According to Han Ki Chul, director of the Emerging Technologies Research Institute, over 70% of the 22 million South Koreans has a 3G mobile phone, which given the number of elderly and young children in the population, “means that everyone who could have a phone, has one.” While some have highlighted the purely economic consequences of this development in terms of market accessibility, there are also important political consequences in terms of the ease at which people can collectively organize. These recent protests are compelling evidence of the role that these technologies can have in allowing for political expression and causing mass social unrest. As Kim explains, “We have a website where everyone can join and read posts of others. So if one guy posts ‘I want to protest against the government’ then other people might reply, and the more people who reply, the more popular the post gets. Then at a certain size, people can send text messages to one another all over the country about where to protest and when.”

This is precisely how the beef protest snowballed from the concern of a few students to inspire hundreds of thousands to demonstrate, especially in the wake of government efforts to quell the dissent without addressing the problem. As the centralized membership of those concerned about beef grew through this forum (Kim informed me that these forums are popularly referred to as “agoras”, hearkening back to the Greek tradition of public rhetoric) they formed coalitions with groups protesting about other issues, where many who were member of one group would also join the others.

This explains the heterogeneous make-up of the protesters and their ability to draw such massive numbers with relatively little organization and planning. However, it also means that it is hard to tell how much of the protests are really about beef. Kim Tae-jong from the Korea Times explains: “Organizers are seemingly unable to control what those attending the candlelight vigils say during the protests. Doctors, pharmacists, nurses and dentists demanded the government scrap its plan to privatize public medical insurance. Students and teachers denounced the new education policies that put greater emphasis on English immerging methods. Basically, the coalition takes a stance that it will not attempt to control the slogans of various civic groups but their ultimate goal is the renegotiation of the beef deal.” (“Protesters Want U.S. Beef Safety” 6/14/08)

… the Lee Administration’s approval rating has fallen to 17%, his entire cabinet has offered to resign, he has publicly apologized for the April beef deal, fired all but one of his top aides, and renegotiated the deal to meet the protesters demands, over U.S. objections.

According to Cheewoo Kim, it is college students that are the core of the protesters energy and organization through a new type of political self-awareness that emerged in the wake of Seoul’s hosting of the 2002 World Cup. “Everyone came out with red T-shirts, young and old. We felt proud of being Korean, and [of being] powerful. Korean people are aware of how much power they have now.” Since late April when the Korean government began using water hoses against the protesters, backlash has been feeding a re-emergence of this political self-awareness of democratic ‘power in numbers’. The protesters are not angry, but exalted. Kim’s description gives the demonstrations a carnival atmosphere: music plays, there is dancing and drinking and conversing about important Korean issues late into the night as those present revel in their national solidarity. As Kim puts it, face beaming with pride: “Communication lets people know that they have the power to change their country.”

This power is no mere aphorism or empty slogan. As the crisis has dragged on, the Lee Administration’s approval rating has fallen to 17%, his entire cabinet has offered to resign, he has publicly apologized for the April beef deal, fired all but one of his top aides, and renegotiated the deal to meet the protesters demands, over U.S. objections. And still the protests continue. (“S. Korea, U.S. agree on beef deal; protests continue” Associated Press, 6/22/08)

The “thumb revolution” in mobile technology has certainly demonstrated its ability to act as a mechanism for political self-organization among disparate groups and individuals. However, it remains to be seen if there are any brakes built into such a mechanism, or if these protests will persist indefinitely, evolving into a new political organ or simply taxing the economy of South Korea to a standstill. We can only hope that the potential for the political empowerment that these technologies represent will carry the day.