#South Korea protests

[waitmyturtles]

Once again, South Korea does it best. A South Korean Democratic Party member, Ahn Gwi-ryeong fights off a soldier during the martial law protests.

[latestnews-now]

South Korea faces political turmoil as President Yoon Suk Yeol faces a travel ban following his controversial martial law declaration. Discover the key events, the role of opposition parties, and the public's reaction.

[81buttons]

Can we talk about what’s going on in Georgia and South Korea right now?

[el-ffej]

This is impressive as hell. Major, major kudos to all the South Korean citizens who, after hearing about the martial law declaration, got up in the middle of the night and went down to the National Assembly building to protest it.

And to the opposing political party who managed to get their lawmakers into the building, through the crowds and the police, and vote 190-0 (Fuck You, Mr. President!!!) to overturn the martial law (which is exactly how the South Korean constitution says you overturn a martial law edict).

Just, absolutely massively impressed with the South Korean people. I hope we can find this sort of political engagement -- and political courage -- in this country, if and when the time comes.

ok so in the span of like 5 hours:

- the south korean president declared martial law (the first time since s korea stopped being a military dictatorship in the 80s)

- claims his political opponents are insurgents working on behalf of north korea and communism

- declares that all political activity must cease (inc the national assembly/parliament), all media must be under the control of the military, and all protests/strikes are illegal

- the opposing political party immediately assembles at the national assembly in the middle of the night

- holds an emergency vote that goes thru 190-0 to declare the end to martial law (while barricading the entrances to prevent the military from entering and removing them)

- the president concedes an hour later

- civilian protesters in the streets are calling for the impeachment & arrest of the president

please feel free to add details/correct me

as of 2:40 EST Dec 3 2024

[poetry-protest-pornography]

Have y'all seen what's happening in South Korea?

(PS, if anyone knows what song that is, it sounds like a banger)

They're playing Girls Generation 'Into The New World'

And Whiplash by aespa

And Fire by BTS

They've brought light sticks and all kinds of flags, and they're all united in calling for Yoon's impeachment.

What an incredible thing.

Like, haha, the revolution has a killer soundtrack/look at all the kpop fans agreeing on something, but like. Really look at what they're doing. Their President tried to overthrow their democracy, and they all came out to demand he face consequences.

They wrote songs to be about impeachment and showed up with banners and a band.

Holy crap.

[gacha-incels]

twitter account link

[thoughtportal]

Protests in South Korea

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

From Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU):

Following the declaration of an indefinite general strike by 1.2 million workers, the KCTU gathered at Gwanghwamun Square on Dec. 4 and launched an all-out resistance movement against the Yoon Seok-yeol administration.

At 6 PM, a rally will be held at Gwanghwamun Square to immediately implement Yoon Seok-yeol's resignation. The rally will conclude with a march to Yongsan.

Watch Live: Resignation of Yoon Seok-yeol for treason! Realization of national sovereignty! Social reform! Let's open a resignation square! Citizens' candlelight

[jennthegardner02]

Universe: How much chaos can l do before 2025

3 weeks before 2025: hold my beer

[non-tyrannical-usa]

So uh, I found this on TikTok. Just thought I’d share it with y’all.

(credits to goodbyeapathy on TikTok, Tumblr user @GoodbyeApathy8)

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Ari Drennen at Ari's Threads:

When authoritarian regimes collapse, it often looks sudden—leaders flee, governments dissolve, and the state unravels in real-time. But collapse is rarely spontaneous. More often, it’s the result of a slow, self-inflicted erosion of power, set in motion when leaders overestimate their own support and push too far. This was the case in Afghanistan in 2021, where the U.S.-backed government, built on external military support rather than genuine legitimacy, crumbled almost overnight. It was also the case in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where a war meant to demonstrate strength instead exposed military and political weakness. And it was the case in South Korea’s 2024 martial law crisis, where a government that assumed it could impose military rule without consequence was swiftly removed from power. Again and again, regimes that assume their grip on power is unshakable discover—too late—that their own overreach is what brings them down.

