FTA Protests? 저기!

Ah! Remember a few weeks back when US and South Korea finally settled on an FTA agreement? I basically wondered where all of these enraged protests were 'cause I'd not seen many at all. Well, maybe it's just that I was in the wrong place.

I decided to get my cat a bag of Cat Chow because Whiskas is barf inducing for Ms. Kitty. However, I made the choice of going to the Kim's Club in NewCore Outlet. Kim's Club is a supermarket across from the Express Bus Terminal in Seoul and for awhile I shopped there quite a bit because I used to commute to work using that terminal and the fact that it is open 24 hours reminds me of home.

Anyway, in this center they also have a Starbucks, McDonalds, A Body Shop, a Marks and Spencer and maybe some other chains from western countries.

I get there only to see a line of tour buses. Now that I think about it, I should have snapped a picture of those too. I walk to the center and there are riot police blocking the entrances. This is bad, cause dammit, I want my bag of cat food!

But it's a no go on that. I didn't even try because the riot police were between protestors and the doors. Now they'd stationed themselves at the entrances of the two biggest retail symbols of American globalization: McDonalds and Starbucks.

I realized it was a lost cause and turned to take the bus home. I'll have to swing by to grab that Cat Chow later. Then I heard a whistle and some chanting and suddenly the protestors tried to rush the doors to get in. I don't know what happened after that, but I saw my first angry FTA protest first hand yesterday.

With that said, now I have to finish this up, so I can meet someone at another symbol of American globalization: Dunkin Donuts.

Sphere: Related Content