Reportage

“She did it!” This is what young kids commonly say when they did something bad by themselves or with their friend, to put the blame solely on their friend. Sadly, this common defensive mechanism, which is very useful in shifting responsibility away from ourselves, is less available to use as we age and go out into the world. That is because the world does not tolerate those who try to evade responsibility, unlike our mothers. Nonetheless, there is someone who is still using such childish tactics even at the age of 64 and while in a position that carries more responsibility than any other: South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

For the past two months, Korea has been in complete turmoil because of President Park. Park shared sovereign power with her confidante, Choi Soon-sil, and Choi abused that power. Evidence to corroborate these allegations continues to emerge in shocking detail and quantity. Since the biggest political scandal in Korea’s constitutional history, named “Park Geun-hye ━ Choi Soon-sil Gate” broke, people from all sorts of backgrounds have been flooding the streets.
On Oct. 29 ━ shortly after the scandal erupted ━ The Argus observed the “Resign, Park Geun-hye: March of Anger” rally hosted by the youth and the first “Gather And Show Our Anger to Make Park Geun-hye Step Down” candlelight protest with the HUFS Emergency Planning Committee (EPC).


Details of “Park Geun-hye ━ Choi Soon-sil Gate”

Who is “Choi?”
Choi Soon-sil is Park’s friend of 40 years who has held no official government position. Choi developed her friendship with Park in the mid-1970s when Choi’s father, the leader of a religious cult, approached Park with the claim that he could help her contact her dead mother.

Timeline of the scandal
· July 26 Joseon Ilbo alleged that the Blue House, the executive office of the South Korean president, pressured conglomerates to give a total of 85 billion Korean won (approximately $70 million) to two newly-established foundations: the Mir and K-Sports Foundations.
· Sept. 20 Hankyoreh cited the testimony of a whistleblower from the Blue House who asserted that Choi actually appointed the chief directors of the two foundations.
· Oct. 10 Hankyoreh alleged that Choi’s daughter received special treatment when she applied for Ewha Womans University, one of the most prestigious universities in South Korea.
· Oct. 24 JTBC found an abandoned computer of Choi’s containing evidence that she intervened in state affairs, receiving secret documents ranging from key state affairs to Park’s wardrobe decisions.
· Oct. 25 Park issued a public apology admitting that she had shared some state documents with Choi, saying, “I did so (shared the documents) with pure intentions so that I could have her carefully review them (the documents).”


“Resign, Park Geun-hye: March of Anger” Rally

4:10 p.m. Gather at Hyehwa Station Exit 2
When The Argus arrived at Hyehwa station exit 2, there were several students, flying a HUFS flag. The leader, Kim Ju-ran (Division of International Studies ‘13), who was wearing a long parka with “HUFS” on its back, was handing out blankets and prepared placards to students as they arrived.
At half past five, the appointed time of the march, there were more than 30 students from different departments from the Division of Language & Diplomacy to the Dept. of Hindi and Arabic. Students from both the Seoul Campus and Global Campus were there.
After collecting the personal details of students just in case an accident occurs, Kim led them to Marronnier Park.

4:40 p.m. Join “Resign, Park Geun-hye: March of Anger” Rally
At Marronnier Park, there were over 200 college students from different universities including SungKyunKwan University, Hanyang University, and Kyung Hee University at the “Resign, Park Geun-hye: March of Anger” rally, hosted by the “Youth All Out Rally Committee” made up of 13 youth groups including the Youth Union Korea, and the Youth Democratic Network.
“I never imagined this many students would gather,” said Byun Hee-jin from the Division of International Studies. “This huge number of students shows the youth’s anger towards the Park administration.”
Despite it being a serious occasion where presidential impeachment was discussed, it was filled with the wit of youth. Witty but cutting remarks satirizing the reality of the situation were written on placards, one of which compared Choi Soon-sil to Siri, a part of iOS’ Artificial Intelligence (AI) software which answers questions, makes recommendations, and performs actions for its user. The iPhone-featured placard read: “This is AI Soon-siri. What can I help you with?” Lots of people laughed when they saw it.
The rally consisted of speeches from group leaders, one of which was Park Hye-shin, a youth representative of the Workers’ Solidarity and a student studying Chinese at HUFS.
“Only two out of 100 young people support President Park,” she said. “Does a woman with approval ratings of only two percent have legitimacy to govern this country?”
According to Gallup Korea, Park’s approval rating plunged to a record low 14 percent within a week of the scandal breaking, and it turned out that only two percent of the youth supported her.

