There are two large pro-U.S. rallies to take place on 11 December 05. These demonstrators will be countering the recent anti-U.S. protests that have taken place in Pyongtaek. They will both be 2,000+ person rallies. It is still recommended that All U.S. military avoid these demonstrations even though they are pro-U.S.

The one in Songtan will be at the Sing Jang shopping area just outside the Osan Air Base main gate. The other one will be located at the Pyongtaek train station near Camp Humphreys.

What do the Koreans generally say about Americans at a Pro-US demo?

I imagine they discuss what would happen if there was no US presence...is it like "...the North will invade", "...economy will sink", ...stuff like that?

Never thought about it. I've never known of a PRO US rally before. We'll probably hear from USinKorea on this one. It sounds like a good idea at first look, but should bring a few hecklers from the other side.
The farmers who stand to lose their land and livelihood due to the Korean Government's request that we move out of Yongsan, (which evolved into the mistaken notion that the US is taking their land), has taken a very serious turn.
I predict that the farmers will get a lot of sympathy and support if the compensation for their losses is insufficient for them to continue a lifestyle at least equal to what they now enjoy. I predict that we will continue to take unfair blame for the ensuing battle between the Korean Government and the hapless farmers. Hopefully, a lot of the money the Korean Government plans to spend will go for fair compensation. But, there is precedent which shows no such fairness in the past. It could become a big problem for the incumbent party in the next election.

Yeah, I wasn't expecting to see an "I Love USA!" sign or any "Thank you" notes being held up in the protests. These protests are like an endless cycle. You're right...the blame will be pinned in our direction as usual. I'm beginning to think the Koreans only protest against the US just so they have 'someone else' to blame; someone who won't talk back.

How about the Koreans who protested to protect the General MacArthur statue? Did that, too, lead to the economic effects of the US departing Korea?

At the small pro-rallies that number several hundred to a couple of thousand, you do find very pro-US people --- usually veterans who are often rather rabidly pro-US-SK alliance.

And generally people over 50 who have memories of the Korean War or even of the occupation by Japan and who remember how desperately poor Korea was in the 1950s and 1960s. But, those generations are moving off the scene now, and those "younger generations" everyone has been saying for a couple of decades the anti-US culture is limited to have now reached ages of 40+.

In the larger pro-US demonstrations, the largest of which a year or two ago matched the tens of thousands in Seoul of the anti-US orgy of 2002-2003, have a lot of church group members and a lot of people who think along the lines you guys mentioned ---- people who don't necessarily respect the allliance, but fear losing it.

The problem with the bulk of Korean society is that they are the same --- they like feeling better about Korean society by believing the worse of its relationship with the US (and others). Whether it is GI Crimes, USFK Environmental Crimes, Pushing the Government Around, and so on, the general thought among the people is not different from the general claims of the rabid anti-US groups.

The difference between the two is that the dedicated activists really the absolute worst about the US in Korea --- like at the Kwangju Massacre or Nogunri --- and really believe South Korea would be better and would have been better without the US in Korea, and they really do want USFK out now.

The average Korean, on the other hand, just likes to pretend to believe the very worst and does believe the general idea that the US has been a negative force in Korea ---- but they will admit the positives if pressed.

Basically the average Korean views USFK and the US relationship as a necessary evil, though they would waver on the "evil" part and drop it to "just pretty bad" while the activists really believe the US in Korea is absolutely evil and must be kicked out now.

I actually was downtown in the shopping mall when this PRO US rally was going on. It was pretty cool to see so many Koreans with both US and Korean flags in their hands. I didn't understand what they were saying, but there was a speaker who would say something very enthusiastically and then the crowd would cheer and wave their flags. There was also a large banner that said something to the effect of "We appriciate our US Soldiers who dedicate their lives to our freedom."

Definitely a refreshing scene in the face of so much anti-US talk in Korea.

I happened to be in Songtan last weekend. As I went to Songtan Metro Station I saw a large amount of Korean Veterans getting off the train to attend the Pro US rally. What bothers me is you will not hear anything about this in the media, but you will hear about anti-US demonstrations.

I was around that day, but my camera died on me. There are still a few banners up and I will try to take a few pics today or tomorrow.

What I noticed is most of the supporters at the rally were well over 50 years old. I have a feeling the U.S. will not be in Korea 15 years from now as the U.S. supports die off (not trying to be mean) and the youth coninue to take over. You can already see the effects from the last two ROK presidents. From what I understand the Interior Ministor and the Seoul Mayor are the leading canidates to become the next ROK president and they are not Pro-US.

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If it does get to the point where we are asked to leave the ROK, what do you think the effects will be, both economically and politically? Is the ROK military ready to defend itself?

There was a long discussion on that subject in the General Discussion area...I think it went 9 pages or so. I read into it for a while but it seemed to have gotten a little carried away. http://forums.usfkclassifieds.com/showthread.php?t=52