본문
Just few hours ago Jerusalem Post(IL) reported following:
Israel's envoy to South Korea has expressed anger over a Nazi-themed bar in a Seoul suburb, a news report said Monday.
"I feel repulsed, outraged and disgusted," Ambassador Yigal Caspi was quoted as saying in the Korea Herald, which carried the diplomat's reaction in a front-page article about the drinking establishment.
The newspaper published neither the bar's name nor the municipality where it is located, saying it did not want to "give them any publicity."
The English-language paper said only that the bar is in a "northern city of Seoul." It published a photo of a red Nazi swastika it said adorns the establishment's entrance.
It also quoted the bar's unidentified owner as saying he chose the Nazi theme because "I wanted to be different."
Korea Herald's latest edition (10.9) - the f.. crazy story:
Nazi bar disturbs foreign community
Imagine this: The Nazi swastika hanging over a 20-something woman crying in disbelief over the horrible image that has appeared in her country.
No, this is not a scene from a new Hollywood movie and no, this is not an article revisiting the past; this is about a Nazi-themed bar/noraebang in a northern city of Seoul.
"I feel repulsed, outraged, and disgusted," said Israeli Ambassador Yigal Caspi. "Koreans, like Jews, suffered seriously during World War II and it is deplorable to see that some people are blatantly neglecting to understand the suffering of others."
Caspi's outrage is felt within the entire diplomatic community, both foreign and domestic.
From every part of the world, ambassadors have strongly condemned this bar in the harshest rhetoric, and, in a way, have unified the diplomatic corps to take strong action against this establishment. So as to not give them any publicity, the establishment and city in question will remain nameless in this article.
During an interview with The Korea Herald, the bar owner, who didn't want to be identified, said that he got the idea from watching World War II movies whereas the Nazis are characters in a movie.
The reason why he opened a bar with this theme was "I wanted to be different," the owner said.
"This is a part of European history and that's what we want to show," he added.
Yet, the question about celebrating an ideology that spewed hatred, inequality and ethnic cleansing in an establishment where people go to escape the hardships of life didn't come to mind for the owner.
"I never thought about it," he said.
Ukraine Ambassador Ukraine Yurii Mushka said: "This is not something you can play with. Fifty million people died. Nazi propaganda is condemned in a democratic and progressive world."
"All Nazi symbols have been prohibited by the Nuremberg trials all over the world. I can't believe that in a country like Korea it's allowed," Mushka added.
Slovakian Ambassador Pavel Hrmo, also stunned in disbelief, asked if this was legal.
According to Korean law, the bar owner is in full compliance with all rules and regulations.
The city in question confirmed that they do not have any bad-taste laws and that when one registers a business neither the Tax District Office and the Environmental Hygiene Division requires investigation into the specific nature of the registered business.
According to the Environmental Hygiene Division, the Nazi-theme bar in question is registered with City Hall and there have been no complaints filed.
But standing outside this downtown bar on a busy Saturday night one cannot miss the disgust in many people's faces upon seeing the sign.
Arian, a Filipino worker stood there in shock asking, "Does the owner know that Hitler considered Asians inferior?"
"I never thought about that," said the owner.
Finnish Ambassador Kim Luotonen said, "I can't understand this, maybe if he didn't read the history then it would be one thing."
Inside the bar there is a large famous poster of a Nazi soldier pointing a rifle. The picture has been cropped. The original shows a Jewish boy in tears on the other end of that rifle.
"There is no excuse for this, not only in Europe but anywhere in the world," said Bulgarian Ambassador Alexander Savov while expressing his outrage.
This is not the first time a Nazi-themed bar has reared its ugly head in the land of the morning calm.
In 2002, before the World Cup kicked off, Seoul City Hall and the Embassies of Israel and Germany visited the owner of a similar establishment to explain to him about the embarrassment a bar of this kind would bring to Korea. He changed his bar's theme.
There are also rumors of one in Busan.
The bar owner has refused to call back The Korea Herald for a follow-up interview to clarify some of his responses.
Response from the German and Israeli Embassies and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was quick. All are looking for ways to have the owner change the theme to something more tasteful.
"But first and most of all, I hope the Korean public see the imprudent act of the bar owner and react against it to force him to take down all the Nazi memorabilia," Caspi said.
최근 덧글 목록