NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

“The South is the true betrayer of the Korean nation. After the war, those who came to power and collaborated with the Americans, were the same people who had collaborated with the Japanese and helped oppress the Korean people. After the war they helped put down Korean nationalism. The spirit of our nation cannot be healed until the people reunite it.” Park Jnng-Ki Chairman of the Korean Council for Democratic Martyrs (via an interpreter), during dinner with myself, the other South Korea Solidarity delegates and PKAR The Korean Council for Democratic Martyrs is an organization dedicated to remembering those who have died or been disappeared (political prisoners) by the South Korean government, because of their fighting to build a more democratic Korea.

Every month the group SPARK (Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea) holds a peace action in near the US embassy and the city hall in downtown Seoul. It’s called Self-Reliance Peace Unification Action, and it is basically a small sit-in style rally. The event even comes with its own small red-seat cushions which are laid out prior to the start of the event, rewarding those who come early with more comfortable seats from which to listen and observe. When I first arrived at the protest, it was primarily old people there, who were all holding signs which I was told described different things such as reunification, demands of the South Korean government to stop trying to take away civil rights and the closure of US bases in the country. After seeing so many manåmko’ I asked my interpreter and guide Sung-Hee if this was a good representation of the activist community in South Korea, meaning are most of the progressives here are a little bit older? For several years, when I first s...

After spending one day in Seoul I was surprised at how many statues there were. In no way did I see the whole breadth of the city, just some streets within a mile or two of my hotel and whatever I saw on my trip from the airport. But I saw an incredible array of statues. Most of these monuments I couldn’t glean the significance of because I couldn’t read Korean, but still, I was very surprised to find so many. Last week in my World History class at UOG, I had a discussion with my students about monuments and memorializing, but in the context of Guam and Ferdinand Magellan. I find it both amusing and tragic that the first modern monument which Chamorros ever raised was in 1926, down in the village of Umatac, meant to commemorate the visit of Magellan to the island in March of 1521. This stop literally put Guam on the map of the world and world history. It ensured that no matter how small and tiny Guam is, it would be something small children around the world, learning about world histor...

Our delegation was given a tour this afternoon of Yongsan Base which is right in the heart of Seoul and the headquarters of the United States military forces in Korea. We climbed into a van provided by the Pan-Korean Alliance Reunification (PKAR) South Korea branch, and drove around the base, marveling at how intertwined the government of South Korea and the US military were. We spent the afternoon visiting the Pan-Korean Alliance Reunification (PKAR) South Korea branch. They took us to their office, gave us a tour of nearby Yongsan Base (which houses the headquarters of the US military in South Korea) and treated us to dinner afterwards. For those interested, we were given a small packet of information on their group and so here is some excerpts: Who are We? Pan Korean Alliance for Reunification (BomMinRyon) was established in 1990 as a non-governmental civil organization conducting the movement for great nation unity and reunification of Korea… BomMinRyon – the movement is based on t...

On my trip from Incheon Airport to my hotel in Jongo-gu, I saw 7 Dunkin Doughnuts. Para bai hu admite na didide’ tiningo’-hu put South Korea, lao bei sangani hamyo, nag of nina’manman yu’ ni’ este. I know the whole spiel about globalization and way franchises such as McDonald’s and Starbucks have become global. So I wasn’t shocked when I saw Sponge Bob Squarepants dubbed on TV, or an episode of House with Korean subtitles. I saw a few McDonalds and Starbucks, Pizza Huts on the way to my hotel, and wasn’t surprised at all. But the fact that I found 7 Dunkin Doughnuts really intrigued me and made me wonder if there is some interesting or tragic story behind how South Korea came to be so inundated with that particular franchise. So while I was on the bus, I vowed to keep track of all the Dunkin Doughnuts that I find in South Korea, and eventually when I return to Guam conduct some research to see if there is any backstory to be found. Stay tuned for the final tally of Dunkin Donuts once I...