Ruminations in Korea

Greetings to people from Instapundit: Please read through the posts dealing with the censorship issues to get a taste of what is going on here. I have had a large number of people ask if this was real, or if this was a put on. I have had several people flat out accuse me of making this up. Let me assure you, this is a real story. This is really happening, and efforts to get the mainstream world media interested has failed to produce results. For more background and to get a sense of what led up to this blockage, scroll down and read through the hostage posts.

Nothing has changed. The song remains the same. The sites are still blocked, and there does not seem to be any plans for removing the blocks any time soon.

Ohmynews has two articles on the reaction to the blanket blocks, both of which prominently feature yours truly. Click here to read the initial article and here to read the subsequent article.

For what it’s worth, Peter Oranckay is speculating that the government may not be directly behind the blocks.

In the meantime, please note the following notice from the US Embassy, Seoul:

The U.S. Embassy is transmitting the following information through the Embassy’s warden system as a public service to all U.S. citizens in the Republic of Korea. Please disseminate this message to U.S. citizens in your organizations.

In addition to the numerous anti-U.S., anti-troop dispatch demonstrations precipitated by the tragic death of a Korean citizen in Iraq and mentioned in our recent warden message of June 24, 2004, local authorities have informed the Embassy of new demonstrations scheduled for June 29 and June 30, including nationwide rallies by the Korean Federation of Trade Unions (KCTU) to protest the Republic of Korea government’s plan to send more troops to Iraq.

Please note the dates/times for the following demonstrations that have been scheduled at the Kyobo or KT buildings in Seoul (one block south of the US Embassy):

6/29/2004 ? 1600 hours
1,000 members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions - to protest troop dispatch to Iraq and later to join the candle vigil to protest hostage killing

6/29/2004 ? 1900 hours
3,000 individuals ? candlelight vigil to protest hostage killing

6/30/2004 ? 1800 hours
10,000 individuals ? candlelight vigil to protest hostage killing

The following demonstration is scheduled for Jongmyo Park in Seoul (3 blocks southeast of the Embassy): 6/29/2004 ? 1400 hours
3,000 individuals protest troop dispatch to Iraq.

Demonstrations may also take place in other locales and at other dates in June and July, specifically in the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy, U.S. military (USFK) bases, and universities or downtown civic centers throughout Republic of Korea. In consideration of U.S. July 4 Independence Day celebrations and the Iraqi governmental transition period, American citizens are reminded to maintain a high-level of personal security awareness, especially in areas where large numbers of American citizens congregate.

Political, labor, and student demonstrations and marches have on occasion become confrontational and/or violent. American citizens and their family members should exercise caution and avoid gatherings of large groups in order to minimize risk to their personal safety. Streets may also close without warning on orders of the local police.

The Embassy encourages all American citizens to read and follow the suggestions in the world wide public announcement issued by the Department of State on April 29, 2004. See http://www.asktheconsul.org/2004apr29.htm or http://travel.state.gov/.

The U.S. Embassy in Seoul will continue to keep the U.S. community informed of any changes in the overall security situation. To hear a recording of the most up-to-date security information affecting U.S. citizens in Korea, please call 02-397-4114 and press the following series of numbers: 1, 1, 1, 7. In addition, notices concerning security matters will also be broadcast on AFNK television and radio. The Embassy encourages all U.S. citizens to register their presence in Korea with the American Citizens Services office at the U.S. Embassy or via the Internet at http://www.usembassy.state.gov/seoul or http://www.asktheconsul.org/.