A 'Nightly Dance' in So. Korea -- Where's the Beef?

SEOUL, South Korea, Aug. 5, 2008— -- President Bush came to South Korea and never saw the thousands of residents who took to the streets here to protest his visit. But then, they protest every night, and we nearly got caught up in the scuffle between police and protestors.

Tuesday night there were signs about the Iraq war. But these nightly protests started three months ago over the resumption of U.S. beef imports into South Korea. This was the third largest market for American beef exporters until 2003 when a mad cow disease case shut down all imports. It took years of negotiations until the new conservative South Korean president, looking for a broader trade deal with the U.S., agreed to allow shipments of beef to resume. One protestor called the deal, "a present for George Bush."

The anger with their leader and worry about meat safety brings thousands to the streets every night. It is a dance of sorts. The protestors occupy a square. Police use buses to close off surrounding streets. Officers in their riot gear line up 20 wide and 5 deep. The dance begins. Both sides chant; the police to give directions to their fellow officers, the protestors to taunt the police. We watch as police back up three steps at a time. The protestors moved forward. I watch one man hurl something toward the officers.

What made this scene so surreal is that two blocks away, we had just left a "Welcome President Bush" celebration at Seoul's City Hall. Thousands sitting in chairs or on the ground listened to songs and speakers, waving American and Republic of Korea flags. Hundreds of South Korean military veterans, in uniform, gathered near the stage. They went home as the protest was starting just up the street.

Back up at the standoff, an American approaches me and tells me he is a journalist. He wants to make sure that I know that the protestors made the first move, throwing bottles at police.

We are talking just around the corner where thousands of peaceful protestors sit and listen to speakers rail against the government and their president. They seem oblivious to what is going on just a couple hundred yards away. The daylight fades, and the candles come out for the nightly vigil.

We walk back to the dance. It's dark now and the tension is higher. All of a sudden, police are on the move. Darting into the crowd, they grab protestors by their arms, clothes, anything they can grab. Charlie, our cameraman, is in the middle of it. As he points his 20-pound camera at a protestor, I can see that he's going to be blindsided in a second by an officer. There is nothing I can do but watch as the officer rams into him. Charlie does a quick 360. The weight of the camera on his shoulder knocks him off balance. He nearly loses his camera, but saves it from slamming into the ground. Police are now looking for anyone to grab. We decide it's time to move, but the police won't let us by. We finally slip along the edge of the police line and their shields.

The nightly dance continues as we walk away.