Supporting friendsAt first glance, 26-year-old Kim Hyun-ji doesn’t seem like someone you’d find in an angry mob, screaming slogans and clashing with police.

Slightly built, and quick to smile, Kim said she began attending protests against the approved importation of U.S. beef into South Korea because she wanted to support her friends.

She said that she doesn’t believe that there is a danger of mad cow disease — a central argument from protesters.

The increasingly violent protests scared off her friends, but Kim was hooked. She said she was angry that her government won’t listen to its people, so she spent a chunk of the summer traveling three nights a week to protest.

She was quick to point out that the protests were no longer a social event for her.

"Fun? I’m a walking bruise," she said, explaining that she’d been hit by riot shields, clubs and fists and blasted with water cannons.

Recently graduated from a course in hotel management, Kim is unemployed and lives with her parents.

She said despite the danger, they support her decision to protest.

"My parents are worried … I may be injured critically," she said. "But my father believes what I am doing is the right thing to do for our nation."

Career crusaderSurrounded by shelves loaded with books, folded banners, craft supplies and photos from various protests, 48-year-old You Young-jae talks about reunifying the divided Koreas and kicking U.S. forces out of the country as if it could happen any minute.

Policy director for Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea, You is one of Korea’s professional protesters.

He’s protested the importation of U.S. beef, the status of forces agreement, the presence of the U.S. military in South Korea, the size of the South Korean military and a host of other causes. He’s been with the group for 14 years, though he’s been demonstrating for various causes since his days at Han Shin University.

You says he never intended to make a career out of protesting. "Is there anyone intend to become a professional protester from the first start?" he said. "The U.S. made me so."

But now he feels he must speak out.

Koreans, he says, are "furious" over injustices the U.S. has caused, and America’s indifference to the consequences.

He says he works 12-hour days, six days a week to reunify the two Koreas and kick U.S. troops out of the country.

He’s quick to add he doesn’t hate Americans, just the threat they pose to peace in South Korea.

You said he’s been arrested six times during protests — usually in connection with violence he says is driven by police — and has been fined sums up to 3 million Korean won.

Despite the difficulties, You said his wife and two children are very supportive of his work as a protester.

"You cannot be an activist without a supportive family," he said. "I only make enough to cover my personal expenses. My wife is the breadwinner and I’m deeply thankful to her."

Seeking justice in an apologyGil Won-ok has attended weekly protests outside the Japanese Embassy in Seoul for the last seven years.

The 81-year-old is what the Japanese called a "comfort woman" during their 1910-45 forced occupation of Korea. She was only 13 when Japanese soldiers took her from her home in Pyongyang and forced her into a life of sexual slavery.

By the time she was 14, she had contracted a sexually transmitted disease and a surgeon removed her fallopian tubes, leaving her unable to have children. She never married and remained separated from her family when the country was divided following World War II.

She said she spent her life working a series of menial jobs; she wants an apology from the Japanese government but doesn’t expect that to happen.

"The Japanese are just waiting for us to die," Gil said, explaining that the protest group’s original 230 members have dwindled to 97 due to death and infirmity brought on by old age. "This is the group’s 830th protest, and never once has any of the Japanese people from the embassy ever come out to see what’s going on."

She hopes her weekly protest will instead serve as a reminder to the rest of the world of what she and her comrades have endured.

"I am very ashamed to show my face in public," she said. "But we want to believe our appearance in public is helpful to let the rest of the world know what happened, so that it won’t happen again."