Today is the 55 year anniversary of the Inchon Landing Operation that dramatically turned the tide of the Korean War and saved the country from North Korean aggression.  Currently leftist anti-American protesters have for the past year been trying to rally support to tear down the statue of General MacArthur that was constructed by the citizens of Inchon in memory of the General’s Inchon Landing Operation.  There most recent protest this past weekend turned violent when the protesters brought bamboo and metal poles to assault the South Korean policemen guarding the statue. 

This protest however has created a reaction that is unusual in the wake of prior anti-American protests in Korea; the government and the media are both condemning the protesters:

South Korea’s presidential office expressed "serious concern" over a violent protest by anti-American activists seeking to demolish a statue of US war hero Douglas MacArthur.

"We express serious concern at violence yesterday over the statue of General MacArthur," the office said in a statement.

"Such an illegal attempt to demolish the statue is not good for friendly relations between South Korea and the United States."

The meeting chaired by presidential Chief of Staff Lee Byung-wan expressed concern that calls to take down the statue have turned violent. "An illegal attempt to pull the statue down would not only be of no help to the Korea-U.S. relationship, but would run counter to a mature historical understanding in our society,” spokesman Choi In-ho said. “President Roh Moo-hyun recently said the statue must not be pulled down, and to do so would not reflect the wisdom needed to live in the modern world.”

Here is an editorial from the South Korea’s leading newspaper the Chosun Ilbo demanding an even stronger response from the government against the protesters:

In other words, we have had more than four months of a confrontation between one side that denies the legitimacy of the Republic of Korea and another that believes in it. The ruling party has not yet made it clear on which side it stands, but it has classified those who deny the legitimacy of South Korea as "future-oriented people” seeking unification, and those who want to preserve the republic as “ultra-rightists” who are against reconciliation. It is in effect a signal to those who want the statue gone: "Though we can’t say so openly, we are on your side."

The ruling party must make it very clear if the Korean War was a unification war that failed because of U.S. interference or a national tragedy that should not have happened; whether the Incheon Landing was an illegal occupation by the U.S. or a feat that saved the Republic of Korea; and whether the Korean War broke out because of a surprise attack by North Korea or because of cause directly provided by the U.S. The party in charge of our national government cannot wiggle out of taking a position on the historic incident that determined the fate of the Republic of Korea.

The recent MacArthur statue controversy may end up becoming a turning point in South Korean society that has usually turned a blind eye towards the leftists who continuously protest and cause violence against the US military presence in South Korea.  The recent realization that the US is currently downsizing by a 1/3 it’s troops in Korea has now awakened many Koreans to the fact that the US government is willing to withdraw even more troops if the relocation of troops away from the DMZ and South of the Han River is not realized. 

Many Koreans are not ready to see the US troops leave Korea yet with a nuclear armed North Korea still a threat.  The leftist groups however hope to cause a complete withdrawal of US military from Korea by blocking the land deal that would relocate the troops by stirring Korean pride by first of all blaming General MacArthur for causing the Korean War and a series of war crimes that are all untrue. But when it comes to history in Northeast Asia, truth really does not mean much; perception and myth making does. For the time being, however, the myth making has backfired against the anti-US groups.