[Site Fwd] Busan: No! Pa(dispatch)-Byung(troops)!

No! Pa (dispatch)- Byung (troops)!
: A laughter-shaking, but brilliant anti-war action in Busan


* The below is the summary translation, much owed to the article by the reporter, Kim Bo- Sung (vopnews@vop.co.kr) in the site of Voice of People on Nov. 20. The Photos below are also his credit.


While the current right wing South Korean government has announced its policy of redeployment to Afghanistan, about 20 young people appeared on Nov. 18 (the day when Obama arrived in the Songtan AFB in the night), with ‘pa(stone leek)’ and ‘byung (bottle)’ in their hands in a basement square of the Lotte Department store, in the city of Busan, the first harbor city in the South Korea, located in the southern western tip of the Korean peninsula.


The stone leeks are from small to big. The bottles are of the various kinds from water, juice, even to beer bottle etc. ‘X’ was marked in the masks they were wearing. Their hands projected outward, symbolizing, ‘No’.


Suddenly a Rambo ran into the department store, shouting, ‘Doo-doo-doo-doo, all will be killed if Pa-Byung is realized!’, fired a toy M16 to them. And the young people soon fell down with ‘ pa’ and ‘byung’ in their hands.


Then, the citizens who were wondering about what's happening became to realize the meaning of 5 minute flash mob action, “ Ah, Pa (dispatch)- Byung (troops) !”

The Korean word, pronounced ‘pa’ has the various meanings. One meaning indicates the pa(stone leek) you love for your meal and another meaning indicates pa(dispatch). The Korean word, pronounced ‘byung’ has also different meanings. One meaning indicates ‘bottle’ while another indicates ‘troops’.

The young people did not tell who they were but did the action one more time 10 minutes later in the street of Busan, announced that they would do more such a flash mob performance afterward.

About 51% of the citizens of Busan are heard to oppose the re-dispatch to Afghanistan, whose size is heard 300 (including the Provincial Reconstruction Team) according to the government while there is a news of even 2000(The government denied though)!

One of the leaders of the action said, “ The Afghanistan war is the war with no moral cause”, and “The Lee Myung Bak government who decided to dispatch the combat troops to Afghanistan as the present to the President Obama who visits the South Korea today (Nov. 18) must withdraw its decision.”

On Nov. 18, 19, 20 young people were arrested by the violent police during their nonviolent protest in the capital city of Seoul.

Koreans may need more flexible guerrilla actions such as these brilliant young people's in Busan while even the candles for the nonviolent culture event became illegal by the 2MB(two Mega Bite brain) -indicates the President, Lee(similar pronunciation ee means number 2) Myung Bak- government who was quite hurt by the June, 2008 when 1 million people came out on the street of Seoul against the import of the U.S. Beef, with the candles in each of their hands. Then another choice for people: pa?


NO, PA- BYUNG!!!