5:00 p.m. March to Cheonggye Plaza
As the speeches ended, the young people marched to Cheonggye Plaza where the “Gather And Show Our Anger to Make Park Geun-hye Step Down” candlelight demonstration was being held, chanting this slogan: “Oust, Park. Arrest, Choi.”
On the march from Hyehwa station to Jonggak station, a few passers-by who still support Park swore at those who were marching, while the majority gave support, cheered and applauded. Many of them even joined the march. A young woman appeared in front of the HUFSans with her 30-month-old baby on her back.
The Argus asked if she could not find someone to babysit for her, and she replied, “It does not matter if there is a babysitter or not. He has to participate in such a historical event as a citizen.”

The First “Gather And Show Our Anger to Make Park Geun-hye Step Down” Candlelight Protest

6:00 p.m. Arrive at Cheonggye Plaza
Cheonggye Plaza was literally a sea of people. Twenty thousand people were sitting, standing, and surrounding the plaza, with candles in their hands. The youth could not approach the plaza so they had to take a seat where the stage could not be seen and depend solely on hearing the loud voices coming from the speakers.
“People All Out Rally Struggle Committee,” the organizer of the demonstration, fiercely condemned Park, Choi, and politicians who refused to recognize their relationship. One of the few politicians who attended was Lee Jae-myung, the current liberal mayor of Seongnam city.
Lee came on stage and read the Constitution of the Republic of Korea (ROK): the ROK shall be a democratic republic, and the sovereignty of the ROK shall reside in the people and all state authority shall emanate from the people. And then he said, “A president of the ROK shall be a servant of the public, not a master; however, Park is controlling the state arbitrarily as if she is a queen who follows her king ‘Choi.’” As one of the popular politicians in Korea, he drew a huge and impassioned response from the public.
His speech was followed by the speeches of civic group leaders, and the event ended with a protest song titled “Like a Stone.” Its hopeful lyrics echoed through the air: “Despite a fierce rainstorm and despite any seduction, let us live like a stone without swaying. What is swayed by winds is a shallow-rooted reed. A deep-rooted stone is never swayed.”

7:00 p.m. March to the Blue House
After the demonstration, people rose up from their seats and started marching to the Blue House as the organizers guided them. The organizers led people to take to the streets, playing protest songs and leading a chant on loudspeaker trucks.

7:40 p.m. Near the Yi Sun-Sin Statue
When the demonstrators were about to reach Sejong-daero, an intersection close to the Blue House, the police tried to install a police line. But people pushed them back, and kept making their way to where President Park resides. The statue of Yi Sun-Sin ? a naval commander who saved his country from the Japanese navy during the Imjin War in the Joseon Dynasty ━ seemed to guide them to a path to victory.

8:30 p.m. Near the Sejong the Great’s Statue
Soon after that, the march stopped due to the preinstalled police line in front of the Embassy of the United States. The protesters declared their intention not to use any violence and asked the police to make way for them; however, they did not answer.
While the front was confronting police, in the back, a podium was used to speak from a loudspeaker truck. Among all the people there, teenager participation was the highest.
“Since the scandal that President Park has ruined this country broke, my future job ambitions have changed from being a teacher to a politician,” a female high school student in her school uniform said. “I will study hard, be a politician, and protect this country. Please protect this country by then.” Not only high school students, but also middle school students mounted the platform.
“Middle school students who have lived only 16 years know that the master of this country is not the president, but the public,” a student representative of CheongShim International Academy said. “President Park who is supposed to lead this country made a mistake that even a middle school student would not make.”
Between speeches, they sang: “The light will prevail over the dark. The truth will prevail over the lie. The truth will never sink. We will never ever give up.” The song titled “The Truth Shall Not Sink” is a requiem for the Sewol Ferry disaster that resulted in 304 casualties, which has largely been blamed on the botched government response.
While Korean people of the 21st century shouted and sang themselves hoarse, the statue of Sejong the Great, well known for his love for his people, kept smiling as if he could not hear the people’s voices.


10:00 p.m. End of the Rally
The police line had not broken down even after one and a half hours of confrontation despite the numerical superiority. That was because the protesters had not used any violence.
At 10 p.m., the police announced via megaphone that the demonstration had ended. It was not allowed to protest from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. the next day to protect people’s right to sleep in Korea.
The protest came to an end after the police’s announcement rang several times. People seemed unable to leave their seats for a while as if something was missing. HUFS EPC took out huge plastic garbage bags and started to pick up garbage. People came and joined the garbage pickup.


When the scandal first broke and when Ms. Park’s two aides were fired to quell the rage, The Argus heard her voice: “She did it” and “They did it.” Now we hear anger from the people: “You did it.”


Associate Editor of National Section

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