Dokdo/Takeshima May Madness
by Richardson ~ May 2nd, 2006. Filed under: Diplomacy, Japan-Korea Relations, Korean Culture.Update: See the Dokdo webcam (h/t Marmot), and the nutjob bee-man VIDEO (h/t Nomad)! And the ROK government can’t be left out. The fun just never ends in the East Sea.
Original Post: South Korea is pressing its message to Japan on Dokdo on several fronts.
First, the nutjob bee man from last November has resurfaced to show that Japanese warmonger claims against Dokdo are no more than barking at the moon (DPRK-speak via NK News), by once again covering himself in thousands of bees – but this time he follows by jumping on a Japanese flag! Pure genius.
Left, November 2005; Right, May 2006
Next, the Roh administration, ever cognizant of its nationalist base and lack of any substance on actual issues, had stated that, “the government will not seek to avoid conflict in the matter” with Japan. Brilliant.
And to top if off, Korea Telecom (KT) is installing private service for the only two civilian residents of the disputed rock:
The first telephone line will be installed for private use in Dokdo, Korea’s easternmost islets. . . KT says that the phone service will show all over the world that Dokdo belongs to Korea. (emphasis added)
Yes, that will prove it to the world. But it needs something else. . . perhaps some historical symbol to really show the Japanese:
KT said the last four digits of the Kims’ telephone line will be 1693, which marks the year when Korean fisherman Ahn Yong-bok drove off Japanese fisherman from the islets and later made Japanese authorities confirm it was Korean territory.
How could it possibly get any better?
May 2nd, 2006 at 9:07 am
The beeman strikes again. I would say that it would be one thing for someone to put hundreds of thousands of bees on his body to draw attention to a low profile issue, but in Korea, Dokdo is anything but low profile. My theory is that he is an unstable beekeeper that uses nationalist sentiment to engage in his bee fetish. Just a theory.
May 2nd, 2006 at 9:20 am
May 2nd, 2006 at 9:44 am
Did he close by cutting off an appendage? No? Wuss..
May 2nd, 2006 at 9:52 am
I guess if he was a real man who had a set, he’d cut them off.
May 3rd, 2006 at 7:35 am
Update: See the Dokdo webcam (h/t Marmot), and the nutjob bee-man VIDEO (h/t Nomad)! The fun just never ends in the East Sea.
May 5th, 2006 at 1:17 pm
Dokdo/Takeshima May Madness
[…] Wrong. It is Korean who are, generally, “so upset” (perhaps “berserk” is more accurate), while the Japanese are relatively ambivalent about the issue. […]
May 5th, 2006 at 1:23 pm
Dokdo/Takeshima May Madness
[…] Wrong. It is Korean who are, generally, “so upset” (perhaps “berserk” is more accurate), while the Japanese are relatively ambivalent about the issue, if they are even aware. […]
May 10th, 2006 at 2:49 pm
Dokdo/Takeshima May Madness
[…] Next, the Gaya-Mimana Controversy: are Koreans actually sinicized Japanese? (Or vice versa.) Where is the bee guy? […]
May 11th, 2006 at 8:39 am
Dokdo/Takeshima May Madness
[…] Hence, one sees protest threatrics like this. I guess when stultifying societal conformism, pervasive one-upmanship and intense competitive urge collide, the result is suicidal protest culture. […]