Andrew Minjun Park, 27, participated in the protests outside the National Assembly building that went on till Wednesday morning.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Andrew Minjun Park, 27, a graduate student at Seoul National University. Park participated in the protests against martial law outside South Korea’s National Assembly building on Tuesday night. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I was preparing for my political science Ph.D. applications on Tuesday when I heard the news about South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declaring martial law.
At first, I thought it was fake news. Putting the country under martial law is something that’s often associated with the authoritarian governments South Korea had in the 70s and 80s.
But after watching the president’s address on YouTube, I realized he was dead serious.To me, this was a critical moment in Korea’s modern history
Initially, I didn’t want to join the protests that were forming outside the National Assembly building.
There was a possibility the protests could turn violent. You could also get arrested since protests are illegal under martial law.
But as more and more photos of security forces descending on the building came in, it began to dawn on me that this situation couldn’t be taken lightly.
