Mr. Lee Myung Bak

Warning: Highly Political and not censored.

Mr. Lee Myung Bak, I have some words for you.

I now detest the administration in both of my main countries of living.

Bush, I lost faith in you long ago...

Lee Myung Bak, I didn't have much faith in you before you were elected. However, the people of South Korea did believe you in, and so I gave you a chance.

This is an email I sent to a friend on March 29th...nearly 3 months ago.

"Mr.이명박 (Romanized as Lee Myung Bak) is not my favorite people. He is so incredibly focused on English education and the economy that he has decided to wipe everything else off his proverbial plate! >_< He has taken the issue of "Comfort Women" off of his list of things to give a shit about. He has basically stated that things in the past should remain in the past. Hence, the fact that these women, who were repeatedly raped during WWII by Japanese soldiers in systematized comfort stations, who are mostly 85 years old and older, who simply want an apology and acknowledgment by the Japanese government before they die doesn't mean a damn thing to the new South Korean president.

In addition to ignoring the pleas and demands of these 85 year old women, he has decided that he also couldn't give two shits about whether or not Korea maintains their unique sense of culture and language. English has become the end all, be all of anything that is "to do" in South Korea. Until parents fought him on it, he was going to implement complete immersion English in school! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!! First of all, how many teachers would be put out of a job because of that? Secondly, does maintaining a Korean identity mean ANYTHING to this man?

Not to mention, now that Mr. Lee Myung Bak is president, everything that he did prior to his presidency gets completely wiped clean. He was being investigated for a huge scandal. The "Special Investigations" team cleared him of all charges. Huh, get this, it was announced a few days before he took office. Go figure! Even if he had been accused of the allegations, under Korean law, the president cannot be charged for any crimes other than high treason! Prosecution ceases! Presidential immunity my ass! What a crock!

He was mayor of Seoul before running for presidency. He grew up poor and is now president. That's the ONE credit I can give this man! When he was first making his millions, he got involved in Hyundae. I am not entirely clear on the series of events, but his power eventually allowed him to participate in the paving over of a river in the middle of Seoul. Later when he was running for mayor, he decided, "Oh, shit...maybe I should appeal to the people." So, he decided to re-open the river. While at it, he also managed to destroy hundreds of homes and shops that ran along over the top of the river. This was his attempt to become "green." He also did not bother compensating any of these people for destroying their means of living, but people who didn't realize the sacrifice were awed by the fact that he was trying to make Seoul more environmentally conscious.

Anyway, this is the man who I despised prior to elections and have come to despise even more since then. A teacher I'm close with confessed that she voted for him without knowing anything about him. But so often that is what happens, right? I mean that's what the majority of people are going to do with the US election in November. Plus nobody could have known that this guy was going to turn into a moron upon given presidential power. Mostly, teachers are shocked at what has come of his presidency. I told myself I would give him time to prove himself as president...but damn, he's doing a good job of that!"

Since that time, most Koreans have fallen in line to equally despise this new Korean president. 4 months into his presidency, and his approval rating could compare to that of President Bush after years in office. There are mass demonstrations urging this man to step down as president. It is not about the beef anymore...it is about the people's fear of what is to come of their country if Mr. Bak continues to reign over it. This past Tuesday was the largest demonstration since the 1987 movements that brought about democracy for Korea. There was an estimated 1 million people that hit the streets across the country.

The protests started as middle school and high school girls taking to the streets to voice their concerns over consuming US beef considering the horrible FTA agreement that Mr. Bak allowed to pass between the US and Korea. Since then, more and more people are becoming involved especially after footage was revealed of a female university student being brutally beaten by a Korean police officer during what many would consider a peaceful protest.

As one of my friends recently wrote, "As well as the beef issue, Lee Myung Bak has a number of controversial policies and now many people are attending the protests to voice their concern over those: the Grand Canal project, privatization of public corporations, privatization of medical care in Korea, his refusal to press Japan on outstanding historical issues in the name of economic expediency (have you been to Sharing House to meet survivors of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery yet?) and the terms of the FTA. Perhaps you are aware that Lee Myung Bak promised the public he would drop the Grand Canal project because more than 70% of people opposed it, but then turned around and re-named it as a privatized project that would still go ahead?"

The beef has become the symbol of the protests, and its what got the proverbial snowball rolling, but I'll let you decide what the protests are really all about.