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Coming Soon To A Democracy Near You…
Things took a decisive turn for the "Goddammit, really?!" in South Korea on Tuesday evening, when president Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, banning political activities and seizing control of the media in what appeared to be the country's first such emergency decree in more than three and a half decades of civilian government.
Yoon, a conservative former prosecutor accused by critics of undermining South Korea's democracy through, among other things, a sweeping "fake news" crackdown on the
This is the sort of information that makes my subscription well worth the money.
Also, and not for nothin’, I actually pay to license the pictures I use for my geopolitical articles, which is to say I do things the right way, like a news outlet. That, as opposed to sundry Substacks and blogs, which in many cases can’t be bothered with paying the licensing fees for the photos they rip off, thereby depriving photographers who put their lives at risk to capture the moment, and who depend on those fees to make a living and feed their families. I mention that because it underscores the lengths I go to to provide my readers with a quality experience. The pictures for this article, for example, were $35 each. Now think back to how many pictures you’ve seen in my geopolitical coverage over the past, say one year, and do the math. It costs money to do things right, but it’s worth it. Or at least it is to me.
I appreciate your honest work and diligence. I know if I read it here, the info has been vetted, and the message has been well thought out.
Thanks
The quality of your work is much appreciated.
I had already “googled” Rami Alsayed- the photographer of your photo for your December 1 article, “Going Back to Aleppo” which led me to a heartbreaking list of reporters who have died in pursuit of their personal calling to report and photograph the truth and horror of what is actually happening in the world. The list is very long.
This weekend, I went to visit friends who had moved into a new house earlier this year. On one side, a house had Christmas lights that spelled out “TRUMP” and the other side was a house with a second amendment flag. Turns out both neighbors are in law enforcement.
Might be a good time to brush up on martial law in the US…
I know very little about South Korea culture and politics. I did however enjoy Parasite and Squid Games and the messages that each conveyed. Both are worth a watch.
Well, the candy-ass wimp obeyed the constitution and rescinded it. That was quick.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/South-Korea-s-Yoon-backs-down-on-martial-law-declaration?utm_campaign=GL_one_time&utm_medium=email&utm_source=NA_newsletter&utm_content=article_link
There’s a lot going on here in terms of a “societal breakdown” in South Korea.
Across Korea, young women are swearing off men, influenced by the 4B movement, a radical feminist campaign that originated in Korea in the late 2010s. The four Bs stand for bi-hon (no marriage), bi-yeonae (no dating), bi-chulsan (no birthing) and bi-sex (no sex).
The movement formed in response to growing gender inequality and violence against women: Korea has one of the largest gender pay gaps in the world, and brutal murders of women — in subway stations, on rooftops and in their own homes, often at the hands of men they were dating — headline news shows daily. Amid so much political turmoil and bloodshed, 4B activists say the only way to make women safe — and convince society to take their safety seriously — is to swear off men altogether until something changes.
And now, in the wake of Donald Trump’s reelection, 4B is going viral in the U.S.
No Sex, No Dating, No Babies, No Marriage: How the 4B Movement Could Change America
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/11/16/4b-movement-america-political-protest-00189314
Why Misogyny Is at the Heart of South Korea’s presidential elections
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-60643446
Yes, I’m aware. And I don’t blame women for swearing off men. There, here or anywhere else. We’re pretty awful, as it turns out.
Thanks for those links Dana. One thing in the BBC story really stuck out: “A survey last year by a local newspaper found that 79% of young men in South Korea feel “seriously discriminated against” because of their gender.”
Of course there is no lesson from this for us in the USA!
We live in the damn Twilight Zone. I had to ban a guy just two days ago because he wouldn’t stop posting lengthy, quasi-racist rants about how hard he has it as — wait for it — a middle-aged white man working for one of the world’s larger investment banks. I mean my God: I’ve never heard so much whining from so many people at the top of the socioeconomic pyramid in my life.
A middle-aged white man working one of world’s larger investment banks in this life should get a sharp stick poked through the eyepiece of his gas mask in the next life.
Think how good it must be if you’re an ally guy with a smooth Alan Alda act, though.
I was just reading up on Korean history a couple weeks ago and I noticed that they had a big problem with coups and political stability in the modern era. First seeing the headlines I was worried, but thankfully the guy trying to pull this off seems to have been too unpopular to make it work.
Hopefully this is an inverse good-cases-make-bad law situation and this sets a precedent that dissuades the next person who wants to try it.
For those interested in what happened the last time South Korea declared martial law, I suggest reading Human Acts, by Han Kang, who was awarded the Noble Prize in 2024. Human Acts is about the “Gwangju Massacre” in 1980.
The US strongly supported Park in South Korea and the dictators in Taiwan starting with Chiang Kai Shek followed by Chiang Ching-kuo. Also the Greek Colonels and Pinochet in Chile. Afterall, they weren’t communists so that was all that mattered.
I am fortunate to be friends w/ Koreans in SKorea and the US, and an uncle/father-figure to Korean-American woman who came here when she was 2yo. My first night in Seoul this past summer, I stayed near the Han River b/c I knew I’d want to walk a lot while recovering from jet lag. The first night I walked back and forth along the Han b/n 11pm and 3am. It was a Saturday night so there were people out walking, some drinking, and later groups of 2 or 3 young people hanging out or walking around. I never felt unsafe. In fact, it was an exceptional experience and a great way to start my trip. The next day, when I told my friends, Yegu and Yeonju, how safe I felt, never sensing I was being sized up as a target, etc. Yegu’s response was, “Yes, it’s great. You could leave your cell phone on a bench and it would probably be there for a couple days unless someone tried to return it. Also, not everyone here has a gun.”
I will be back again this summer, this time w/ a good friend to visit her family near Mokpo, hiking, etc., before heading to Seoul for a few days. Great place to visit. Or live depending on what happens w/ trump.
There’s something to that. I still recall walking at night with my wife in a deserted underpass at night in the Tokyo business district on my first visit in 1984. I heard footsteps approaching from behind us…. my NYC instincts kicked into gear until I turned and discovered that the potential assailant was a well-dressed office lady walking with no fear. The same when I lived there a few years later. The same held in HK when I lived there, as long as you avoided clubs run by triads.
Imagine how some people near you are going to feel when they realized they have been duped by the most massive con game the world has ever known. If not are some going through that now?
If you think those that hoped for a different election outcome have it bad. Think how those that have to confront reality as it is will feel when eventually they come down off their dopamine high.
Some will remain true to their hearts and remain misogynistic. Those will be the sorest of losers one day. 4G had not heard of this, but I can understand why women would feel that way.
Great post, sir.
“Coming soon to a democracy near you…” Indeed! It was quite a sight to see TV footage on NHK of South Korean military personnel in full tactical gear, climbing through broken windows at the National Assembly building trying to gain access in order to shut down the democratic process taking place within the assembly. It seems like we’ve seen something similar somewhere before… Just sayin’.
Would you recommend buying south korean equities at these levels, whether the entire market ETF or any specific names e.g. Samsung? I am well aware of your general philosophy of very rarely giving such investment advice, so worry not – I will apply the customary disclaimers to whatever you say.