LAST year, South Korea made headlines around the world for two reasons. The first was writer Han Kang’s celebrated Nobel prize for literature win in October; the second was far less positive. Late in the evening of December 3 2024, the country’s President Yoon Suk Yeol unexpectedly declared martial law – the first time it had happened since the country became a democracy in 1987.

Protesters and lawmakers rushed on to the streets to resist Yoon’s decree, and martial law was annulled early the next morning at 1am.

The ensuing chaos ended on January 26, with Yoon’s arrest. Protests and counter protests continue and the constitutional court of South Korea is yet to deliver its ruling on Yoon’s impeachment, leaving the country’s political horizons uncertain.