I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.
Time to think about smart rally
By Kang Hyun-kyung
A months-long protest against China held in front of the Okin Presbyterian Church, a regular venue for anti-China demonstrations located across from the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, has created a new phenomenon — rally fatigue.
Citizens living in the neighborhood of the church complained about traffic jams and noise. They said that the rallies have gone too far because they have continued for more than 190 days since February. Their discontent is further fueled because they have no idea when the rallies will end.
Initially, activists launched the rally against China’s repatriation of North Korean refugees back to what they say are death camps in the North.
From July, they have continued a campaign against China’s abuses of the human rights of activist Kim Young-hwan, who was freed five weeks ago after 114 days of detention at a detention center located in the northeastern city of Dondong. Kim claimed he was tortured and suffered sleep deprivation while held there.
Song Seon-mee, a stay-at-home mom who has lived in the neighborhood for 16 years, complained about the inconveniences she and her neighbors deal with every day.
She said neighbors initially sympathized with the protests because they shared concerns about the plight facing North Korean refugees.
“When we first heard about the rallies, we never thought that they would have gone on this long,” she said.
Chronic traffic jams and noise from the rallies made residents there feel uncomfortable, she said.
“I was told that teachers of the kindergarten in the second floor of the church building were extremely disturbed when taking care of the kids because of the noise. I assume that shop owners and other residents feel the same way, too,” she said.
Song said her patience and that of her neighbors was wearing thin because there appears to be no end in sight.
In the face of such reasonable complaints, activists will want to think about how to launch a smart campaign that can raise awareness about China’s human rights record in order to pressure the government there to stop inhumane practices.
Calls for launching more issue-focused and timely protests are growing.
An Chan-il, a North Korean defector who participated in the rallies until April, called on activists to adopt a wise strategy when campaigning.
“I think that holding rallies for 1,000 days straight with the same old issue is not a wise tactic. We need to be more strategic. We can tone up when issues flare up, but they don’t have to extend the rallies for the sake of rallying against China,” he said.
An, along with former lawmaker Park Sun-young, staged a hunger strike from March to early April to protest against China's repatriation of refugees.
Now, he says, he rarely participates in protests.
There are various ways to make our voices heard.
One thing is clear though is that staging protests for a certain cause shouldn’t come at the expense of other people’s well-being.
If people are inconvenienced for a relatively short time, this will be tolerable. But if a protest lasts for a long time and as a result neighbors have to deal with continuing problems, organizers of the rallies will need to make a decision. They may need to find other more effective ways to protest, while not troubling their neighbors, because these people have the right to live without such disturbances.