After uncovering plans by the Korean government to build a whale
meat factory in the city of Ulsan, we established a Whale Embassy
to meet with local people and call for cancellation of factory
plans. But we were served with an eviction notice ordering us to
leave by May 16. Thanks to thousands of you contacting the mayor
on our behalf, the police did not enforce the eviction.
However, residents of the neighborhood decided to take matters
into their own hands. On May 24, the group held a press conference
saying that if we do not leave by 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, that they
can not be held responsible for what happens to us in the
Embassy.
Our activists are trained to handle confrontations and to remain
peaceful in the face of hostility. More often than not, these
confrontations are with law enforcement personnel who are also
trained and we generally have a fairly good idea of what to
expect. An angry mob in Korea, however, would be far from
predictable. Our activists prepared themselves for the worst,
knowing that vacating the embassy was not an option.
Moment of Truth
It all began at 6:00 p.m. as promised. As the local development
association leaders walked into the embassy, the police cars idled
to a halt outside.
The local leaders spoke at length about the history of their
community. As they were addressing us, their hands were visibly
shaking and it became clear that they didn't want to fight. They
explained that it was not really the whale embassy that bothered
them, but rather the mound of rubble adjacent to our embassy, where
we had erected a mast reading "extinction starts here." Littered
all around the mound we placed makeshift whale tails.
We explained that the display was meant to illustrate the fate
of whales if whaling is resumed. We offered to remove the mounds
as an expression of goodwill toward the fishing community, which
apparently was the olive branch the group was hoping for. We went
on to say that we would like to help find alternative ways to
economically revive the community in a sustainable but profitable
way.
In response, the president of the community group said he
wanted to learn about whale watching and would welcome all the
advice that we could give him. Another member of the group spoke
up and said that he would like to get the children from Jangsaengpo
school to come and meet us and help design banners for oceans day
to hang from the mast. Just when we thought it couldn't get any
better, they announced we were welcome to stay at our embassy until
the conclusion of the International Whaling Commission's (IWC)
meeting which begins June 20.
The meeting ended in a spontaneous round of applause, as if we
were all suddenly in a John Hughes film. We agreed to continue our
dialogue in the coming weeks. Hopefully, we will be able to
persuade this community to live up to it's nickname "the city of
whales" instead of pursuing a future as a "city of whaling."
Take action!
Our work here is not finished. When the IWC meets this June, it
will determine the fate of thousands of whales. Lend your support
to our visual protest by uploading your picture for our Virtual March.