What is the deal with this event?

http://www.vop.co.kr/new/view_total.html?serial=42688

Appartently a fire broke out in the cattle bin of, I think, one of the farmers that is the local leader of the anti-base movement.

Heaven only knows what could become of this - nothing or bunches.

And there are any number of scenerios I can come up with that are plausible with this that run the full spetrum....

There is nothing about it in the English news due to the holiday and the blogging community.

What about the Korean news????

What does this www.voiceofpeople.org article have to say? What tone? What good quotes?

Damn I wish I could learn Korean well.....

It is 4 AM here. I'll get something for you when my language specialist gets up.

The farmers don't have a chance anymore, or any large backers. It is really a done deal, just a few noisy folks. The govt. is too big for them. After they clean out the last remnants it will essentially be over.

The grandiose changes at Pyongtaek will not complete in two years, but it has started, and I believe it will eventually occur. Have you seen the nice propaganda "relocation video" at www.usfk.mil ?

This is all standard disident group propaganda. I don't have time to translate the whole thing, but here are the first several lines - the rest is just drama about how they tried to put the fire out and some (very flimsy) corroborating evidence:

김지태 대추리 이장 우사에 '원인모를 불'

'fire of unknown origin' at Kim Ji-tae's (Dae-chu-ri official) cattle stables

바로 옆의 경찰은 불구경만...주민들 '방화 아니냐'

The police just stood there watching the fire... locals are asking, 'is it arson?'

6일 오후 1시경 팽성대책위 김지태위원장의 우사에 방화로 추정되는 화재가 발생해 국방부의 강제집행으로 격앙된 주민에게 또 한번 큰 충격을 주고 있다.

At 1pm on the 6th, the local citizens, who've just been forcefully driven out by the Ministry of National Defense, receive another shock by what is presumed to be a case of arson at Realignment Committee Leader Kim Ji-tae's cattle stables.

김지태 위원장의 우사에서 원인 모를 화재가 일어났다. 주민들은 이번 화재를 경찰들의 소행이라고 믿고 있다. ⓒ민중의소리 정택용 기자

A fire of unknown origin broke out at Committee Leader Kim Ji-tae's cattle stables. The local citizens believe this is the work of the police. ⓒVoice of the People report Jung Taek-Yong.

(The evidence:)

당시 화재현장 바로 옆에는 경찰 차량 3대가 길을 막고 일반 차량의 통행을 금지하고 있었는데 주민들은 "비가 오는 날에 갑자기 불이 날 이유가 없다"며 "경찰측의 소행이 아니냐"며 분노하고 있다. 경찰측은 누전이 원인일 수 있다고 말했으나 주민들은 김 위원장의 건초창고에는 전기시설이 전혀 없다고 말했다.

At the time of the fire, there were three police vehicles blocking civilian traffic from using the road. The locals asked, "There just isn't any reason for a fire to all of a sudden break out like this on a rainy day." Angered, they're asking, "Did the police do it?" The police suggested it could have been caused by an electrical short, however, the locals said Committee Leader Kim's feed supply room didn't have any wiring.

주민들은 경찰들에게 같이 불을 끄자고 호소했지만 경찰들은 "우리 권한이 아니다"

The locals asked the police to help put out the fire, but the police said, "We don't have the authority to do that."

Thanks very much, and for others who have the means to help with Korean langauge stuff, this is EXACTLY the kind of thing I've been looking for ---

When I ask for help, I'm asking for someone with the ability to skim over an article or watch a short news clip or a specific time slot in a video.

If there is nothing interesting in it -- just say that.

That helps out perhaps better than anything, because I can plough through an article or TV news transcript on my own if I know it is worth it, but I just can't skim well enough to judge.

I usually end up only using one or two quotes from an item - just like I do when I pull something from the English language press.

Anyway ----- again ---- thanks a whole lot for the help......

Sir,

I strongly believe this is the Korean version of the Arson? story that appeared within the Stars & Stripes newspaper. I sent you the story and link a couple days ago.

I'll check, but I don't think so.

I think this was a fire yesterday or the day before, but wasn't the article you sent about the Yongsan fire some weeks ago?