Nineteen-year-old Hwang was watching the protests in Georgia on Tuesday night’s news when the images on TV suddenly changed – the spotlight was on his country after South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol announced martial law.
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” said the student, who wished to be identified only by his surname.
By Wednesday afternoon, he was among the protesters standing before the National Assembly, still stunned about what had happened the night before.
“It’s important for me to be here to show that we are against what Yoon tried to do,” Hwang said.
In a little less than six hours, Yoon was forced to walk back his shock announcement after lawmakers scrambled to block it.
But those were chaotic hours, sparking protests, fear and uncertainty in the country that had elected him.
n Tuesday night, at 23:00 local time (14:00 GMT) President Yoon, seated in front of blue creaseless curtains, made an unexpected address to the nation.
He said he was imposing martial law to protect the country from “anti-state” forces that sympathised with North Korea. The embattled leader is in a deadlock over a budget bill, dogged by corruption scandals and investigations into his cabinet members.
What followed was a sleepless night for Seoul.
Shortly after Yoon’s announcement, police lined the white metal gates outside the National Assembly building in the heart of Seoul, the building that the country’s tourism authorities have framed as “the symbol of Korean democracy”.
The military then announced that all parliamentary activity was suspended under martial law. But neither that nor the heavy security presence stopped thousands from gathering in front of the assembly in concern and fury.
It is easy to forget that South Korea – now a vibrant democracy – had its last brush with authoritarianism in the not-too-distant past – it only emerged from military rule in 1987. Martial law was last imposed in 1979.
This was “a move I never expected to see in the 21st century in South Korea,” university student Juye Hong told BBC World Service’s OS programme from Seoul.