South Korea: Hope for democracy in an age of madmen

Anthony Kuhn is the NPR (National Public Radio) correspondent in Seoul, South Korea. He has been reporting from Asia for decades, including long stints in China and Indonesia.Anthony told me all about recent events in South Korea, a country that only became a democracy very recently, but that has vigorously defended its democratic system against the Trumpish former president Yoon Suk-Yeol, who attempted to subvert that system in December 2024 with the declaration of martial law. His trial for insurrection charges began on April 14. If found guilty, Yoon faces life imprisonment, or even the death penalty (although there has been a moratorium on executions in South Korea since 1997).Anthony also dropped a bombshell at the end of the podcast—or at least a bombshell to those of us not immersed in Korean politics. * The recording and editing on this episode is a little rough, which is particularly painful for me since Anthony is an NPR veteran: please forgive me the rough cuts! The Rhyming Chaos podcast is produced by me, Jeremy Goldkorn and edited by Cadre Scripts. The theme music is Paper Boy, composed and performed on the guzheng by Wu Fei. Our closing music is Erik Satie’s Gymnopedie No. 1, arranged and performed by Wu Fei. Our cover art is by Li Yunfei.Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, leave us a review, and if you like what we’re doing, please take out a paid subscription at rhymingchaos.com. Get full access to Rhyming Chaos at www.rhymingchaos.com/subscribe