Young protesters light up their handmade sticks and signs, inscribed with wit and humour. Courtesy of Bisang Action. Used with permission.

On April 4, the South Korean Constitutional Court upheld former president Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment. 

The impeachment movement not only punished Yoon for the grave betrayal of people’s trust with his declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024, but also enlivened a group of young activists who led demonstrations for consecutively 123 days — from Yoon’s December 3 insurrection until April 4 — and vowed to continue fighting against social injustices that have long plagued the country.  

The nationwide pro-impeachment mobilisation took place at over 70 Gwang Jangs — public spaces such as squares or plazas — across the country. 

Unlike their predecessors who lived through the military dictatorship of the 1980s, South Korean Gen Zers grew up in a democratic nation and were generally too young to join major demonstrations over the past two decades, including the 2008 protests against the government's reversal of the US beef ban policy and the 2016 protests calling for the resignation of former president Park Geun-hye.

This time, upon witnessing armed soldiers with helicopters and tanks storm the centre of Seoul, young Koreans rose to stop Yoon’s unconstitutional self-coup aimed at consolidating his power. With their tech-savvy skills and spirited energy, their protests have transformed Gwang Jangs across the country into platforms for promoting diversity, equality, and democracy. 

The protesting hornets

Many of the young people who joined the Gwang Jang protests do not belong to existing political or social groups; they call themselves “hornets” (말벌) — a newly coined term that originated from a meme featuring an agile elderly man known as “Mr. Hornet”, who comically and swiftly catches hornets to protect honeybees. Once less outspoken about their discontent, these young protesters began calling one another “hornet comrade” (말벌동지) during the impeachment movement as a show of solidarity. 

A fabric pin featuring a drawing of a hornet was distributed at protest sites. The words “Fight in Solidarity” are written at the top, and “Hornet Comrades” at the bottom. Photo taken by Yewon Kang. Used with permission.

The “hornet” activists are decentralised but connected through various social media platforms, including X. They communicate in real time and act quickly, just like “Mr. Hornet.”

Major public gatherings calling for President Yoon’s impeachment took place daily after 5 pm in central Seoul’s Gwang Jang near Gyeongbok Palace. But in the daytime, a variety of activist groups — including labour unions, women’s rights organisations, environmental groups, student organisations, farmers’ associations, LGBTQ+ groups and opposition parties — held demonstrations focused on their own agendas.  

The hornets became a dynamic force within the pro-impeachment movement, serving as a catalyst for cross-sector protest mobilisation. Their strength was first demonstrated in the tractor demonstration at Namtaeryeong, on the outskirts of Seoul, on December 21, 2024, when Seoul police blocked hundreds of farmers and their tractors from entering the capital to join the pro-impeachment demonstrations. 

Hornets standing hand-in-hand with farmers and workers

It was a cold winter night on December 21, 2024; the farmer protesters were stuck in the middle of the road, blocked by police barricades. A young farmer, Kim Huju, who later became an “influencer hornet”, posted a series of real-time tweets about the police blockade. Other protestors shared Kim’s tweets, and they quickly went viral, prompting hundreds of Seoul citizens to bring food, coffee, medicine and blankets to support the protesters. Below is one of Kim’s real-time tweets describing the Seoul police officers’ violent action against the protesting farmers:

[속보] 남태령을 넘어 한남동으로 진격하는 농민의 트랙터 대오를 내란부역자 경찰이 막아섰습니다. 트랙터 유리창을 깨고 강제로 운전자를 끌어내리려 하고, 항의하는 전농 사무총장과 상근자 및 회원들에게 폭력을 행사했습니다. 국민의 경찰인지 윤석열의 경찰인지, 그저 분노스러울 따름입니다. pic.twitter.com/8wqD9IXeZR

— 향연 (@symposion_) December 21, 2024

[Breaking News] The police, collaborators of the insurrection, have blocked the farmers’ tractors advancing from Namtaeryeong toward Hannam-dong. They broke the tractors’ windows and tried to forcibly drag out the drivers, and used violence against the general secretary, staff and members of the Korean Peasants League who protested. It is outrageous, are they the people's police or Yoon Seok Yeol's police?

Throughout the night, supporters, mostly young people, showed up at Namtaeryong and stayed up all night, singing along to K-pop songs while waving handmade flags and colourful light sticks, chanting “Take the [police] cars out!” and sharing their protest stories on a makeshift stage. A strong sense of  “hornet camaraderie” emerged in the protest.

By noon on December 22, the highway at Namtaeryeong was occupied by thousands of protesters, and the police were forced to lift the blockades.

Suyoung, 17, is one of the protesters who witnessed a sense of camaraderie emerge at the Namtaeryeong protests. He shared that he felt safe and respected during the protests:

평소에 잘 볼 수 없거나 마주할 일이 없는 동료시민들과 한 연대의 경험은 많은 이들에게 생경한 혹은 최초의 경험이었죠.

