Bulls on Parade, a photo from Seoul, North

Photographer's Note

one of the things that struck me as different in Korea was the amount of police and military and how heavily armed they were compared to Japan. Also the average cop seemed to look a bit younger than the average cop I see in Tokyo. This I would imagine is to be expected as military service is requiered in ROK and Korea is after all technicaly still at war... technicaly... With a real DMZ just about 45 minutes up the road from Seoul cops and military on the street are not uncommon (US military are also everywhere in Seoul but generaly not in uniform on the streets except for MPs patroling some of the military hang outs such as Itewan and even then they are accompanied by korean police)

Outside one of the palaces in Seoul were a few police buses lined up in a row. I have no idea where these cops were comming from or going to but they all started to get on baord the bus. I snaped off a few frames and got one of just one of the cops giving me a "what are you doing" look as he was boarding the bus.

You will also notice that they have riot gear as well. vests and sheilds. Protests are pretty common in Korea it seems as well so Ill take a guess that these police might be preparing to control an anti war demonstration (the war with Iraq started while I was in Korea... yes the date of the photo might be wrong I know)

Yngo has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

mitternacht (1839) 2004-01-04 9:04

Well seen and captured. Good note. It would be nice though if the policeman looking at you had been more visible - nothing to about it now and probably not back then either.

Curioso (9271) 2004-01-04 9:08

Interesting framing. This pack of policemen is really impressive. Your shot embodies quite well the pressure of these guys waiting to go up the bus.

Really interesting picture and note.

souyas (385) 2004-01-04 9:35

It is a forcible shot. Their feeling of coercion is transmitted. Surely, they look young. Probably, youth has another power again. (The left to the 5th male) has glared at the camera. I was impressed by the strength of the look!

Eagle78 (1933) 2004-01-04 10:02

Great capture! With your note this is a picture that gives us the impressive sensations you just described! Great job!!!

Schultzy (5446) 2004-01-04 14:13

Cliché "sur le vif" très intéressant. Mise au point parfaite. Notez le regard très expressif du 5° policier à partir de la gauche qui semble vous avoir vu !

davlee (143) 2004-01-18 23:02

Interesting framing. Good documentary shot.

If it's near the palace I think it is, the reason why they're there is because the US embassy - a favourite target for protesters - is right around the corner. There's always a strong riot police presence there, even when there's no protest scheduled.

Jason_teale (717) 2006-03-21 20:23

Good shot! I like the framing. I will clear up some confusion about the cops here in Korea. I can bet that the place with most of the Riot cops was down from Kyungbukgang Palace and that it was probably in front of the US Embassy {just guessing)Gaurd troops like that are usually station out there due to protests to certain things that have happened in the past. Elsewhere in Korea the police are usually really young like maybe 20 and never carry any weapons beyond a small club or a whistle. It looks intense in Seoul but with the amount of armed forces up there and the close proximity to The border... well they have their reasons I guess... good pic though!