Prof. Seo shared a distressing image where his daughter’s face was superimposed onto a photo of a woman being disrobed, a new low in the tactics used against him. (Photo: a screenshot from Prof. Seo Kyoung-duk’s social account)
SEOUL, Mar. 12 (Korea Bizwire) – Seo Kyoung-duk, a professor at Sungshin Women’s University known for his global campaign against the Rising Sun Flag, has reported facing attacks from Japan’s far-right factions.
Seo shared on his Facebook page that after protesting a rickshaw adorned with the Rising Sun Flag in New York City last week, a flood of hostile messages from Japanese ultra-nationalists inundated his social media, following coverage of his protest on Yahoo Japan.
Seo observed that the far-right seems particularly sensitive to issues surrounding the Rising Sun Flag, even more so than disputes over Dokdo (Takeshima) or matters relating to the Japanese military’s use of comfort women during World War II.
He suggested that these groups fear the global efforts to remove the controversial flag symbol from public display.
The attacks have grown personal, Seo noted, extending to his family. He shared a distressing image where his daughter’s face was superimposed onto a photo of a woman being disrobed, a new low in the tactics used against him.
“It has become routine for attackers to merge my daughter’s face with the Rising Sun Flag or to photoshop it onto indecent images. This is beyond the pale of human decency,” Seo expressed in outrage.
Despite the personal attacks, Seo remains undeterred in his mission to educate the world about the flag’s imperialistic associations and its parallels to the swastika of Nazi Germany.
His campaign has included placing ads in The New York Times and countering Japanese Foreign Ministry promotional videos featuring the flag with his own YouTube ads.
Seo vowed to continue his efforts “until every last symbol of the Rising Sun Flag is eradicated from the globe,” dismissing the far-right attackers as pitiful individuals lacking fundamental human decency.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
