Woke Up to 'Democracy→Dictatorship→Democracy'... "Korea is a 'Democrazy'"

"Dictatorship While Asleep, Then Democracy Again?"
Overseas Netizens' Comments Go Viral

On the night of the 3rd, President Yoon Seok-yeol's sudden declaration of martial law drew global attention, and a reaction from an overseas netizen regarding this incident is becoming a hot topic. The photo shows related news about the martial law declaration being broadcast on a TV at Seoul Station on the evening of the 3rd. Photo by Yonhap News.

"I went to sleep in a democracy, woke up to find a dictatorship, and now it's a democracy again?"

On the night of the 3rd, President Yoon Seok-yeol's sudden declaration of martial law drew global attention, and a reaction from an overseas netizen regarding this incident has become a hot topic.

On the 4th, an online community, FM Korea, posted a photo with the title "Real-time BBC YouTube comments." The photo showed a comment left by a netizen on a news report about the domestic martial law posted on the official YouTube channel of the British media outlet BBC.

The netizen wrote, "I slept in democracy and was in dictatorship and wake up in democracy (I went to sleep when it was a democracy, during my sleep it became a dictatorship, and when I woke up it was democracy again. What on earth is this?)" This appears to reflect confusion over the National Assembly effectively nullifying President Yoon Seok-yeol's midnight surprise martial law declaration within about two hours.

The comment received a reply saying, "this call democrazyy." The term "democrazy" is a pun combining "democracy" and "crazy," critically expressing the chaos or absurdity within a democratic system.

A comment from an overseas netizen posted on the BBC YouTube channel. FM Korea

Meanwhile, major countries around the world are closely monitoring the situation following President Yoon Seok-yeol's sudden martial law declaration. Especially allied countries, which maintain close ties with South Korea not only in military and security but also in economic fields, are carefully observing the potential impact of domestic political instability. According to major foreign media, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement on the 3rd saying, "The United States has been closely monitoring the situation in South Korea over the past 24 hours," and "We welcome President Yoon Seok-yeol's announcement to lift martial law in accordance with the constitution following the unanimous resolution passed by the National Assembly."

Leading British media outlets such as BBC, Sky News, and The Guardian reported the news of South Korea's martial law declaration in real time, providing detailed updates on the situation. Japanese media also quickly covered the story. NHK mentioned the opposition party's backlash as a reason for President Yoon's martial law declaration and reported that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the military to strengthen its alert posture. China's Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television (CCTV) also urgently reported on President Yoon's martial law declaration, showing high interest in South Korea's political instability. At one point, South Korea's martial law declaration ranked first in search terms on Baidu, China's largest search portal.