Riot police near Yongsan Garrison take up positions outside subway entrances in preparation for anticipated protests prior to a visit by President Bush in August. (Jimmy Norris / Stars and Stripes file photo)
SEOUL — You see them so often that you don’t even notice them anymore; they’re just part of the background.
South Korean riot police, clad in dark blue uniforms, stand guard outside nearly every U.S. military installation across the peninsula.
And they’re also on the front lines of nearly every planned protest in South Korea, bearing the brunt of the rage when demonstrations turn violent.
This summer, more than 480,000 riot police were mobilized for a heavier-than-normal protest season, thanks mainly to the demonstrations against U.S. beef. Their ranks are filled with young South Korean men who are fulfilling their mandatory two-year national service in the police instead of in the South Korean military.
Former riot policeman Lee Shin-hwi said he spent those two years in daily fear.
Lee did his government service between 2004 and 2006. He usually worked in Seoul, but was dispatched to other cities including Pyeongtaek during protests against U.S. military expansion there.
"Bruises, scratches, blood squirting from open wounds or stitches — riot police do not see them as injuries," he said. "When you cannot stand up and walk, that’s when we see one as injured. When you are injured, you feel very sorry to your fellow riot police, because my absence is affecting our company."
He said injuries were very common, and he spent three months in a hospital after a man crushed his ankle with an iron pipe during a protest in Ulsan. He said he had to stay in a civilian hospital because the police hospital was already overflowing with patients.
In another incident, a chunk of flesh was ripped from his finger while he was working at a protest in his hometown of Daegu.
The incident was made worse, he said, because his mother happened across him as he was nursing the bloody wound.
"My mom cried so bitterly holding my bloody hand," he said. "She shed lots of tears and I felt very sorry and guilty that she had seen it."
Worse than the individual protesters, Lee said, are the "instigators," who stir others to violence with "inflammatory and demagogic speeches."
"When it’s time for the really violent scuffles, they are never seen at the site," he said of the instigators. "They’re already long gone, never an active part of the war they started — very bad guys."
Lee said he was given three days off every two months to recuperate. He said injuries and fatigue, coupled with a long trip home from Seoul, made the amount of time off inadequate.
He said his fellow riot police officers spent their time wishing for more sleep and better food.
Two years after the end of his service, Lee said he still suffers from the injuries he sustained at the hands of rioters, and cannot participate in many of the outdoor activities he once enjoyed; even standing or walking for extended periods of time is painful.
He advises young Korean men to opt for normal military service before volunteering for the riot police.
As for those who aren’t given the choice, "you should blame it on your bad luck, consider yourself dead for two years."
Korean National Police officials turned down interview requests with Stripes.
