South Korea

A Diary From The Streets Of South Korea

November 11, 2025 Vijay Prashad, People's Dispatch. Resist! Donald Trump, Palestine, South Korea, US Imperialism, Worker Rights

Jinsoo Koh has been living on a rickety metal overpass that sits above Toegye-ro street in Seoul, across from the old Sejong Hotel. He had been up there illegally for 261 days when I met him. I didn’t go up, and nor did he come down. In either case, one of us would have been arrested. So, we spoke via megaphones, the traffic of the street drowning out our words. Jinsoo worked in the Japanese restaurant of Sejong Hotel as a sashimi chef. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he and 259 workers of the hotel were collectively dismissed, some forced into early retirement. The hotel, whose proprietor also owns Sejong University and other properties, only retained 21 workers and hired subcontracting firms to run the rest of the functions of the hotel with casual workers.

From Tariffs To Tribute: The $350B Price Of ‘Parity’

November 4, 2025 Atul Chandra, People's Dispatch. Resist! APEC, Donald Trump, South Korea, Tariffs, Trade

On October 29, 2025, the carefully scripted pageantry of the US-ROK alliance in Gyeongju and Seoul met an unwelcome counter-narrative from the streets. While US President Donald Trump was being feted with a Silla-era replica gold crown and Korea’s highest honor, thousands of workers, trade unionists, farmers, students, and women’s collectives converged near the APEC venues. They chanted a unified dissent: “No kings!” and “No to APEC for the 1%”. Organizers framed the protest as a demand for the restoration of national dignity against what they saw as an act of economic coercion.

Trump Met With Popular Protests In South Korea

October 30, 2025 Abdul Rahman, People's Dispatch. Resist! APEC, Donald Trump, South Korea, Tariff War, US Imperialism

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Gyeongju and several other cities in South Korea to oppose US President Donald Trump’s visit to the country on Wednesday, October 29. Protesters in Gyeongju tried to march to the Bomun Tourist Complex, the venue of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. They were stopped nearly five kilometers from the venue by security forces, The Korean Times reported. Despite the security barricade, some of the protesters reached near the summit venue which caused a brief clash with security forces and led to minor injuries. Protesters carried banners and posters denouncing US policies and shouted slogans such as “No King: Trump is not welcome!” and “No APEC!”

Trump Rattles Markets With New 100 Percent Tariffs On Chinese Goods

October 11, 2025 News Desk, The Cradle. Educate! China, Donald Trump, South Korea, Tariffs, Xi Jinping

US President Donald Trump announced new 100 percent tariffs on Chinese goods on 10 October and threatened to cancel his meeting with President Xi Jinping. Trump said the levies would take effect on 1 November, describing them as “retaliation” for what he called Beijing’s “extraordinarily aggressive” actions. “It is impossible to believe that China would have taken such an action, but they have, and the rest is History,” he wrote on social media. He added that the new measures would target “any and all critical software” exports, accusing China of holding the world “captive” through its dominance of rare earth minerals. “There is no way that China should be allowed to hold the World captive,” he said.

Trump Wages Economic War On US Allies; BRICS Builds Alternative System

September 18, 2025 Ben Norton and Michael Hudson, Geopolitical Economy. Resistance Report BRICS, China, Colonialism, Donald Trump, Europe, European Union (EU), History, Japan, Korea, NATO, Neoliberalism, Russia, Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), South Korea, Tariffs, US Imperialism

The US government has always had a very aggressive foreign policy. The United States has intervened in dozens of countries all around the world. But what is unique about Donald Trump is that many of his aggressive policies not only target US adversaries like China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba, but also longtime US allies. Trump has imposed high tariffs that have hurt the economies of key US allies such as Japan, South Korea, and Europe. In fact, the details of the agreement that Trump imposed on Japan are quite shocking. This was reported on by the Financial Times, which wrote that “Japan confronts the increased price of US friendship”. Although I would say it’s not so much “friendship”; rather it’s vassalage. Japan has been militarily occupied by the US for 80 years, and we’re now seeing the cost of this imperial relationship.

Trump Forces Europe, Korea, Japan To Subsidize And Move Industry To US

September 13, 2025 Michael Hudson, Geopolitical Economy. Educate! Australia, Donald Trump, Europe, European Union (EU), Hyundai, ICE, Japan, South Korea, Trade, US Imperialism

U.S. cold warriors have failed to prevent Russia, China, Iran, and other members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) from obtaining their economic independence. That means keeping the fruits of their economic growth for themselves, rather than letting it be drained off by U.S. banks, investors, consumers, and the U.S. Treasury through the monetary dollar standard. Washington’s cold warriors have been unable to stop SCO members from moving forward and becoming independent from U.S. influence. Recognizing that they are unable to prevent this, U.S. policy is focusing now on how to prevent Europe (especially Germany), Japan, and South Korea from becoming industrial rivals and hence threats — while also targeting China and BRICS.

Can South Korea’s New President Stand Up To Washington?

June 29, 2025 Ju-Hyun Park, People's Dispatch. Strategize! Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), DPRK, Elections, Lee Jae Myung, Martial Law, New Cold War, RIMPAC, South Korea, THAAD

On June 3, the Republic of Korea (ROK) held a snap election to fill the vacant office of the presidency following the ouster of Yoon Suk-Yeol, who was impeached after his failed coup attempt on December 3, 2024. Lee Jae Myung, leader of the opposition Democratic Party (DP) and Yoon’s former rival in the 2022 election, emerged victorious with 49% of the vote, and was sworn into office on June 4. As president, Lee now faces the challenge of navigating the economic, political, and geostrategic dimensions of the ROK’s generalized crisis. Unrelenting US aggression has pushed tension on the peninsula and the wider region to a breaking point.

