The whine cellar known as the K-blog commentariat likes to talk about how backward Korea is and how everywhere else in East Asia is preferred (Japan for technology, China for doing business, etc.). Consider that as you read the news that the ASEAN meeting had to be canceled and its guests airlifted to safety because of anti-government protests in Pattaya where it was being held.From the BBC:
A summit of Asian leaders in Thailand has been postponed after anti-government protesters broke into the venue in the resort of Pattaya.I don't mean this to bash Thailand in any way (I've never been there, but with one single exception, every one of the many Thais I've met have been very nice people), but this is one of those things — cancellation of a major international gathering of heads-of-state — that, had it happened in Korea, we'd never ever hear the end of it. It would be a sign of how backward and out-of-touch Korea is, a real laughingstock for the rest of the world.
PM Abhisit Vejjajiva has declared an "extreme state of emergency" in Pattaya, and said his priority was to ensure the leaders got home safely.
Several leaders from the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) have now been airlifted from the area.
Rant over.
maybe i'm just too radical, but if something like this happened in korea i'd be overjoyed
ReplyDeleteShinbone, maybe you're confusing ASEAN with the WTO.
ReplyDeletethis is two groups of their country both standing up and fighting for what they think their country should be doing.
ReplyDeleteGood on them.
If US citizens did this, the world would be a better place. (Only if they shot each other)
If Korean citizens did this, Korea country would be unified.
I stand in awe at the current Thai expression of democratic spirit