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Soldier statue prompts Korean culture clash

A bronze statue of Douglas MacArthur looks over South Korea`s bustling Inchon harbor, a reminder of the American general`s role in driving back North Korean forces in 1950. These days, however, the statue has become a touchstone for an intergenerational conflict about the role of America in modern-day South Korea.

Young radical leftists have led assaults on the 15-foot-tall statue, meeting resistance from South Korean military veterans - some of whom show up wearing military uniforms or civilian garb with medals, ribbons, and old unit insignia. The protest has been building for more than a year and is likely to intensify around Sept. 15, the 55th anniversary of the Inchon landing. The struggle reflects in microcosm a gulf between older-generation Korean conservatives, who remember MacArthur as a hero who saved the South from communism, and younger Koreans pushing for reconciliation with the North.

The complaints of the antistatue activists show how deeply many Koreans resent the presence of US troops. Leftists deny disloyalty to South Korean leaders as the South pursues reconciliation with the North. In fact, they say the protest against the statue supports government policy - and view it as a symbol of much more strenuous demands for US troops to leave South Korea altogether. For Korean War veterans, any affront to the statue is a national disgrace, stirring the passions of patriotism that match the leftist convictions in intensity.