Report on flag flying enrages people

By Kim Se-jeong

A local daily reported Monday that the government plans to make it obligatory for all buildings to have space to fly the national flag.

The Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs denied the report by The Kyunghyang Shinmun, which has created a torrent of angry comments toward the government.

“So President Park Geun-hye, are you now looking for people to accuse of being pro-North Korea?” a contributor wrote on Agora, a popular website.

“Are we living under dictatorship still?” another wrote. “Enforcing people to fly flags won’t make them patriotic. Loving my country is only possible when I feel equal and respected. The first thing the government must do is uproot corruption.”

Other comments included: “This must be part of brainwashing,” “I feel like I am living in North Korea,” “Korea is definitely going backwards,” and “This means the government can control children’s behavior at home by enforcing sons and daughters to bow to their parents every morning. What nonsense!”

According to the Korean newspaper, revising the law was one of many different ways the government plans to make people fly the flag.

It reported the ministry encouraged local municipalities to launch special task forces dedicated to raising awareness of the flag among local residents. The ministry is also pushing schools to organize writing or drawing contests about the flag, as well as making it possible for apartment residents to purchase flags at their complexes. Currently, flags are available only at public offices and stationary shops.

The Kyunghyang Shinmun also reported the ministry was funding TV commercials and a special documentary on the flag and is instructing private companies to include flags on their list of souvenirs.

In response, the government said it runs a flag flying campaign every year but it is far from obligatory. It also said the campaign is more vigorous this year because the nation was celebrating the 70th anniversary of liberation from Japan.