As 2020 begins, the optimism that permeated South Korea in late 2016 and early 2017 seems but a distant memory. Three years ago, hundreds of thousands were holding peaceful weekly demonstrations—popularly dubbed the “Candlelight Revolution” for the candle-carrying participants—against corruption on the part of then-president Park Geun-hye and her confidante Choi Soon-sil. In March 2017, Park was removed from power by the nation’s constitutional court, which unanimously pronounced her unfit to continue her duties.