Overconfidence Leads to Overreach

Authoritarian regimes don’t collapse because of one bad decision. They collapse because of a pattern of miscalculations—each one widening the gap between the government and the people until the state is too hollow to stand.

[...]

Not all resistance looks like street protests or armed insurgencies. Some of the most effective opposition happens quietly, in ways that authoritarian governments struggle to contain. During World War II, the OSS Simple Sabotage Field Manual outlined ways that civilians could disrupt enemy governments—not with bombs, but with small, deliberate inefficiencies. Workers were told to misfile documents, delay projects, introduce small errors that, over time, would make the entire system grind to a halt. That same principle applied to Hong Kong’s 2014 protests, where a leaderless, encrypted messaging-driven movement made it nearly impossible for authorities to arrest key organizers. Every time police tried to crack down, new protest flash mobs would appear elsewhere. Digital resistance allowed the movement to stay ahead of law enforcement for months. In South Korea’s 2024 crisis, protesters flooded government hotlines, overloaded digital reporting systems, and created so much bureaucratic noise that state enforcement became nearly impossible. The government couldn’t keep up with digital disruptions, and by the time authorities responded, resistance had already moved to a different platform or tactic. Once a government loses the ability to enforce its own rules, even in the most basic ways, its power begins to slip—sometimes faster than even the people resisting expect.

[...]

Regimes Collapse from Within as Much as from Without

Governments don’t just fall because of external pressure. They fall because of their own mistakes. They push too hard, alienating even those who once supported them. They purge too many people, creating enemies where there were none. They assume military force can solve political problems, only to find that wars are easier to start than to win. They mistake silence for support, failing to see that silence is often just the absence of a safe way to speak. And then one day, the silence shatters, and the regime collapses so fast that even its leaders are caught off guard. Regimes that look stable on the surface often collapse the fastest. Russia hasn’t fallen, but it has been plunged into a financially ruinous war, losing soldiers and resources at an unsustainable rate. What was supposed to be a quick military victory has instead forced the country into a long, grinding conflict that is weakening its global influence and economic stability. Iraq was supposed to become a stable democracy, but de-Baathification fueled years of insurgency. South Korea’s government thought it could impose martial law, but within weeks, mass resistance forced it out.

Ari Drennen wrote a solid column on how autocratic regimes accelerate their collapse as a result of their drunken hubris, as we have seen in South Korea and Russia. This also applies to regimes that seemingly look stable.

[davidaugust]

South Korea is in crisis. Their president declared martial law, their parliament called that off, what happens next remains to be seen.

Violence is never a good answer. And while it is _an_ answer, I hope for peaceful solutions to prevail, both there and in every country, including ours.

[thashining]

Its the gwangju uprising all over again 

[poetry-protest-pornography]

Here's a thread of protestors singing kpop songs and calling for Yoon's impeachment

And here's a playlist of the songs featured

What songs are on your Revolution Playlist?

(low key thinking about adding Coup d'Etat lol)

ETA: Lay All Your Love On Me has joined the protest playlist!

(also, the thread and playlist has updated)

[gacha-incels]

[anemoiawithatouchofobsession]

Another proper protest song by People Searching For Songs, A March For My Beloved. You can hear actual protest footage in the background near the ending. I can feel the anger, the rage and the willpower of these students who recorded this song the way they did, and in light of recent events, this is such a powerful song. All the female and male voices coming together for one cause and with so much willpoer and grit, it sends shivers down my spine.

If you're interested in who PSFS were, @papaya2000s has a writeup about them. Consisting of student choirs from Seoul National Uni, Yonsei Uni, Korea Uni, Ewha Women's Uni, Sunggyunkwan Uni, Dongguk Uni and many more, PSFS wrote songs for the student's democracy movement and this is, imo, their most important song.