On December 3, 2024, the president of South Korea tried to end democracy with a single order.
Martial law.
Tanks rolled into the capital. Troops sealed off the National Assembly. President Yoon Suk Yeol accused lawmakers of treason, shut down dissenting media, and claimed “national security” to justify his power grab.
It looked like a textbook autocratic takeover — only this time, the textbook got rewritten.
Because millions of South Koreans said no.
THE PEOPLE FOUGHT BACK — AND WON
They came in waves. More than a million people who knew what was on the line filled the streets.
In Seoul, Busan, Incheon — with candles in their hands and rage in their throats.
Students. Workers. Veterans. Mothers. Buddhist monks. Christian pastors. No single ideology. Just one demand: get out.
The military hesitated. The courts listened. The resistance grew.
And on April 4, 2025, South Korea’s Constitutional Court unanimously removed President Yoon from office.
That doesn’t happen often in history. But when it does, the world should pay attention.
TRUMP IS PAYING ATTENTION — IN THE WORST WAY
Here in the United States, Donald Trump is testing the same boundaries.
In January, he declared a national emergency at the southern border — not because of facts, but because fear is easier to manufacture than solutions. He ordered the Pentagon and DHS to explore invoking the Insurrection Act, which would let him use active-duty troops on U.S. soil.
This is not theory.
This is not alarmism.
This is what authoritarianism looks like at the starting line.
And if we don’t respond like the South Korean people did, we may not get another chance.
APRIL 5TH — HANDS OFF EVERYTHING
Tomorrow, April 5th, the world rises.
The Hands Off protests — born in the United States and now spreading across the globe — are a mass movement against the erosion of rights, justice, and democracy itself.
Protests are scheduled in the U.S., Canada, the UK, France, Australia, South Africa, Mexico, Belgium, and more.
If you’re in America:
Go to your State Capitol. Go to Washington, D.C.
Bring your grief. Bring your anger. Bring your damn self.
This isn’t performative. This is protective.
South Korea stood up.
Now it’s our turn.
Get off your ass, America.
Tomorrow is the day.
This post has been syndicated from Closer to the Edge, where it was published under this address.