Friday, September 22, 2006

More Jongno Protests!

An advantage of spending my weekday afternoons on the 6th floor of the YBM building is that I get a great vantage point to see all the demonstrations marching down Jongno.

This week there was nobody protesting the modern re-interpretation of the history of any ancient kingdoms, but I did see several hundred working-class-looking men and women carrying banners, preceded by a half dozen drummers dressed in colorful old-fashioned costumes, drumming out a beat I could hear even in the 6th floor. Can anyone guess what their grievance was?

They were noraebang (karaoke establishments) workers and brewery employees who demanded the right of noraebang to sell beer on the premises. Traditionally noraebang have a reputation as a place for people to sober up after an evening of drinking, and beer is not permitted.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hello, I am one of stduents in UMaine. I heard about your website from your father who is one of professors here. It's very interesting to know what your views about Korea.
If you want to talk to me, please email me anytime. Thank you.

HaeJi Choi
hae.choi@umit.maine.edu