"'The focus (of the recent protests in Korea) is on revising the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between Korea and the United States,' the Korean embassy's chief public reference officer said. 'It should not be interpreted as opposition to U.S. troops or an expression of anti-Americanism.' O noted in his letter that Koreans want an equal partnership with the U.S., criticizing the media for wrongly branding them anti-American."

--The Korea Times

"As concerns loyalty and disloyalty, as well as courage, this nation is much inclined to stealing, lying and cheating. One should not trust them too much."

--Henirk Hamel from Hamel's Journal and a Description of the Kingdom of Korea 1653-1666

"Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining."

--American saying

Don't take Eller's word for it

Lately, my "fan mail" from Koreans has seen a noticeable spike. While most just compare me to various barn animals and send out a shout out to Osama bin Laden, the few that actually bother to make a point, accuse me of blowing things out of proportion.

Well, don't take Eller's word for it. Just ask Sally Milne, a British expat living in Seoul. Sally penned the following letter to the editor in the Jan. 7 editon of the Korea Herald:

To the editor:

I am a British woman working as an English teacher in Seoul. My experiences in Korea over the last six months have been very positive, especially the kindness of Korean people. But I, like many other Westerners, have been affected by the recent anti-American feelings.

Racial tension has been building here in Seoul since the acquittal of the American soldiers involved in the tragic deaths of two Korean girls last June. I wish to highlight the effect on Westerners living in Korea, not focus on the events themselves.

My friends, American, Canadian, British, New Zealander and Australian, have all been affected. They have been glared at, spat on, refused seats on the subway and refused service in some stores. They have tried to remove themselves from these situations by informing the perpetrator of their nationality. This doesn`t help, they are never believed.

A group of schoolgirls refused to sit next to me on the subway. One forced another to sit down, but she moved a good few inches away from me and rearranged her clothes to ensure that not a stitch would accidentally touch me. A drunk verbally abused me in a busy carriage, inches from my face, in a fighting stance. I avoided eye contact in an attempt to ignore him, whilst everyone in the carriage looked on, said nothing and offered no help. The abuse was in Korean and the only word I was able to make out was "American."

But the event that really prompted the writing of this article occurred on Dec. 27. A night out with colleagues, Korean and Western, turned into a bar brawl which spilled onto the street. It began as a disagreement with another table of customers, who held anti-American views. But, fueled by drink and unwilling to leave the disagreement as verbal, it escalated into a fight.

I`d like to ask the Korean public to please understand that it is unfair to blame every Westerner, it is unfair to blame every American, and it is unfair to blame every individual in the military. We are all different.

Sally Milne

Seoul

Sorry, Sally, but your wise words will fall on deaf Korean ears. You see Sally, Koreans are taught that every problem in Korea is either the fault of Americans or Japanese or both. Koreans are also taught that their own negative behaviors are the fault of Yanks and Japanese. So no Korean will dare criticize another because such criticism is seen as an insult to Korean pride and "kowtowing to foreign powers."

Sally, you are a kind-hearted and open-minded person. But Sally, I am sad to say that the whole world is not that way. Koreans. most certainly, are not that way.

The sad truth of the matter is that most Koreans are very proud of the Koreans who spat on your friends and beat up friends in the pub. These Koreans are seen as true patriots, just like the new hero of all Korea, Kim Jong-il.

Eller vs. The Joongang Ilbo

The following Op-Ed piece was carried in the January 2nd, 2003 edition of the JoonangIlbo-IHT:

FOUNTAIN]Mine eyes have seen the glory

by Kim Seok-hwan

January 02, 2003

The Mason-Dixon Line was surveyed by the English team of Charles Mason, a mathematician and astronomer, and Jeremiah Dixon, a mathematician and land surveyor, between 1763 and 1767. The line is the boundary between the U.S. states of Maryland and Pennsylvania. The survey was completed up to the western limit of Maryland in 1773; in 1779, the line was extended to mark the southern boundary of Pennsylvania with western Virginia. Before the Civil War, the term was used to mean the boundary between the slave states and the free states. After the war, it was used as an informal line dividing the southern from the northern states. South of the line are regions where people are conservative and aggressive, sticking to Puritan beliefs. Most of them are Republicans.

Joseph A. Fry, who studies this cultural and political connection with foreign policy, is the author of a book called "Dixie Looks Abroad: The South and U.S Foreign Relations, 1789-1973."

Mr. Fry writes, "Southerners have always supported issues or policies on which the large interests of the United States are dependent." That gives readers some hints about where George W. Bush's unilateral foreign policies came from.

So it was not surprising that people south of the Mason-Dixon Line were not happy with Bill Clinton's foreign policies. Mr. Clinton had to wade through all the objections these people had when he dealt with Kosovo, a Middle East peace agreement and North Korean nuclear weapons.

But Israel could get what it wanted with the support of southern Americans. Israel is also a favorite of right-wing Christian leaders like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. George W. Bush, who was baptized by the evangelical minister Billy Graham, strongly holds these southern political and religious beliefs.

Now Mr. Bush is at war against Islamic fundamentalists and has declared Iraq, Iran and North Korea part of an axis of evil to justify wars against them. He says agreements with evil nations are not acceptable; only Puritan beliefs and America's power can save those devilish countries.

