The “Marching Season” is a term long associated with the sectarian problems of Northern Ireland. Each year, roughly from Easter onwards, rival bands parade to mark their dominance in an area. Protestant groups stage by far the greatest number of parades but the Roman Catholic community also stages some. There are always protests, some violent, but the continuation of the practice is defended on the grounds that it has “always” been done, or that it is “part of our tradition.”

So what has this to do with Korea?  Well, to me there is something about the annual United States-Republic of Korea annual military exercises that reminds me of the Irish situation. The parallels are of course however not exact.