One of these days some legislation might break out. The Korea Times has some background the photo they ran (not above):
Rep. Lee Jong-kul . . . of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), scuffles with lawmakers as he attempts to block Chairman Ko Heung-kil . . . of the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports, Tourism, Broadcasting and Communications Committee from invoking his power to table contentious media industry-related bills in a conference room, Wednesday. The main opposition Democratic Party (DP), which has objected to the passage of those bills, claimed that the introduction of the measures was “invalid.”
Some video footage here, in Korean. The referees broke it up pretty quick, though, instead of letting the boys go at it.
This is nothing compared to the brawling that happened this December. Last week it, and 16 other politican brawls were ranked by Cracked.com; South Korea placed an impressive three times. I suspect Koreans aren't happy about that, though; footage from a brawl a few years ago was used in a clothing commercial in New Zealand. That drew a complaint from the Korean Embassy that said in part:
It depicted Korean politics and people in a negative fashion and was therefore offensive to the Korean community in New Zealand.
To the outside observer perhaps Korean politics depicts Korean politics in a negative fashion.
2 comments:
Actually, I think that the National Assembly brawls fit perfectly in Korean society and represent this place quite accurately. It provides a telling example of how Koreans deal with conflict in a bitterly divisive society that hasn't never learned how to accommodate differences of opinion. Is it ugly? Yes. Does it embarrass Koreans? Yes. Does it misrepresent the country? No.
I agree with you there, Douglas.
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