By Jung Min-ho



Pictures of an anti-U.S. protest rally in South Korea spread online, causing concern ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's state visit to the country next month.



The rally was led by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the country's second-largest umbrella trade union. Near a Busan hotel where the U.S. Navy held a party to celebrate its 242-year history Oct. 14, protesters chanted messages like "U.S. troops go home!"



Since then, photos and a video of their protest have been shared by thousands of people on social media, including U.S. sailors and their families.



In their propaganda pamphlet to the sailors, they said, "Koreans despise dotard Trump. We also abhor you, his servants. It is because you are a war monster."



A 35-second video, which is believed to have been filmed by a U.S. sailor on the same day, shows a Korean woman screaming and cursing at U.S. soldiers.



The KCTU, which has carried out anti-U.S. protests before, also criticized local police on its Facebook and Twitter accounts for protecting the sailors from protesters.



The pictures, video and the KCTU's messages aroused anger among many Americans as well as Koreans.



During the course of the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery on Korean soil, some anti-U.S. groups, including the KCTU, held protests against Trump and his North Korea policies.



Most recently, two members of the Young Resistance, another left-leaning, anti-U.S. group, were apprehended on Oct. 17 for calling Trump a "lunatic" and creating a commotion near the U.S. Embassy in central Seoul.



Another anti-Trump group, Ban Trump's Crazy Action, said last week its members will visit some U.S. cities from Oct. 25 to Nov. 1 to teach Americans "how to impeach the president." They said they also plan to stage a protest in front of the White House to block Trump from visiting South Korea, scheduled for Nov. 7 and 8.



But their views about Korea's most important ally and its leader are not popular here.



According to a survey by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs early this year, 72.2 percent of Koreans said they believe the Korea-U.S. military alliance is good for national defense. When asked which country they would help in the case of a war between the United States and North Korea, only 2.3 percent said they would take sides with North Korea.







