But in one case, the perpetrator was an American high school student, who has been sent back to the United States, said U.S. Forces Korea spokesman Steve Oertwig. Last week, someone threw a firebomb over a fence at the base. It did no damage and police have no suspects, Oertwig said. Spring in Korea is a time when young men's thoughts often turn to clashing with riot police. Police arrested a group of students shouting anti-American slogans Wednesday in front of the embassy in the latest such melee.
Workers demanding higher pay, shorter working hours and better conditions sometimes join in.
Nobody in the US is thinking about Korea right now. It looks like things are building to the point where it could be front-page news next month. Must be a vacation. Police and protesters suddenly appear simultaneously in a few-block area, the demonstration occurs, usually a lot of noise but little actual violence, and then everyone disappears almost as suddenly, not unlike a sudden summer cloudburst. It's almost as if things were prearranged and carefully scripted.