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Posted by thewesterngirl31 pts Wednesday, November 18, 2015

South Korean people hold largest anti-government protest since 2008

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The world has been swept up in the tragedy in Paris recently, but you should also know about the massive street protests that have been happening in South Korea. In fact, it's the largest anti-government protest in the country since 2008.


At least tens of thousands of people and up to hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to protest against current President Park Geun Hye and her new law reforms. They were protesting for her resignation from presidency. Police reports say around 60,000 people were protesting, while another source says 100,000 to 130,000 people were.


At least 30 people were reported to be injured during the protests, from tear gas and water cannons by police.


Here's a breakdown on some of the main reasons people are protesting:


1. The upcoming government-issued textbook that will be mandatory for middle and high schools starting in 2017. Park Geun Hye is the daughter of former President Park Chung Hee, who ruled with a military dictatorship back in the 60s and 70s before democracy began in South Korea. People think her father's dictatorship past will be brushed over and censored.


2. Jobs are going to be affected. People are not happy with upcoming policies where it will be easier to fire people, and the very high unemployment rate for recent grads.


3. Falling price of rice is negatively affecting farmers.


4. People say Park Geun Hye leaves the country every time there is a protest, and does not take enough action for national disasters, like the Sewol Ferry tragedy.


SEE ALSO: [INTERVIEW] Meet min.a, a Korean-American indie-pop artist on the rise


Those are the details of the protests in a nutshell. What are your thoughts?

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