The protest at Pyongtaek - where the US is expanding an existing base to house the relocation of the large USFK HQ out of Seoul - is not supported by the vast majority of Koreans.

Some people familiar with the situation in Korea point to this fact as a "good sign" that anti-Americanism in Korean society is not as bad as people like me believe. 

This has been going on for decades:  the masking of the truth by a lie couched in a truth:  they have always said, "Most South Koreans don't want the US military to leave."

100% correct.         But---

A necessary evil is surely deemed - necessary, but still an evil.

That is the difference between the radical minority that is fighting tooth-n-nail at Pyongtaek --- and the majority of Koreans who wish they would stop.

The majority has heard Donald Rumsfeld say the US is willing to take out all troops.  They were shocked when he announced 1/4th were going to leave anyway.

And they have been told by the press if Pyongtaek expansion fails, the US could have a good excuse to pull out.

And they do not want that.  They would prefer to continue to whore out a social ill they don't care for but can't imagine doing without.

The radicals just see the US in Korea as evil.

The majority shares many of the same basic ideas about the US position in their society --- including USFK base issues --- like -

environmental degradation - applying a mind-boggling double standard that isn't used against a Korean steel maker or Hyundai factory

or

Camp Town Prostitution - applying an even more mind-boggling double standard for GIs and Korean men - who help make the sex industry one that generates more revenue than fishing and agriculture each year

or

GI Crimes.......and so on.

The radicals might be more passionate when the talk about these items, but the average Korean believes many of the same "facts" surrounding the issues as the radicals.

The average Korean just does not believe it is time to do anything about it - yet.

They don't want to undergo the sea change in government tax spending it would take to upgrade the Korean military to replace what they lose if USFK packs up and leaves. 

The evil is still necessary.

The only large demographic in Korean society that differs on viewing the US relationship as "an evil" is the generations above age 65 or 70 --- the Koreans who remember the Korean War vividly and have memories of Japanese colonial occupation before 1945.

They are the only ones who are pro-American to neutral by and large.

Below that, anti-US thought is the norm -- with it becoming stronger or more passionate the closer you get to university age.

So, Korean society as a whole wants the Pyongtaek expansion to go through as smoothly as possible.

And that gives me no comfort whatsoever...