By Oh Young-jin
Assistant Managing Editor
I thought it was all over 20 years ago.
At that time, a crowd, its population the size of a small city with most of them in their 20s, would gather in the middle of Seoul and engage in a collective test of strength against small but better-armed phalanxes of riot police in what, from above, looked like a giant rugby scrum.
In time, the scrum would fragment into pockets of urban warfare, with police chasing demonstrators in most cases but the other way around in a few other cases. In the process, batons would be brandished, water canons fired and heads bloodied.
A similar scene was repeated perhaps one thousand and one times on college campuses and the streets of Seoul in June 1987, forcing the dictator in power to back off from his scheme to handpick his successor through another stage-managed ``gymnasium election.''
As is often the case with popular uprisings, the June 1987 struggles proved to be a mixture of success and failure. Dictator Chun Doo-hwan buckled in the face of an enormous show of people power and was forced to introduce a direct vote for the presidential election. The irony was that in the ensuing popular presidential election, Roh Tae-woo, Chun's collaborator in his 1979 power grab and heir-designate, became the elected head of state, a disappointment that, however, turned out to be the start of a new democratic tradition for Korea.
Twenty years later, the 1987 Generation is no longer young and rebellious, taking a backseat and watching their children repeat what they did. Batons are brandished, water canons fired and heads bloodied. There are some street demonstrators fighting violence with violence but the 2008 Generation's weapon of choice is a candle. Tens of thousands of these candles are held, and while these flames are feeble enough to be put out by a sudden gust of wind, they have in fact metamorphosed into a mighty beacon of people's power, lighting up the city center virtually every night for the past 30 days.
This time, it is not a dictatorship that they are fighting, but a legitimate government that came to power with an overwhelming majority of votes cast in an election that took place only six months ago. Once again, but to a greater degree, the burden of proof that these demonstrations are for a greater justice belongs to them.
At issue is U.S. beef, but on a closer examination, the latest show of public wrath is targeted against a government it claims ignores the people's wishes. They want to eat what they are sure is safe but the government can't convince them of this.
Many of the protesters chant the same slogan as in 1987, with only the name of their target being replaced. As was attempted then, they have tried to advance to Cheong Wa Dae but been thwarted in the face of a large police presence.
But, there are also differences between now and then. Then, the crowd was very serious, seeing their struggle as a matter of life and death. Now, the crowd can afford to be accommodating, occasionally giving their gatherings a carnival atmosphere, perhaps as the result of a marked growth in their economic affluence during the intervening years.
In the media, the candlelit demonstrations are freely reported and discussed, critics pitted against proponents. In 1987, the media was virtually under state control, often parroting what they were told to say. This freedom of expression is key to preventing the current demonstrations from ever getting out of hand. The 2008 Generation may take this for granted but it was one of the goals the 1987 Generation fought for and won.
The government appears to be going through the repeated two-piston cycle of motion of denial and withdrawal.
They vow to crack down on protests but take a step back at the last minute, simultaneously cajoling and threatening the crowd. In the process, the government has failed to use the mandate it earned through a free and direct election.
The government knows its mandate has been significantly reduced, considering the President's approval ratings have dipped below 20 percent. But one's mandate can only be strengthened when one stops hiding behind an expendable wall of pawns and plays a leadership role.
June 2008 may be remembered as an extension of an evolution triggered by the revolution of June 1987. A reminder that people take can back the power they delegate to a few oligarchs and show them who the boss really is. History is a cruel judge, handing out a number of merciless verdicts and leaving an unending trail of broken hearts.
France's May 1968 protests resulted in few immediate outcomes, although it eventually caused a sea of change in its national consciousness. China clammed up after the June 4th, 1989 incident in Tiananmen Square that cost the lives of hundreds of protestors, its side effect manifesting in the form of xenophobic nationalism during the recent Tibet uprising. More to the heart is the April 19, 1960 Revolution, the mother of all acts of civil disobedience in Korea, which ousted autocrat Syngman Rhee, but contributed to the military coup the following year.
If only the young could have the benefit of hindsight.