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| Riot in downtown Seoul ~ |
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| Ahhh, springtime. It has been said that spring is a time for new life, and new loves. Well, in Seoul, South Korea, it is a time for a good, old-fashoned street riot. Koreans won the right to protest publicly a few years back, and have taken to the event with gusto. It was a beautiful day as a friend of mine from New Zealand and I were walking the streets of Seoul, searching for anything new to see, when we sort of stumbled into our first, full-fledged riot. |
| We turned the corner of Chongno-sam-ga, which is an area near a few nice, city parks and a touristy area known as Insa-dong, when we first heard the music. Great, I thought...Live music! We've come to the right place. Waiting for a few minutes as the drumming and crowd came toward us, I noticed that the crowd marching down the street was all wearing scarfs over their faces. This did not seem to be a festive atmosphere. |
| A number of primarily young people leading the group came to a busy intersection, which at the time was packed with city buses, taxis and private cars. Undeterred, about a hundred of them bolted into the street and almost instantly brought the traffic to a dead stop. The only times I've seen these streets gridlocked are at rush hour. This was surreal, as the drummers entered the street, followed by a few thousand protesters. |
| I noticed a few police earlier in the day dressed in riot gear, but payed little attention, as it is not uncommon for these police to be out and about, guarding the Embassies that are in the area. Soon, the main street was filled with a river of people, and colorful flags, chanting and yelling, as they moved towards a section of the road that was blocked by hundreds of riot police that had seemingly emerged out of thin air. |
| Thinking I should get the hell out of here, while I still could, I felt the need to stay and see what it was all about, and what was going to happen next. My blonde hair obviously stuck out as a beacon for someone looking for a place to throw a rock, although my curiousity got the best of me, and I had just so happened to bring my camera along, so I couldn't help myself. I stayed... |