'An Unpardonable Act of Barbarism'

Korean protesters burn pictures of terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his gang. (AP/Lee Jin-man photo)

From this little corner of Korea I offer my condolences to the family of Kim Seon Il.

The Chosun Ilbo calls it:

Kim was a completely innocent youth who ignored the dangers and ran to Iraq to earn tuition money to study Arabic at a translation graduate school. If he made a mistake, it was simply to have the hope of seeing his dream bloom in the Middle East. The goal of Korean troops in Iraq, too, is to keep the peace and help in reconstruction. Despite this, these terrorists cruelly murdered a young Korean who loved the Middle East and made enemies of Korea and all its people.

For too long some Koreans had the wrong idea of what kind of people were fighting against the coalition in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world. I think this will take the wool off their eyes.

Despite what the Hankyoreh might think, the people who did this are terrorists who deliberately and brutally kill innocents. This is the same barbarism that people around the world, from America to Indonesia to the Sudan, have being facing. Now Koreans have also come to experience it.

As always, go to the Marmot for more information.

UPDATE: The Rathbone Press says that the murder of Kim will strengthen the resolve of the Korean people. I said the same thing I said yesterday. I really think the murderers have underestimated the Korean people because of the actions of some anti-American activists who have been protesting against the troop dispatch. President Roh has already condemned the murder and said that the troop dispatch will go ahead as planned.

A couple of things to watch
If anyone comes in checking out the political scene in Korea for the first time, there are two things to consider before you go with the impression that the terrorists and succeeded in breaking Korea's will.

1. Those legislators who submitted a bill calling for Korea to withdraw from Iraq had been planning to do it for a long time. The just happen to have very bad timing. They also seem to be going against the mood of many Koreans:

On the other side, Kim’s death also flared up legislators’ anger against terrorism and some of those opposing the military dispatch showed signs of changing their opinions.

`We have to rethink the current situation because an innocent Korean man has been killed,’ Uri Party Rep. Woo Sang-ho said. `If the aim of the terrorism is to split public opinion, we should not be dragged into it.’

Some lawmakers opted for a wait-and-see attitude, considering the fury of the public, which even paralyzed the Web site of the Defense Ministry with a barrage of messages, many of them demanding a military action of its own to retaliate against the hooded militants.

2. There will be more large protests against the dispatch and the usually suspects will write more editorials calling for retreat. Again, this does NOT reflect a shift in Korean opinion towards the dispatch. Those folks are going to protest no matter what happens. The only difference now is that they will use Kim's death as a tool in their protests. Also, be prepared for the Hankyoreh and other leftist Korean media to try to find a way to blame the United States for Kim's death. Try not to get too angry when you read that kind of stuff; that is just the way they are.

If you are a regular follower of Korean politics, you know all this already.

Quote of the Day:
Hat tip to the Rathbone Press for the link to an article which contains the quote of the day:

He agreed that the killing is likely to galvanize support for the troop dispatch.

The outpouring of emotion over the hostage situation should not be interpreted as pacifism, he argued, asking not to be identified.

`It was the Korean public giving its best shot at winning Kim’s release. But now that he has been murdered, that has changed. Koreans can be pretty fearsome when they get worked up,’ he said.

Comments

[Mili]

I am really sad but not surprised at all. I would've been surprised if Mr. Kim's life had been spared.

We Koreans have seen the face of evil. Yes, the boneheads are still there, blaming the US and the government. Then I saw a news article which says the website of the Defense Ministry has been flooded with the messages calling for revenge and sending for combat troops. (Some even call for killing every Arab, which seems to be as lunatic as blaming the United States for this tragedy.) Those calling for the withdrawal have disappeared for now from the website.

I am not as optimistic as you are. I think the deployment question won't be put to rest and the call for withdrawal will persistent. Anti-American sentiments are here to stay (and I think both the Bush Administration and Koreans are to blame, but let's not go there...) But at least, this will give a voice to those who support sending troops to Iraq.

[Jason]

It truly is a pity that no one really understands the nature of evil until evil is worked upon them personally.

[Peter]

It's worst when people do understand the nature of evil but are unable to do anything about it.

[Jason]

By the way, the press in the US is only reporting the lefties' anger at Roh for not withdrawing troops. There has been zero mention of anger at the terrorists. This includes Fox News. The articles I've seen have quotes blaming Roh and the US for the murder.

[Zdunk]

If the businessmen I tutored this morning are representative of Korean feelings, well...I wouldn't like to be wearing Arabic-style clothing out in public in Korea the next few days. America was not even mentioned, just grim, angry and frustrated outbursts and comments along the lines of "'shippal' arab pigs" and "we should just shoot every man in that town". Yes, I know it is just angry talk, and that conversations like this undoubtedly occurred in America after the Berg beheading, but...man, the rage was palpable. Part of Korean culture is a strong feeling of group identity - I suspect almost every Korean now has a strong feeling of being personally attacked.

And essentially, that would be true.

[DP]

First I would like to extend my sympathies and prayers to Mr. Kim's family.

Second, I do hope that Korea does wake up and sees truthfully the what kind of people that committed this and other similar acts are. These are not 'resistance fighter' or any other things that might invoke some David v Goliath heroic images, but terrorist scum that need to be confronted and defeated.

I frequently wondered what the Korean public was thinking when I read that they were posting on Al-Jazeera and other sites saying how Korea is a weak nation pressured by a superpower, that Korea is friends of Iraqis and there to help the Iraqis and other such things, when Al-Zarqawi, who is a Jordanian, and others of his ilk do not care a whit about everyday Iragis - carbombs at crowded places, assasinating Iraqi leaders, blowing up Iragi oil piplines/waterplants/infrastructure, etc.

I hope the Koreans focus their anger at the ones that are responsible and that deserve it - not the U.S., not Pres. Bush, not Pres. Noh, not the Iraqis, but the terrorists.

[Dan Mehlhorn]

My Daughter, Brenda (Sung Mee), wants all the terrorists sent to Hell as soon as possible.

[MrHub]

(Yangban Edit: This comment was too dumb to allow on my blog.)

[Sugar Shin]

"MrHub" alias "Diakorea" aka by me as "Diarrhoea": the Yangban don't like your dumb comments either and that makes me sweet lovingly happy!

[Al-Qorea]

You forget that Qoreans pardon lots of stuff the do. like terrorism. just look at kim hyun hee. they pardoned her after she murderd 130 people. after she got caught she got lots of marrage proposals. and was a hero in Qorea.

also any crime that helps the economy is ok so is anything that is against an american. that is great:) dont forget pro nk crimes, those are fine also.

you see, crime is pardonable.