Starbucks furor revives an illiberal habit

Korea’s latest Starbucks controversy is not only about a badly judged marketing campaign. It is about a recurring political habit: When public outrage gathers force, powerful actors treat collective denunciation as a substitute for due process and proportionate judgment. The result is a modern form of “meongseokmari”-style justice. Meongseokmari literally means “rolling someone in a straw mat.” Historically, it referred to rough private punishment after an informal public trial by village or interest-group leaders. In modern Korea, the image captures how quickly moral accusation can become collective punishment. Starbucks Korea’s “Tank Day” promotion was part of a sequence of tumbler promotions: “Dante Day,” “Tank Day” and “Nasu Day.” Promotional images included phrases such as “Perfect for One Hand!,” “Tak on the table!” and “Fits Right in Your Bag!” Activists declared the May 18 “Tank Day” event insensitive because May 18 is the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising. They associated “5/18,” “Tank Day” and the phrase “Tak on theWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times