Conditions on the Korean Peninsula are in bad shape because North Korea and the United States will not negotiate. The government is trying to get them to cooperate, but Seoul also must understand the historical background of U.S. foreign policy: the sense of God's righteousness that pervades it.

The writer is a JoongAng Ilbo editorial writer.

The JoonangIlbo has refuse to print the letter I wrote in response to this insulting anti-American rant, so I decided to publish my equally harsh response here:

Dear Mr. Kim:

I am from New Jersey and I am an atheist. And I still see that North Korea is a bad place. But more than that, they cannot be trusted. You say Americans won't negotiate. What you really mean is that we won't pay protection.

Frankly, North Korea can kill as many of its own people as it wants to. I don't care, and neither, apparently, do South Koreans. But when North Koreans demand I pay them extortion, then by Zeus I will call them evil.

These days Koreans are the self-righteous ones. They gather in the streets by the hundreds of thousands to burn American flags and proclaim America to be evil. Yet North Korea continues to starve their own people and to send people to concentration camps for crimes such as spilling beer on a picture of Kim Jong-il. South Koreans don't hold any vigils for victims of Kim Jong-il. Why? Because this would injure their own pride in Korea to admit that their North Korean brothers had created the most despicable country on the planet.

Americans have enough experience with South Koreans to see them for the hypocrites they are: The reason why the South rejects the term Axis of Evil is not moral relevatism, but sheer vanity.

South Korea sees America's sole purpose here on this earth to give Koreans money for free. We are not going to give North Koreans any more money in response to their threats.

I read the journal of Henrik Hamel, a Dutch sailor who was shipwrecked in Korea in the 16th century. He wrote that when the Mongols invaded Korea, Korea's soldiers committed suicide rather than fight. Korean men, he concluded, were basically cowards.

Americans are not cowards. We stood up to Hitler and (unlike Korea) we stood up to Imperial Japan. We will not pay blackmail to a pathetic little gansterocracy like North Korea no matter how many American flags South Koreans burn.

If you South Koreans want to pay your hard-earned foreign currency reserves to Kim Jong-il and his cronies to ensure your safety, then by all means do so. You may even be able to purchase another Nobel Peace Prize with your tribute.

Sincerely,

Ben Eller

Thinking of buying a Korean car?

Read the following except from an article in today's Chosun Ilbo, Korea's most widely read newspaper:

"The 8th United States Army Command said Friday in a press release that three Koreans at Seoul Station physically and verbally assaulted two soldiers, Thursday morning. It stated that a staff sergeant identified as 'M' and a Korean American Corporal 'Y' were at Seoul Station to pick up a colleague around 10:30 am, when two middle-aged men started to use abusive language and attempted to grab them by throats. The Korean American corporal stopped the two men and the American soldiers were unharmed.

The two soldiers then encountered another man in his 50s who approached 'Y' and tried to snatch his tag reading US Army. The GIs tried to avoid the man, but he followed and continued to curse at them. A United States Forces Korea official said that four Korean soldiers and a reporter from a TV station were present and witnessed the scene, but did not stop the assault, and moreover, some laughed and spat at them."

Nice.

Thinking of buying a Samsung DVD player?

Before you do read this quote from a recent AP article on the intense hatred of America in Korea these days:

"Things didn't seem as amicable in the days before the election, when anti-U.S. demonstrators thronged the streets of Seoul singing 'United States a vulgar country!' and calling for a Korea 'that can take on the United States in a one-on-one fight.' Many shouted 'Roh Moo-hyun!'"

For those of you just tuning in, Roh Moo-hyun is the new president of Korea.

Thinking of buying an LG television set?

Before you do, take a glance at this photo. It was taken at a massive anti-American hate rally in Seoul. Some 100,000 people turned out to rip giant American flags to pieces, scream 'burn down the White House' and sing songs about destroying America.

They capped things off by attempting to invade the U.S. embassy. It took several batallions of riot police to stop them.

And guess what? They have another one planned for Christman. "Americans flag roasting on an open fire.."

Thinking of buying a sporty new Hyundai SUV?

Before you do you might want to consider the story of this young patriot. He is cutting his way into a US Army base. Once inside he will lob chunks of concrete at the heads of several American MP's, cutting one's head open. How do I know this? Because his friends videotaped his assault and proudly posted it on the web for all Koreans to see. The site was inundated with Koreans praising him as a "beautiful youth."

Want to know what the Korean cops to this kid? Nothing. He was arrested, but then released after a protest at a Korean police station. Despite the video and no signs of remorse, Korean prosecutors decided not to press charges against the lad.

The message has been clear in Korea for some time: Korean law does not sanction assaults on American Servicepeople.

Thinking of taking a trip to South Korea or hosting a conference here?

Well if you are an American, you'd better bring a paper bag lunch and your walking shoes. Americans are being barred from restaurants in Seoul, traditional Korean homestays and many taxi drivers now refuse to pick up Americans.

Our sons and daughters in military have had to put up with this nonsense for decades, now Koreans target anyone with a U.S. passport.

So at least we still have the subway, right? Well I have been screamed at on the subway twice in the past few days for simply looking like an American.

The two Korean men who screamed at me were not demanding "a more equal partnership." They called me a murderer and told me to get the hell out of Korea.