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A video of a US soldier grinning as he uses his mobile phone to film residents opposing the delivery of THAAD system components in Seongju

A video has surfaced of a US soldier grinning as he uses his mobile phone to film residents opposing the delivery of THAAD system components in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province.

The channel “Soseong Village Situation Room Opposing THAAD” posted the 3-minute, 24-second video on YouTube on Apr. 27 under the title “Laughing US soldiers film weeping Soseong grandmother.”

The video was taken at around 6:50 am on Apr. 26 as US Forces Korea trailers and trucks entered the former Lotte Skyhill Seongju Country Club site carrying THAAD components. Police had forced residents off of the road, where the trailers and trucks formed a line heading into the golf course site.

In the video, residents can be heard shouting and crying. Some are heard urgently yelling, “People are getting hurt” and “Don’t push.” While this is happening, a US soldier in the passenger seat of one of the trucks can be seen filming residents on his cell phone.

“The residents were screaming after being pushed out of the way by police with shields. To see that and smile as you film it shows no human decency,” said incensed Seongju resident Park Su-gyu, 54, who was present at the time.

The Won-Buddhist Order responded on Apr. 27 with a statement in the same of its administrative chief Han Eun-sook.

“To members of the Won-Buddhist Order, Seongju is a site for seeking the Way and the birthplace of Won-Buddhism’s second Dharma Master Jeongsan Song Kyu, who has been called the ‘sage of peace,’” Han explained.

“We must express our disappointment and deep dismay at the deployment of THAAD, an antithetical weapon of war on Won-Buddhist sacred ground that seeks to preserve peace for humankind,” she added.

The Won-Buddhist Emergency Committee to Guard the Sacred Site at Seongju also began an indefinite hunger strike that afternoon in Gwanghwamun Square near the US Embassy in Seoul to voice opposition to THAAD and war and call for the establishment of peace.

By Kim Il-woo, Daegu correspondent and Cho Yeon-hyun, religion correspondent

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