The Governor of Jeju Island Is In Hot Water Yet Again

The governor of Jeju Island is in hot water again. Gov. Kim Tae Hwan is facing yet another group of pissed off residents. Sometimes I really feel sorry for the guy. No matter what he does, he ends up pissing somebody off. O.K. I don't really feel sorry for him, but I do get a laugh from time to time at his expense.

The Governor seems to be a real polarizing figure. People either love him or love to hate him. Depending on who you talk to, Governor Kim is either the biggest SOB God ever created or "He will help Jeju Island develop."

Right after he was elected he became the target of some sore losers (ie. "civic groups) who accused him of violating election law and other such things. It was big news for about a week, then it "went away." It's amazing how things "go away" in Korea...

Now, the Governor is back in the news again because of pissed off "civic groups." This time because the navy base project on Jeju got the go ahead. This guy just can't win. This time petitions have been filed to have a recall vote in hopes of removing him from office.

Adding to his problems is the fact that he received an endorsement from the current President of Korea, Lee Myung Bak, who is not exactly "Mr. Popularity" himself.

So we'll see how this plays out. If anything it will be entertaining. You can read about all the goings on in the Korea Times.

Watching Korean politics is fun. Most of my students are better behaved than many of the elected officials I have seen on the news in recent months. But, I do have to say there is considerably less shoe throwing, spitting, biting, fire extinguisher discharging, crying, hair pulling, screaming, punching, kicking, stripping (yes, stripping), book throwing, and snot flinging in Jeju than in Seoul. Relatively speaking, Jeju is an island of stability - other than cussing and death threats, that is.

Whenever reading about "civic groups," don't let the term fool you. Just remember that any unemployed momma's boy with a computer can set up a small cafe on Daum or Naver and call himself a "civic group." In all actuality, the term is meaningless. But it sounds so good to the uninformed.

So, Governor Kim, have fun and keep your head up. When it gets really bad and you can't see anything but dark days ahead, take heart. Remember that it could be worse. Your name could be Bush or Cheney.....