Gen. Douglas MacArthurThe "Korean War was a civil conflict started by Kim Il-sung for national unification ... should have ended within a month if American forces did not intervene ...... The statue of Gen. MacArthur, the war monger, should be thrown into the gutter of history .... MacArthur is not a person who saved Korean lives, but an enemy who snatched away Korean lives .... MacArthur was just a war fanatic ... The favorable perception of a war maniac who caused the great tragedy to the Korean people should be scrapped. His statue should also be destroyed."

These are not the words of a North Korean communist propaganda operative or an extreme-rightist Japanese who can’t forgive Gen. MacArthur for defeating the Japanese Imperialist army in many battles during World War II. Those are the words of Kim Jeong-gu, a prominent Sociology professor at Dongkuk University in Seoul.

Many leftist radicals in South Korea who share the Professor’s views followed up on Kim Jeong-gu’s words with a protest held this fall at the site of the MacArthur statue at Inchon Freedom Park. Some 4,000 anti-MacArthur demonstrators gathered on Freedom Park on the occasion of the 55^th Anniversary of Gen. MacArthur’s landing at Inchon. The Inchon landing was a crucial turning point of the Korean War. That daring military operation, conceived of and planned by Gen. MacArthur, saved South Korea from being conquered by communist North Korea.

The anti-MacArthur demonstrators who participated in this anti-MacArthur protest included members from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union and Hangchongryon (a pro-North Korea student organization).

Carrying bamboo sticks, the young radicals came to try to tear down a 15ft statue of MacArthur; but riot police and 1,000 Korean War veterans carrying deadly weapons pushed them back. Nonetheless , anti-MacArthur rioters were able to hurl rocks, bottles and eggs at the statue. The actions of the radicals were in strong contrast to the official ceremony, which was held at Inchon Freedom Park to commemorate Gen. MacArthur’s achievements. Leading figures of the Grand National Party (GNP), the conservative opposition party to the left leaning Uri party of the ruling government, attended the event. The Mayor of Inchon, a marine veteran, was one of the speakers honoring Gen. MacArthur for his military leadership during the Korean War. Although the ruling Uri party (a more left-wing political party) has taken the public position that the statue should remain, neither the Defense Minister nor any other high ranking official of the ruling party attended the event.

The violence of this demonstration may seem irrational to outsiders, but South Koreans are not known for peaceful protests. In September, a Busan truck driver burned himself to death due to higher oil prices. Earlier this year, some protesters sliced off their little fingers as part of a territorial dispute with Japan over a tiny uninhabitable island called Dokdo or Takeshima. Ironically, Japenese Yasuka (Mafia) members cut off their little fingers when giving a blood oath.

The extreme statements by the South Korean university professor in opposition to the American role in the Korean War and the anti-MacArthur protests are symbolic of a changing attitude towards the United States by South Koreans. This is particularly so with the younger generation of Koreans who have little or no appreciation for the role the United States played in saving South Korea from a Communist takeover by a brutal North Korean regime. The United States should realize that we will not be able to count on South Korea as a staunch ally in the future.

Tom Pauken II

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