There's a protest going on in the car park of our local Council office. In fact, judging by the semi-permanent nature of the protest-tent it's been going on for some time. As it is, I took this photo on the 20th December and it's still there now. The main banner reads:"Dismantle the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs that oppresses the civil servants' union."
There's a heater inside, and it seems, some cooking facilities, but other than this it seems quite a civilised affair - or maybe they've long since passed the point of militancy and have since settled into boredom.
I didn't know that much about South Korea before I came here, but I was aware of the local flair for public protests which had made it as far as the British TV news, which on occasion showed the apparently regular student and employee riots. But the reality so far turns out to be far from the cliché; I've yet to encounter much in the way of angry Koreans let alone public protest beyond the Paris Baguette Incident and Korean Father being told '모르겠습니다' ("I don't understand") for the 'n'th time (well, he did want me to learn Korean).
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Thought you might enjoy this news from an article on gaming:
On a different note, “serious” was the last thing to be expected at other online games, such as the casual online racing game Kart Rider, which introduced a new pig-shaped go-cart last Thursday in a nod to the Lunar New Year.
This pig has supernatural powers and must be bought separately for an extra charge.
A booster embedded in the pig cart allows it to be upgraded, giving it a stronger “pig-engine” that will last only until Saturday.
Thanks Mark - that's interesting. I loved this line:
This pig has supernatural powers and must be bought separately for an extra charge.
Nexon don't miss a trick do they? I've tried not to get sucked into buying things for real money in Kartrider, but I know some people who seem to spend serious money on it.
But, a Korean friend gifted me a more advanced kart, and Korean Brother also insisted on gifting me another. Of these two karts though, I don't find one of them particularly useful (at the moment?) and I do wonder to what extent some of these things really confer genuine advantages and to what extent it's just clever marketing.
Of course, if enough people buy pig carts then you feel you have to do if you want to have a chance of winning because it's escalatory...
If you want to see protests come up to Seoul. The riot police are out in force at least twice a week, just round Yeouido.
The protests are not usually violent, but there is always something going up here.
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