Korea's Six-Hour Crisis: Martial Law, Public Outrage, and a Swift Return to Order
- uraebsamen
- Jan 5
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 18
Korea startled the world on 3 December 2024 when—seemingly out of the blue—president Yoon Suk-Yeol (윤석열) declared martial law. Korea has a long history of martial law after the war but hasn’t imposed it since 1979. Why now? What had happened? Did this mean that Korea’s democracy was failing? What would it mean for investors, for the local economy, and—importantly—for the fragile armistice on the Korean peninsula?
Shortly after the push notifications appeared on my mobile phone, several colleagues reached out to me with exactly those questions. At that point, I hadn’t yet read up on what had happened, but I shared my view that Korean temperament can flare up quickly but usually subsides swiftly again, and that I had faith in Korea’s institutions and democracy.
At 11 p.m. on that fateful day, President Yoon made an unexpected address to the nation, declaring martial law and explaining that this was necessary to protect the country from “anti-state” forces, claiming that North Korean agents had infiltrated South Korea’s government. However, he did not substantiate these claims or provide any evidence of North Korean interference. It is more likely that he resorted to this rather drastic and somewhat desperate measure to deflect from the challenges he faced, including a deadlock over a budget bill as well as corruption allegations against his wife, Kim Keon-Hee.
Soon after Yoon’s announcement, the South Korean army surrounded the National Assembly, and riot police were deployed to enforce the decree. But South Koreans take democracy seriously. As I describe in my book Seoul Searching, an Expat’s Tail of Thriving in Korean Corporations and Culture, South Korea transitioned from a military dictatorship to democracy in 1987 after a student was tortured to death. This tragic event ignited a democracy movement that led to fundamental reforms and the establishment of a new government. Ever since, Korean citizens have taken their democratic rights seriously, frequently taking to the streets to exercise their right to freedom of speech and protest.
Similarly, in this fateful night, shortly after the announcement, citizens gathered in front of the National Assembly and chanted “No to martial law”. The infuriated crowd could not be deterred by the heavily armed security presence in front of the National Assembly.
A mere six hours later, Yoon rescinded the order succumbing to public pressure. Just ten days later, Yoon was successfully impeached.
Tensions rose very quickly and subsided just as swiftly. At the time of Yoon’s surprising and disastrous announcement, it seemed as if Korea was at the brink of descending into chaos. Yet only six hours later, order had been restored, and the majority of Korea’s population woke up unaware of what had transpired during the night and began their days as usual. This unusually violent outburst and equally swift return to normality is likely a manifestation of a specific Korean trait, often described as naembi냄비. Naembi is a traditional Korean cookware and translates as ‘casserole’. It is a thin metal pot with two handles, often used to cook noodle soups. As it is thin, it gets hot very quickly but cools down equally quickly. Just like the Korean temperament, the pan flares up like a flash but gets cold very quickly again.
In this instance, what initially appeared to be a catastrophic political crisis was resolved within hours, leaving the country’s democratic integrity unshaken and daily life for most Koreans largely unaffected, just as I suspected when it all started.
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