While I had hoped that following the failure of his coup attempt, President Yoon Suk Yeol would resign or get impeached (then imprisoned), of course things haven’t gone that smoothly.
After he lifted martial law following his failed coup, he gave a short “my bad” apology for declaring martial law, and then the impeachment vote against him failed when members of his party walked out to deny the two-thirds needed to impeach. They are now preparing to try again this coming Wednesday, but until then the people of South Korea are making their voices heard.
2024.12.07 국회의사당 앞 pic.twitter.com/gFQF1Xsu9D
— wolfwomen (@e_k2) December 7, 2024Welcome to the impeachment pic.twitter.com/U6x40hnH5E
— Joseph Kim (@josungkim) December 7, 2024Well, you can probably see the connection to the entertainment world in that latter video, right? Yes, light sticks are protest tools now more than ever, to the point where older generations are getting tutorials on them with roll calls.
Oh wow it’s even better. Not only are they teaching which light sticks belong to what artist(s), they’re allowing those in the crowd who brought that light stick to show theirs off and feel seen, embraced, and included pic.twitter.com/877Xc7R6Ba
— Joseph Kim (@josungkim) December 8, 2024idol lightstick roll call at the impeachment rally is crazy skskskpic.twitter.com/irI2N4K0FW
— springkies (@jekkibby2) December 8, 2024Amazing times, we live in.
Sea of light sticks illuminates the pro-democracy protests in South Korea pic.twitter.com/ymsMvkgvUG
— Joseph Kim (@josungkim) December 7, 2024One of the standout stars of the lightstick protests is Epik High’s Park Kyu Bong, which has gone viral for expressing … well.
이거 들고 갔는데 사람들이 어디서 샀냐고 자꾸 물어봄 pic.twitter.com/7nV9wXgAwl
— 𝙐𝘿𝙤𝙣𝙜 (@UDong___) December 6, 2024They’re in complete support.
와중에 에픽하이 오피셜 유튜브 채널 프로필 사진이 바뀜 pic.twitter.com/g2SMI4S7hY
— 동5 (비계인용 말고 스핀스핀) (@Reast_5) December 6, 2024——
Of course, K-pop itself was a part of it as well. SNSD’s “Into The New World” is a staple as a protest song at this point, ranging from SNU to Tokyo.
SNU students play ‘Into The New World’ by Girls’ Generation as they protest for South Korea’s president Yoon Suk Yeol to resign. pic.twitter.com/FaOsLcODDO
— Kpop Charts (@kchartsmaster) December 5, 2024Yoon Suk Yeol impeachment rally even in Tokyo. Protestors are singing SNSD’s Into the New World pic.twitter.com/r6aybQvhZY
— Joseph Kim (@josungkim) December 7, 2024This is a pretty comprehensive review of K-pop songs used…
윤석열 대통령 탄핵소추안 가결 시위에 나온 케이팝 음악 타래🎵
ユン・ソクヨル大統領の弾劾訴追案が可決lデモで使われたK-POP音楽に関するスレッド
A thread about K-pop music featured at the protest calling for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol. pic.twitter.com/BfUfZi2yEs
…but not to worry, they cover all genres.
Okay, I'm starting a thread of all the best protest songs/covers I find in the run up to the impeachment vote, because Koreans know how to do protest songs and I think it could get epic. I'll add more as I find them. Let's start with this festive one: https://t.co/PZTGiADRVL
— Kwon Jang-Ho 권장호 (@janghokwon) December 6, 2024——
In addition to Epik High mentioned above, other celebrities have come out in support as well. LOONA’s Hyeju actually went down to protest herself and talked about it with fans as well.
Hyeju Instagram Story
(The National Assembly, Wednesday, 1:44am) pic.twitter.com/gEqgLh9mfE
“You might be uncomfortable that I’m sharing my opinion – but I am a citizen of Korea before I am an idol. So I believe this is the right thing to do.”
Damn I don’t even go here but the next time Loona’s Hyeju releases new music, I’ll buy a CD just for this https://t.co/Du0LI0PXkP
Lee Chae Yeon supported the protest via candle emoji and then left a pointed message to those who say she shouldn’t talk about politics.
🦋: It's not a place to talk about politics? What's the place to talk about politics?
🦋: As a Korean, as a citizen, I'll take care of it myself. About the comments, I'll take care of it too. I'm a celebrity, that's why I'm speaking out.
🦋: Thank you so much for your concern
STAYC posted support for the protests via candles on social platforms, as did B1A4 members CNU and Gongchan, and LOONA’s Yves, while PENTAGON’s Kino expressed pride in seeing his group’s lightsticks at the protest.
Many other actors and actresses also showed support at the protest or on social media, and 2518 of them signed a petition calling for Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment and arrest.
It’s not really the point of all this, but feel free to leave any other idols/celebs you know have shown support in the comments.
——
Quite honestly though, the stuff unrelated to K-pop at the protests was even better, as they’re just trying to enjoy themselves since they might be out there for the long haul.
🧵: South Koreans are masters of memes.
Koreans are traditionally talented in finding a sense of humor even in the darkest of times. In 2016 & today, I saw how this culminated into bringing even the most politically indifferent people to the streets.
The art of protest flags: pic.twitter.com/4yzUwxHoV5
한국인의 창의성을 뽐내는 시위 슬로건 타래
— 뚜🕯️ (@everytexts) December 6, 2024Amazing work.
For those interested in reading up on the politics, I found this useful.
— Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminnkim) December 5, 20241/ A leaked military document allegedly reveals South Korea's Defense Counterintelligence Command (DCC) had drafted detailed martial law plans in November, one month before President Yoon's shock declaration on December 3. https://t.co/BTcLJztsfB
— Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) December 8, 2024The prosecution imposed a travel ban on former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, pending an investigation into charges of treason. We’re slowly getting a better picture of what happened Tuesday night.
I’ll explain 🧵 https://t.co/JhCTzFZvtY
Prosecutors open a case over martial law with President Yoon named as suspect over charges of insurrection and abuse of power https://t.co/v4s7V2hhDM
— Hyunsu Yim (@hyunsuinseoul) December 8, 2024To give one an idea of the confusion at the moment … well, these are the kinds of questions being asked.
William Gallo of Voice of America raises an excellent question to Yoon this morning:https://t.co/aXvYCDO1lJ pic.twitter.com/kHH9AZZHGW
— The Blue Roof (@BluRoofPolitics) December 8, 2024Answers are not great.
In effect, the two Hans are creating an unelected party-state. On the southern side of the DMZ. https://t.co/Sa5wLShvXB
— The Blue Roof (@BluRoofPolitics) December 8, 2024South Korea's diplomacy stands on shaky ground, as a leadership vacuum and the fallout from Yoon’s martial law debacle threaten to derail key foreign policy ambitions such as GPS vision and values-driven diplomacy and risk undoing hard-won achievements.https://t.co/I5OZmgdmUh
— Dagyum Kate Ji (@dagyumji) December 8, 2024
English (US) · 