South Korean President Skips NATO Summit For First Time In Four Years

June 27, 2025 Abdul Rahman, People's Dispatch. Educate! Iran, Lee Jae Myung, NATO, New Cold War, South Korea

Newly elected President of South Korea Lee Jae Myung will skip this year’s summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) starting on Tuesday, June 24. Lee cited the growing unrest in West Asia following the US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday as one of the reasons for the decision. The US bombed three Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday in an attempt to destroy its nuclear program. The bombings were part of the Israeli aggression on Iran which began on June 13 and killed hundreds of Iranians including scientists and some of its top military leadership. Iran responded to the US aggression on Monday night by attacking its military base in Qatar.

The Revolution Of Light And Korea’s Democratic Triumph

June 8, 2025 Simone Chun, Counter Punch. Educate! Dictatorship, Elections, Revolution of Light, Social Movements, South Korea

One of the most consequential missteps in US Korea policy under the Biden administration was the failure to engage with South Korea’s domestic political realities, particularly the widespread public opposition to President Yoon Suk-yeol’s increasingly authoritarian rule. By relentlessly propping up Yoon to serve Washington’s geopolitical agenda and its escalating Cold War posture toward China, the Biden administration not only ignored Korean public sentiment but also fueled domestic unrest. Domestic outrage against Yoon’s regime came to a head with his attempted imposition of martial law on December 3, 2024—a move that exposed the fragility of his position and deeply damaged Washington’s credibility in the region.

Trump’s Tariffs Are Uniting China, Europe, Japan, South Korea, And ASEAN

May 10, 2025 Ben Norton, Geopolitical Economy. Resistance Report ASEAN, China, Donald Trump, European Union (EU), Japan, South Korea, Tariffs, Trade War

Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that the US government has what he called a “grand encirclement” strategy aimed at isolating and weakening China. Trump hit China with tariffs of 145%, imposing what is essentially a trade embargo. The Trump administration wanted to pressure Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and India to follow the US and “approach China as a group”, Bessent said, according to Bloomberg. This strategy is clearly failing. The finance ministers and central bank governors of China, Japan, South Korea, and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met in Italy on May 4 and published a joint statement pledging “to further strengthen regional financial cooperation”.

Massive Celebrations After South Korea’s President Is Impeached

April 5, 2025 Abdul Rahman, People's Dispatch. Educate! Impeachment, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), Martial Law, South Korea, Yoon Suk-Yeol

In a unanimous decision on Friday, April 4, the Constitutional Court in Seoul upheld the impeachment of Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, ordering his immediate removal from his post. Millions of people took to the streets across the country to celebrate the court’s decision calling it the end of the coup attempt. People carried posters and banners denouncing Yoon’s authoritarianism and chanting pro-democracy and pro-peace slogans. All eight judges in the constitutional court agreed with its acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae who said that by declaring martial law Yoon “abandoned his responsibility to safeguard the constitution and gravely betrayed the trust of the sovereign people of Republic of Korea,” The Korean Times reported.

Chaos Under Heaven: South Korea’s Deepening Political Debacle

March 25, 2025 K. J. Noh, Popular Resistance. Educate! Impeachment, Legal System, New Cold War, South Korea, US Intervention

Morse Tan, a high-ranking former US State Dept. official, recently let the cat out of the bag on the US ruling elite position on South Korea's Martial Law. He declared that "Yoon declared Martial Law to preserve South Korea's Democracy". Having previously labeled South Korea a model democracy, this is a No-Scotsman-move taken to absurdity. Now Tan is not a current US government official, but he is an indicator of what the US national security state is thinking, in particular, what its neocon wing is thinking. Tan also recently claimed that "the impeachment against Yoon is an insurrection" led by opposition party leader Lee Jae Myung "who wants to turn the country over to the Chinese communists".

Movements Worldwide Call For End To US Military Exercises In Koreas

March 13, 2025 Abdul Rahman, People's Dispatch. Resist! Military Exercises, South Korea, United States, US army, Wars and Militarism

Pressure continues to grow against the ongoing Freedom Shield 25, a joint military exercise between the US and South Korea. The International People’s Assembly (IPA) and International League of Peoples Struggle (ILPS) joined Nodutdol, an anti-imperialist Korean diaspora group, in launching a joint statement calling for the Freedom Shield military exercises to be cancelled, claiming it is drumming up threats of war on the Korean peninsula. The anti-imperialist and anti-war platforms bring together hundreds of people’s movements and organizations across the world.

South Korean Workers Unite Against The US-Backed Far Right

March 12, 2025 Otis Grotewohl, Workers World. Strategize! Far Right, South Korea, US Intervention, Worker Rights and Jobs, Yoon Suk-Yeol

South Korea’s U.S.-backed President Yoon Suk Yeol was released from the Seoul Detention Center on March 8. Yoon was impeached on Dec. 27, 2024, for his role in ordering a right-wing coup, an order that failed earlier that month. Yoon’s release was based on a legal technicality, and it is already sparking some resistance and some chaos. Yoon had declared martial law on Dec. 3 during a televised address. The declaration aroused fierce and massive resistance, particularly from organized labor, students and two opposition parties that participate in the Korean Congress.

Activists Call For Cancellation Of US-ROK Military Exercises In Korea

March 6, 2025 Nodutdol. Resist! Anti-war Movement, Militarization, Military Exercises, South Korea

On March 1, the US out of Korea campaign held rallies across New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle, bringing together hundreds of people in opposition to the upcoming Freedom Shield military exercises taking place between March 10 to March 19 in South Korea. In New York, over 200 people gathered in Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, joined by Korean survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima who shared the devastating impact of the US nuclear bomb. Member of European Parliament Marc Botenga also spoke on the necessity of diverting resources away from militarism and war towards peace and international solidarity.

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