sites and makes the movement stronger," said Democratic strategist Jenny Backus. "Their tactics are useful when you are in the minority. But the problem has been they have tried to become the conscience of the rest of the party. Democrats are sort of a big-tent party. We have more moods than just angry, and we have a wider reach of voters we are looking for. Compromise is sometimes necessary to get things done."
Backus is not the only one to sing MoveOn's praises in one breath, only to note that Democrats are sometimes frustrated by the group's strategic political decisions.
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"Sometimes they are helpful and sometimes they are not, but that is their agenda," said a Democratic congressional leadership aide, who agreed to speak freely about the group on the condition of anonymity. "Their agenda is not the congressional agenda. It is the activist agenda. Sometimes it coincides, and often it diverges."
Eli Pariser, MoveOn's 27-year-old executive director, brushes off the criticism and says his group is just giving voice to voters frustrated with how business is being done in the nation's capital. Watch Pariser explain what MoveOn aims to do »
"Well, I think you know where MoveOn comes from is where most people in America come from," he said. "Right now, frankly, most people are pretty frustrated with this president; with an economy, you know, that is out of control; with politicians in Washington that are doing nothing about it; especially the president and what we're hearing from the White House and John McCain."
Bob Stevenson, a Republican strategist who served as a senior adviser to several GOP senators, suggested the General Betray Us ad hurt MoveOn, and thus hurt Democrats.
"The true believers loved the ad, but those people in the middle of the spectrum thought it was over the top," Stevenson said. "If their goal is to generate enthusiasm with left-wing activists, they do, do that. But in doing so, they lose the middle and they create an impression among independent and moderate voters that the party caters to the extremists."
Pariser shrugs off this criticism, too, although he adds that he would have executed MoveOn's criticism of the Iraq war a little differently.
"I wouldn't have done that headline if I had it to do again, but I think it's notable that Republicans were very happy to talk about an ad, not really that interested to talk about a war," Pariser said. "And at the end of the day, what you see is the American people more than ever think this war is a big mistake, want us out; you know, they want a timeline. Barack Obama has a plan for a timeline. George Bush is now agreeing that timelines are the right solution, and the only person you have who isn't agreeing with that is John McCain."
Pariser said that the goal this election cycle is to "register about 500,000 Obama supporters" and continue running ads against McCain in battleground states. In total, Pariser said, he expects to spend between $5 million and $7 million on the political ads.
"Part of what MoveOn can do is be nimble and move around and go where things are closest and try to jump in and help make a difference," he said.
With 4.2 million MoveOn members, Pariser seems to take the criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike as the cost of doing business outside the Beltway.
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http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/01/preston.moveon/index.html
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