Americans think they can have their cake and eat it too with both democracy and Trump; Koreans know that's not the case, they realized immediately that a free country with a democratic country, and a president attempting to overthrow democracy, are incompatible to the extent of mutually exclusive. The U.S. just doesn't get that yet.

I think South Koreans are far more aware of how much they have to lose than Americans are when it comes to democracy in their country. They are perpetually cognizant of North Koreans' experience, and North Korea's government is a constant threat to South Korea, such that threat of loss of democracy never leaves the people's consciousness. It also wasn't that long ago historically that they were under Japanese rule, and not so long before that they had monarchy rather than democracy, and the people had to fight for the democracy they have today. For Americans born in the U.S., we're born with democracy in our DNA. We don't know what it's like not to have it, and don't recognize a threat to it. I think that's the real difference. S. Korea knows what they have to lose and IMMEDIATELY responded en masse to prevent that from happening. The U.S. is unaware of the reality of what's happening and those who are aware are fearful but don't know how to rise up (yet).

Anonymous wrote:South Korea is a young democracy. A lot of people there still remember living under a dictator military rule. They don't want to go back to that.

Americans have taken actual democracy for granted for 200 years. They can't see when a dictatorship is insidiously taking hold.

Someone once said "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

Anonymous wrote:their dictatorial president, shut his efforts down, impeached him and then withheld the impeachment.

They took to the streets to accomplish this.

Why don’t Americans? I ask this as I sit on my couch, of course, so I recognize I’m part of the problem.

(No gift link, sorry- if anyone has one, please post it).

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/world/asia/south-korea-removes-impeached-president.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c&pvid=0DC981A7-BB01-4CED-A8A6-502B5F3E95E2

He mobilized the army against congress.

Then he had his secret service physically repel marshalls from arresting him for treason.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:their dictatorial president, shut his efforts down, impeached him and then withheld the impeachment.

They took to the streets to accomplish this.

Why don’t Americans? I ask this as I sit on my couch, of course, so I recognize I’m part of the problem.

(No gift link, sorry- if anyone has one, please post it).

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/world/asia/south-korea-removes-impeached-president.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c&pvid=0DC981A7-BB01-4CED-A8A6-502B5F3E95E2

You gonna oust Trump? Good luck.

Sounds like a fun challenge. I am sure that British loyalists said that same once upon a time.

Luckily we just have to keep him chasing his tail in the courts until he eventually dies on the toilet and they roll his carcass into the Potomac.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unlike the South Korean President, Trump isn’t being ousted or facing removal from office. He didn’t call for martial law or try to jail his political opponents on the left—moves that would only create more chaos, not solve problems. Instead, Trump recently signed an executive order focused on cracking down on illegal immigration and cutting certain parts of the government. While controversial, it’s still within the bounds of executive authority and doesn't cross into the kind of authoritarian behavior that led to the South Korean President’s downfall. That’s the key difference here.

+1000 The posters here acting like Trump is some kind of a dictator are totally unhinged.

Like I said, Americans can't see when a dictator is rising because they've never experienced it before.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unlike the South Korean President, Trump isn’t being ousted or facing removal from office. He didn’t call for martial law or try to jail his political opponents on the left—moves that would only create more chaos, not solve problems. Instead, Trump recently signed an executive order focused on cracking down on illegal immigration and cutting certain parts of the government. While controversial, it’s still within the bounds of executive authority and doesn't cross into the kind of authoritarian behavior that led to the South Korean President’s downfall. That’s the key difference here.

I think Trump's actions during J6 qualify.

+1 and then pardoning the insurrectionists. If he thought he could get away with it, he'd have called the military to stop the elections certification.

Anonymous wrote:Unlike the South Korean President, Trump isn’t being ousted or facing removal from office. He didn’t call for martial law or try to jail his political opponents on the left—moves that would only create more chaos, not solve problems. Instead, Trump recently signed an executive order focused on cracking down on illegal immigration and cutting certain parts of the government. While controversial, it’s still within the bounds of executive authority and doesn't cross into the kind of authoritarian behavior that led to the South Korean President’s downfall. That’s the key difference here.

I think Trump's actions during J6 qualify.