"Vote or Die"

Yesterday was Election Day in Korea. Most public schools (but not all private schools) are given the day off which made for a nice day of hiking Gwanaksan (Gwanak Mountain) which I will post within the next few days.

Today, I'm taking the time to talk about current events, especially the elections.

The elections in Korea can be summed up in one word. Annoying. Ok, maybe two words:

VERY ANNOYING.

There were many candidates running this year, and there were at least 8 positions to fill on the provincial and district levels, including governors, mayors, and other district personnel.

I think I'm going to have to make a list of things to discuss:

1. Promotions

In the U.S. it is normal to see some people holding signs, or have a poster on their front lawn. In Korea, the candidates hire crews of people to go all over the province or district and greet people, chant and sing, hand out business cards, and even dance. They do this for about 2-3 weeks, every day from 7am-10pm. The worst is that they have these huge trucks that blast their theme songs all day, and at night the candidates or supporters come and give loud speeches. It really gets to you when you live close-by or are trying to eat dinner and hold a conversation at a nearby restaurant.

This is what it is like:

2. The Cheonan

The elections also seemed to cause a lot of issues, including international issues. Some Koreans believe that the Cheonan incident which was blamed on North Korea (see my previous posts here and here) has been fabricated by the current ruling government (and possibly with the aide of the U.S). Some of the claims are that a U.S. sub actually destroyed the Cheonan via torpedo, a U.S. submarine crashed into the Cheonan by accident and it is being covered up out of fear of anti-American protests as the government feels the need to keep U.S. troops stationed here to help deter North Korea. Others state that the current conservative administration in South Korea fabricated the evidence to point the finger at North Korea to strengthen the party. (like how Fox "News" seems to always boosts the GOP and smear the left while being "fair and balanced")

3. Lee Myung-Bak

Continuing the above thought, the President of South Korea (Lee Myung-Bak) and leader of the conservatives, is pretty much despised as a leader by the majority of Koreans I know. Most of my students agree as I have heard them say many times "I hate Lee Myung-Bak!" They also compare him the George W. Bush, and using that analogy, I can completely understand their feelings of distaste for their elected leader.

4. North Korea

North Korea takes great interest in the elections as well. Once Seoul announced that North Korea was the culprit of the sinking and that Lee Myung-Bak stated he would be severing any business with the North, the DPRK retaliated by stating that they would sever diplomatic ties with the South until the "puppet" and "traitor" Lee Myung-Bak was out of office. North Korea has supposedly been using cyber-warfare to try to fight the current administration by smearing the leaders.



From the Chosun Ilbo:

South Korean intelligence agencies say North Korea has launched a cyber campaign using stolen IDs of South Koreans to plant propaganda claims on South Korean portals. Posts made under the names of South Koreans accusing their "traitorous" government of fabricating evidence linking North Korea to the sinking of the Cheonan are more or less identical to a statement by the North's National Defense Commission posted on a website operated by the propaganda apparatus.

Intelligence services say North Korea is trying to make it appear as if people in the South are questioning the evidence presented by the government.

North Korea is believed to have trained between 500 to 600 hackers and deploy them in cyber operations against South Korea. A so-called massive denial of service attack in July last year crippled not only major websites in South Korea for days but also the homepages of the White House and the New York Stock Exchange. Intelligence officers believe North Korean hackers stole the personal information of some 1.6 million prominent South Koreans over the last five years. 

The election results (as of today) have shown the current state of displeasure with the conservatives, as the democratic party has won and overwhelming amount of gubernatorial and district seats. You can read about them here and here.

I'm just glad they are over. I no longer have to listen to the annoying campaign music, I won't be awoken by the sounds of chanting 13 stories below me, and I won't have to dodge in and out of the gauntlet of campaign crews handing out business cards and literature on my way to and from work everyday! As if Gunpo wasn't loud enough every day...

As a side note, it is my one year mark! I will be posting a video within the next 2 weeks reviewing my adventures!