South Korea's Chinese unfurl pride as Olympic torch passes

Flag-waving youths flooded Seoul Sunday, outnumbering North Korea and Tibet protesters.

from the April 28, 2008 edition

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Tibetan refugees were also in a minority, shouting anti-Chinese slogans at the Chinese as they faced off from opposite sides of a main street in central Seoul.

Chinese demonstrators erupted in cheers of "Go China" and "China, China, China" as they rushed down the avenues leading into the City Hall square.

Demonstrators said they had bought their own flags. "Do you think we got these from our embassy," asked a young man who said he worked for a nearby company. "It is all spontaneous."

Rally workers, however, were handing out flags along with signs and T-shirts, and buses were seen carrying Chinese from far outside the city. Police estimated that as many as 8,000 Chinese joined the demonstration, equaling the number of police officers on the scene.

No Chinese officials were visible, and the Chinese embassy offered no comment.

Some critics say they suspect it did play a role. At the least, "there was meticulous planning," says Tim Peters, director of Helping Hands Korea, an organization that provides assistance to North Korean refugees.

The 15-mile torch relay, accompanied by bicyclists and policemen on horses, took more than four hours to reach City Hall. There, Chinese and Korean songs wafted from loudspeakers on either side of an enormous stage, the Olympic flame burned brightly, and dancers ran through spirited routines.

The atmosphere in the evening was festive, though the audience, largely Chinese, remained silent when Korean performers shouted "Daehan Minguk," a patriotic term for Korea.

"I didn't know there were so many Chinese studying and working in Korea," says Chang Sung Eun, an office worker. "They looked quite serious and fierce. It wasn't a really pleasant scene. They were cheering, but it was much more than that. They were showing off their power."

Next stop: North Korea

Late yesterday, the torch arrived at the truce village of Panmunjom, on the line between North and South Korea. Tens of thousands of North Koreans were expected Monday to line the streets of Pyongyang, cheering the torch at every step of the way through the North Korean capital, the first time it has ever been seen there.

The country's official Korean Central News Agency, defending China's position on Tibet, has said North Korea guarantees "no demonstrations."

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