Park Jung-geun (Korean pronunciation: [pak t͈ɕʌŋɡɯn]) is a South Korean photographer. He received a suspended 10-month prison term for violating South Korean National Security Law by resending North Korean tweets.[2][3]
Park Jung-geun | |
|---|---|
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 박정근 |
| Hanja | 朴正根 |
| Revised Romanization | Bak Jeong-geun |
| McCune–Reischauer | Pak Jŏng'gŭn |
 Park Jung-geun in 2012 | |
| Born | March 18, 1988 |
| Nationality | South Korean |
| Occupation(s) | Indie musician, photographer |
| Organization(s) | Bissantrophy Records (2005–) Jarip Musician Union (2010–) |
| Political party | labor Party (2013–) New Progressive Party (2013) Socialist Party (2010–2013) |
| Awards | Face of the Year Award (2012)[1] |
He claimed that the Twitter posts he made that were used to convict him were sarcastic, and that the case built against him selected only certain tweets that made him look bad.[4][5] Others have called his tweets satire.[6]
He was eventually acquitted.[7]
Amnesty International criticised his arrest and pointed out that although he was a socialist, he was not a supporter of North Korea.[8] Park also criticised the National Security Act, calling it "an old-fashioned draconian law that mentions DEATH EIGHT TIMES".[9]
Park has been connected with various activist causes, such as the eviction protest at Duriban restaurant in Hongdae, an evictee protest in Poi-dong, a "Halve College Tuition" protest, a strike by cleaners at Hongik University, and participated in an illegal protest against layoffs at Hanjin Heavy Industries.[10]
He is also a notable figure from the Korean punk scene, having run the label Bissantrophy[11] which was active from 2005 to 2014.[12] His label was affiliated with Bamseom Pirates and he appeared in the documentary Bamseom Pirates Seoul Inferno. His photo studio in Chungmuro was also used as a live music venue for several years, known colloquially as Jarip HQ.[13]
In 2012, 10 music groups in South Korea created the punk performance piece “North Korean Punk Rocker Rhee Sung-wung, ”telling the life story of a fictional North Korean punk, at Art Sonje Center, which was a thinly veiled criticism of South Korea's persecution of Park.[14][15]
References edit
- ^ Indie Forum (2012-05-21). 인디포럼2012 '올해의 얼굴'상, 박정근 [Park Jung-geun, Face of the Year Award by Indie Forum 2012] (in Korean). Retrieved 2014-03-31.
- ^ South Korean Gets Suspended Sentence in Twitter Case [1] by New York Times
- ^ South Korean 'joke' may lead to prison [2] by CNN
- ^ Park, Jung-geun (4 February 2012). "Park Jung-geun's Letter from Jail". Broke in Korea (14): 20.
- ^ Glionna, John (5 February 2012). "South Korea security law is used to silence dissent, critics say". Retrieved 7 July 2021.
- ^ Pearson, James (15 June 2012). "To tweet or not to tweet?". Retrieved 7 July 2021.
- ^ "South Korean man acquitted after retweeting posts by North Korea". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse in Seoul. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
- ^ "South Korea: Dramatic increase in targeting of people for 'pro-North Korean views'". Amnesty International. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
- ^ Park, Jung-geun (5 February 2012). "First Draft of a Court Statement". Broke in Korea (14): 22.
- ^ Park, Jung-geun (June 2012). "A Letter to His Excellency Mr. President Lee Myung-bak". Broke in Korea (14): 18–19.
- ^ Dunbar, Jon (22 December 2017). "Punks, not politicians". The Korea Times. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
- ^ "Bissantrophy Records". Discogs. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
- ^ White, Ian (26 May 2020). "GBN Live House releases 42-band CD to survive plague, flood". The Korea Times. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
- ^ Eperjesi, John (6 December 2017). "North Korean Punk Rock Legend Rhee Appears in Seoul". Huffington Post. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
- ^ Noh, Hyun-gi (16 March 2012). "Meet 'North Korean' rock star Rhee". The Korea Times. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
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