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Two days ago the (bourgeois) Korea Times published the following feature, regarding the planned so-called "redevelopment" project in Myeong-dong (downtown Seoul):

   A Tibetan activist is preparing to protest against a development company in Myeong-dong, central Seoul after being told to vacate his popular family-run restaurant.

D.P. Lama, better known locally as “Minsu,” said he and other tenants in the area would protest if the Myeong-dong Special Development Company attempts to evict them by force.

Their protests would coincide with ongoing actions waged by already-evicted tenants and activists in the redevelopment zone. It is also the latest chapter in an ongoing, sometimes volatile debate over tenants’ rights.

“I can’t stop the builders,” Minsu said. “What I am talking about is this system that basically leaves people to die. It needs to be changed to give tenants some rights.”

Any protest by the well-known human rights activist is likely to draw keen attention given the popularity of his Potala restaurant, a bastion for Tibetan culture here.

The controversy began in April, when tenants north of Myeong-dong Cathedral ― mostly small businesses ― were told to evacuate by May.

Activists said the development company negotiated directly with landlords, leaving the store owners with no recourse. Some tenants have been compensated to leave, they said.

The area has been divided into several zones, three of which are currently or anticipated to be sites of protests.

The developers moved first into Zone 3, serving a final notice before hired hands blocked the tenants from entering and in some cases removing furniture. Potala is located in Zone 2.

Out of some 40 stores in Zone 3, 11 began to get organized, setting up a small base on the street after altercations with the hired hands.

Spurred by the recent success of a similar campaign, the tenants began squatting in one of the evacuated businesses. Students now squat there around the clock and are demanding better compensation for the businesses.

In June, a small noodle shop in Western Seoul called Duriban won compensation from a construction company after its campaign won support from thousands of citizens.

Protests urging strengthened measures to protect tenants and denouncing the use of intimidation are not new to Korea.

In 2009, five tenants and one policeman were killed in Yongsan, central Seoul, during a violent clash when authorities tried to forcibly evict them from a building which was set to be demolished due to redevelopment plans.

    A personal battle    

Minsu said his business has yet to be seriously affected, but that the development company could move in sometime next month. He stands to take a big loss if evicted.

“I’ve been here for three years and, until now, have struggled to make the business successful,” he said. “I was just beginning to pay back loans when the notice from the developers came.”

But for the Tibetan and his wife, a Korean who co-runs the restaurant, the struggle goes beyond the financial. In 1986, his father-in-law was fired for trying to unionize his workplace in Busan, forced to take up street vending. But authorities harassed him as part of a crackdown on street hawkers, Minsu said.

The vendor committed suicide in 1989 to protest the system of crackdowns and intimidation, after writing a letter to President Roh Tae-woo calling for change.

Decades later, he won compensation from the government for contributing to the cause of democracy. But Minsu said his struggle continues.

“It’s been 25 years and still the system hasn’t changed. Now his daughter is in the same position,” he said.

It is also putting a risk at the restaurant that has become a resource for those seeking information on Tibetan human rights issues, a cause Minsu has fought for since arriving here.

The activist warned people not to take the tenants lightly.

“This is not only about my restaurant. This is a problem for all of Korea,” he said. “It’s time for the country to start developing its system for poor people. Otherwise, next time, it could be you.”   

     http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2011/07/139_91687.html