For many, the experience of solidarity with fellow citizens, whom we usually do not see or have a chance to encounter, was unfamiliar or even their first experience.

The teenage activist, who had dropped out of school due to bullying from peers, has been working since 2023 with an organization called, “Asunaro”, which advocates for causes such as the passage of the Students’ Rights Law and the Anti-Discrimination Law, as well as movements like #School_MeToo and rights for LGBTQ+ teens. 

제가 처음 갔던 광장은 23년 인천 퀴어문화축제였어요. 최근 2주부터는 광장에 거의 매일 나온 것 같애요. … 이번 광장에서는 다양한 시민들의 가시화를 목도할 수 있었죠. 특히 성소수자 입장에서도 자신의 정체성을 밝히는 것이 덜 부담스러워지고 더 많은 사람이 정체성을 밝히는게 커먼화 되었고요.

I came to Gwang Jang for the first time in 2023 for the Incheon queer parade. In the past two weeks, I have come out almost every day. … This time at Gwang Jang, we witnessed the visibility of a diverse group of citizens. Especially, from the perspective of sexual minorities, revealing one’s identity has become less burdensome, and it has become more common for people to come out.  

The safe environment was also made possible thanks to key organisers of the Gwang Jang demonstrations, including BISANG Action, which comprises more than 1,700 labour and civil society organisations. The civic coalition has set out guidelines for participating citizens to ensure that speakers on stage would not use derogatory terms or comments that are discriminatory or exclude marginalised groups such as women, LGBTQ+ individuals, disabled people, migrants, minors, or animals.

The hornets also joined forces with the labour union workers during the pro-impeachment protests.

With more than half a million members, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) has also been a key organiser of the Gwang Jang protests. In the early hours following Yoon’s declaration of martial law, hundreds of Korean citizens gathered at the National Assembly, where lawmakers passed a motion rejecting Yoon’s unconstitutional move.

After Yoon rescinded his declaration, KCTU announced an indefinite general strike and demanded Yoon’s impeachment. Unions under KCTU also called for labour rights at various Gwang Jang protest sites, where young hornets stood with them in solidarity. 

On a blustery day in late March, Global Voices met with a 24-year-old hornet, who goes by the pseudonym Yojigkyoung, as they walked to a metal workers’ protest site in Seoul.

Yojigkyoung, who prefers they/them pronouns, wore a blue vest over a checkered shirt, embroidered with the phrase “Metal Worker's Union”, which was adorned with several pins. They joined several other young people, who were making picket signs and humming “protest songs” (민중가요), a popular collection of protest anthems from the democratization movements of the 1980s.  

A colorfully decorated boat was displayed at the protest site, bearing the name “Fight in Solidarity” painted in rainbow colours. Photo taken by Yewon Kang. Used with permission.

The National Metal Workers Union has been striking against the shipbuilding corporation Hanwha Ocean over labour rights since 2019. Because the company has consistently refused to negotiate with subcontracted workers, union leader Kim Hyoungsu climbed a 30-metre-high CCTV (closed-circuit television) tower on March 15 to stage a “sit-in” demonstration. As of May 23, the high-altitude protest has lasted for 70 consecutive days and is still ongoing.

Yojigkyoung said that they have been involved in the metal workers’ demonstration since January 7, when they saw a post shared on X, calling for citizen supporters to show up at the site. With little prior knowledge of the union, Yojigkyung flew to the demonstration site — only to witness security contractors hired by Hanwha Ocean forcibly tear down the union’s tent in the protest area:

저는 그 날 마침 퇴근하고 근처에 있었는데 – 5분거리더라구요, 그래서 먹던걸 내려놓고 뛰어서 달려왔죠, … 매우 위험한 상황이었어요, 용역들이 천막 못치게 하려고 조합원들을 밀거나 깔아뭉게고, 조합원 한 분은 다치기도 했고요. 무서웠죠.

That day, I had just finished work and happened to be nearby — it was only five minutes away. So I just put down my food and ran over, … It was a very dangerous situation, the security contractors were pushing the union members and knocking them to the ground, one of the union members got injured. It was frightening. 

But miraculously, just like at Namtaeryong, more citizen supporters showed up and joined the protest, surprising both the security contractors and the union members. The protest crowd was in a jovial mood, singing, sharing food and stories with a microphone all night long. By the next morning, they had rebuilt the tents.

Originally, Yojigkyoung was a subcontracted worker. They were laid off in February and are now committed to becoming a full-time activist. 

최근 계속 길바닥에서 지내다보니 동지와의 관계 속 안에서 가장 기쁨을 느꼈어요.

Lately, as I spent so much time on the streets [protesting], I found great joy in my relationships with comrades.

After the Court confirmed Yoon’s impeachment, BISANG Action has continued organising protests and events at various Gwang Jangs for their next mission: to eliminate the “insurrection forces” and address the long-neglected social justice issues in South Korea. Its latest statement on its website says: 

파면은 끝이 아니라 새로운 시작입니다!

The impeachment is not the end, but a new beginning!