All the Best to Matt Lamers

There has been a lot going on in Seoul lately. In the midst of all it, I have been trying to stay positive. Of course, it is not always easy to do so. I would like to mention the sad story of an attack on a memeber of the staff of the poular English language paper, the Korean Herald. I mention it not to portray Seoul negatively, as there are many sweet and genrous people in Seoul. I mention it because I am very impressed by the maturity and positive attitude of Matt Lamers. It is very easy to grow cynical and isolated in a foreign country with vast cultural differences. Kudos to Matt Lamers that he can separate a few isolated aggressors from an entire, foreign culture.
Matt Lamers was attacked by three young men and slashed with a beer bottle in Hongdae (an area of full of university students, hofs (bars), and dance clubs) last weekend. Since Mr. Lamers is the best source of what happened, here is an excerpt from the first person account he wrote and posted on a local message board about it. He writes...
"The unprovoked attack took place around midnight in a park in Hongdae. And there were three attackers...My colleague and I were sitting on a park bench talking amongst ourselves, not loudly, when a trio of college-aged men sat across from us and said: “I speak English. Are you ready to die? We are going to kill you tonight.” They said that a few times and we ignored them completely. It’s not the first time someone had told me they planned to kill me; we assumed it was just drunk kids and thought they’d go away if we didn’t pay them any attention. But then the talker got up and came at me -- I stood up -- and he pushed me. I pushed him back. After he got up and brushed himself off, he grabbed a beer bottle, smashed it, and lunged at me. I moved my arm up reflexively and got a bottle jammed straight into my forearm arm. Then the three of them ran like hell. I was bleeding profusely and I am certain my colleague did the right thing in helping me out instead of chasing them down. It all happened in a matter of under five minutes. It took three taxis to get to a hospital, and when we got there they said I needed surgery and they didn’t have a surgeon on duty, so they sent us in an ambulance to another hospital. The muscle in my forearm was almost cut in half and after surgery it took 42 stitches to seal it up. Why didn’t I call the police and why do I feel lucky? Simple. I could have easily been killed but I am relatively fine now. I feel lucky. I only missed two days of work and the stitches are already out. I didn’t call the police because I wasn’t sober at the time, and we all know that most of the police in Korea are useless. Also, there is close to a zero percent chance that the three men could be caught. In reading over this message board, however, I was thinking it over and I decided to contact the police. Some of you made some really good points, and I think that in a situation like this, it is the right thing to do to tell the police. I do not want to set a bad example for other expats in Korea. We all have our opinions of the police here, nevertheless, they have a job they are expected to do -- and the moment we do not expect them to protect us from injustices, there is no hope at all. And that will lead to a hopelessly cynical life. If expats do not report crimes committed against them, especially those committed on the grounds of racism, there is no hope for change. Not reporting crimes makes it impossible to facilitate change because if people do not report crimes to the police -- just because they think the police will do nothing -- the police will only ever do nothing because there will never be any pressure from media or society for them to act. Justice and the police in Korea need to change, and if crimes go unreported, agents of change will blocked from making progress. Some personal thoughts: Although it was completely unprovoked, blatant racism, it was an isolated incident. I know some will disagree with me on this point, but to each his own. Korea is not a racist country, at least compared to Canada (where I’m from). What happened to me could have happened to anyone, in any country, so there is no reason to get ourselves worked up about it. I am not angry. I do not I hold “Korea” responsible. I do not hold any grudges (except for the attackers). It may or may not have been related to the beef protests. But who knows? Be careful, play safe, and if you find yourself in a situation like I was, the most important thing to protect is your health. And report it to the police (when you feel it is safe for you to do so). Consider reporting it to the media. We all have our different priorities. Mine is my and my family’s health and safety. Let’s keep the discourse respectable. Let’s not generalize when it’s unnecessary. Cynicism blocks progress."
Well written. It is east to get cynical in the face of the recent protests, but I think Mr. Lamers finishes on the right note.
A few crazy people, or violent people, don't represent a nation. Progress can be slow, but I hope it will come.