Hwalbindan

Hwalbindan File:Hwalbindan.png Full Name: Hwalbindan Alias: Hwalbindan Origin: South Korea Foundation: April, 1998 headquarters None Commanders: Hong Jung-sik Goals: Get Japan to acknowledge that Takeshima and Tsushima are South Korean territory Eliminate everything related to Japan from Korea (All failed) Crimes: Racism Blackmail Harassment Raiding Defamation Hate Speech Anti-Japanese sentiment Type of Villain: Radical Patriots

“	The Emperor's Saipan memorial service is a brutal and vicious desecration of the affected people. Japan's far-right leaders, who are trying to seduce the emperor into reviving militarism, should commit suicide by throwing themselves at Banzai Cliff as a sign of atonement.	„
	~ Statement of denunciation issued by Hwalbindan on the Emperor's visit to Saipan Island

Hwalbindan is a far-right organization in South Korea that engages in radical anti-Japanese activities and political campaign. Although the group has been active since 1998, their many racist activities have been seen as a problem in the country, and only the leader, Hong Jung-sik, is currently involved in the movement.

The behavior and existence of the group is similar to some group of Uyoku dantai.

Biography

Hwalbindan's main activities are to denounce corruption in public institutions, government, and police, and to campaign against Japan. However, many of the claims made in the campaign against Japan are ridiculous, and discriminatory and violent remarks against the Japanese are prominent. In addition, the content of the movement is often such that it denigrates political figures, and often send blasphemous gifts to controversial groups and people. Also, for an appeal to the media, the group cause trouble such as threw salt in public places, threw chili powder at people, and ran out into the street.

Most of the members of Hwalbindan were people who lost their jobs or failed in their businesses due to the currency crisis, and the operating funds used to be spend by Hong Jung-sik. However, as time went by, the membership continued to decline. Hwalbindan has opened several branches, but the only branches currently functioning are in Gangwon-do, Ulsan, and Incheon.

Controversial actions

On April 9, 2001, a shipment of daggers, miso balls, red pepper powder, and scrubbing towels was sent from the international post office in Seoul to the Japanese Emperor, Prime Minister and President of the Liberal Democratic Party. The dagger is said to have meant "Korean rage," the miso ball "dislike for Japan's friendly policy toward Korea," the red pepper powder "historical distortions that hinder peaceful coexistence in Northeast Asia," and the scrubbing towel "eliminate militarism from the Japan.

In 2004, at a large map exhibition held in Europe, sponsored by Canon, the maps displayed included the notation of "Sea of Japan" and "Japanese territory of Takeshima", prompting a boycott of the LG Group, which imports and sells Canon products.

On January 16 of same year, "The Nature of Takeshima", a book about Takeshima is released in Korea. On the day of its release, one of the Hwalbindan bought it and sent it to Junichiro Koizumi under the name of the nephew of Yun Bong-gil, the man who carried out the indiscriminate bombing in Shanghai.

On March 15, 2005, in response to the then Japanese ambassador to Korea's comments on Takeshima, several citizens' groups held a late-night demonstration in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul, cut off fingers, and threw 30 paper airplanes with the slogan "Japan must immediately suspend its distortion of history" into the Japanese embassy. Taking advantage of this, Hwalbindan participated in the midnight demonstration, and the next day Jeong-sik tried to commit suicide, but was stopped by the police.

On October 17 of the same year, in protest against Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, a package containing cow dung was sent to the Japanese Embassy.

On March 1, 2006, a group of 10 people visited Japan under the guise of sightseeing and held an unauthorized demonstration in the square in front of the National Diet Building. In doing so, they violated the law by taking photos inside the Diet building. That evening, three police officers from the Public Security Department of the Metropolitan Police Department visited them at the hotel where they were staying and asked them to remove the images they had already posted on Hwalbindan's website, and Jung-sik responded by criticizing the Japanese government's handling of the demonstration. However, he finally accepted the police warning and removed the images.

In July of same year, the group was interviewed by the South Korean news website News Town, and during the interview, Jung-sik declared that the group would effectively launch simultaneous terrorist attacks against Japan. The group had previously made statements in front of several media outlets that implied terrorism against Japan, and it is believed that the content had been planned for some time.

On March 21, 2007, Hwalbindan climbed up to the roof of the security office next to the Japanese Embassy in Seoul without permission and held a demonstration on the comfort women issue. Those who participated in the demonstration were seized by security policemen, and Jung-sik was also arrested for demonstrating in front of the embassy without permission.