Its Not Half-Hearted Boycott
Dear editor,
I'm writing in response to the letter, ``Don't Do Half-Hearted Boycott,'' published in the June 5 edition of The Korea Times.
I'd like to make a point about an error in the letter. At the time of publication, American beef was not being sold in Korea.
The candlelight rallies were a full-blooded protest against the Korea-U.S. beef deal which did not allow the Korean people to have a say on whether U.S. beef should be imported or not.
Koreans are protesting for the right to test U.S. beef and ensure food safety because of the danger of mad cow disease.
At first, America refused Korea the right to test beef even after we mentioned that beef, including high risk materials such as brain and spinal cord, is especially dangerous. Koreans wanted this issue and also the cattle's age at the time of slaughter to be renegotiated.
Tami Overby, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, told The Korea Times that Americans eat the same beef as Koreans.
If this is right, why didn't America give the Korean health authority the right to test it?
This is one reason why Koreans have a legitimate reason to worry about American beef. Therefore, what's happening now in Korea is not a ``half-hearted boycott.'' There are reasons for the candle protests. This is a protest for a right we deserve.
Finally, last not but least if we had wanted to boycott Nike, McDonald's and so on, we would've done so already. This proves that Koreans are not trying to boycott U.S. products.
In addition, there is no evidence that Koreans boycotted U.S. goods every time Koreans didn't like something involving the United States. How could one take a particular incident and suggest the same thing is happening across the board without proof?
Lee Bo-mee
High school student
Suwon, Gyeonggi Province