On Seoul's streets, South Korea is reeling from President Yoon Suk Yeol's high-risk antics
While South Korea's democracy is still intact, the president's political career is arguably in tatters.
Wednesday 4 December 2024 14:10, UK
Night has fallen in Seoul and the cold is biting. But outside the National Assembly, the air is bright with candles and thick with the cries of people calling for the president to be impeached.
They are gathered on the steps aghast at President Yoon Suk Yeol's audacious move to impose martial law.
Last night they were here as lawmakers had to scale fences to get into the building and vote for marital law to be overturned.
South Korea latest: President faces impeachment
It was a short-lived threat, but for many it brought back haunting memories of the military dictatorships of the past.
Seojoung Oh was there as politicians climbed barriers to get their voices heard, confronted by the army as they did so.
She said: "My family, we were so shocked. They were afraid. So I told my children, 'Don't worry, we will overcome this problem'.
"We had a very tragic moment. But I don't think our democracy is fragile now."
But people are clearly shaken and rattled. Very few saw this coming.
President Yoon, a deeply unpopular leader, had told few about his plans, it seems.
He rose to power on a razor-sharp margin and his tenure has been dogged with allegations of corruption.
He has acted like a leader under siege, claiming he was protecting South Korea from "anti-state forces" and the threat from North Korea.
But his critics saw it as a desperate and dangerous attempt to keep his grip on power.
Kim, a woman in her 70s, said: "I couldn't sleep last night. The whole night I couldn't sleep. It was very scary. Because 40 years ago, we had that experience."
In the late 1980s, South Korea had a series of strongmen who repeatedly invoked North Korea when struggling to control domestic dissidents and political opponents.
A brutal military crackdown on a pro-democracy uprising in the southern city of Gwangju in 1980 killed at least 200 people.
The legacy of Gwangju still weighs heavily on people's minds.
Read more:
Why was martial law declared in South Korea?
South Korea's government has been in turmoil for some time
South Korea's democracy is still intact. The president's political career though is arguably in tatters.
The question now is, what next?
A motion to impeach is already under way. Some say he could be gone by the weekend.
Members of his own party will have to vote against him for that, which may well happen.
But he just might have a slither of a lifeline left. The defence minister Kim Yong-hyun has offered to resign and says he feels responsible for what happened and wants to take responsibility.
If the president accepts his resignation, he may no longer be subject to an impeachment process.
But be under no doubt, the country is reeling from his high-risk antics.
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Some expect hundreds of thousands of people to protest against him over the next few days.
"He is stupid and dangerous," one man said with despair in his eyes.
There's a sense of defiance you feel in the crowds - a determination to protect their democracy.
South Korea's allies have been stunned by Seoul's night of upheaval.
It appeared to catch Washington - a key strategic partner - off-guard.
It's a worrying reality for the United States military, which has nearly 30,000 troops and its largest overseas base in South Korea, serving as a check against North Korea and a critical counterweight to China.