In Seoul, protesters divided over Trump
SEOUL – In a city where the threat of a nuclear attack has loomed large for years, Hong Soo Jin says she has special reason to be anxious these days.
“My two sons are serving in the army,” Hong, 50, said as hundreds of anti-war demonstrators marched along Gwanghwamun Square, across a plaza from the U.S. embassy.
Now, Hong and throngs of chanting, sign-waving protesters say there’s another thing fueling their worries about a nuclear-armed conflict.
Donald Trump.
As the U.S. president prepares to make his first visit to Seoul this week, some residents are taking to the streets to argue that his past threats to to meet North Korea’s “Rocket Man” Kim Jong Un with “fire and fury like the world has never seen“make war much more likely.
“I’ve heard from many Americans that Mr. Trump is a crazy guy — very crazy,” said JunChan Lee, 49, a researcher from nearby Sejong.
South Koreans have long worried about renewed military conflict with the north, he said, but now “they have a big fear about the war — a second Korean War.”
Yet not all the protesters were antiTrump. Other South Koreans demonstrated in support of Trump’s efforts to confront Kim.
“No one wants war, but somebody needs to liberate the people of North Korea,” said David Enukoo Kim, a Seoul businessman who attended a pro-Trump rally across the street from the U.S. embassy.
“Kim Jong Un is the real threat, not Trump,” he said.
On one block across the street from the U.S. embassy, two groups faced off against each other.
One one side, members of the People’s Democracy Party sang, chanted, and spoke in opposition to the American president.
On the same block speakers at a pro-Trump rally extol him as a “bold leader” who will actually prevent war. They stood behind a large banner saying “Welcome, President Trump,” sponsored by the “Association of Korean Patriots.”
Trump gets to make his own case during his two-day visit to Seoul, including meetings with South Korea President Moon Jae-in and a speech to the National Assembly.