Progressive Politics

The elderly vendor doesn’t speak English, except for one phrase. “I love Trump,” she says softly, smiling as she points to a row of glossy campaign buttons. Donald Trump’s face gleams beside mugs featuring South Korea’s recently impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, cradling puppies. Nearby, a man in his 30s unfurls an American flag that billows like a sail. Placards reading “Stop the steal!” echo slogans from the January 6 U.S. Capitol riots. When the speaker — a man in his 50s wearing a red cap — ends with a triumphant “Amen,” hands shoot into the air like it’s a Pentecostal revival.

For a moment, it could be hard to tell what country we’re in, were it not for the Korean flags waving just as high as the American ones. We’re in Seoul, specifically the Hongdae area, better known for its progressive crowd and art scene. But on this humid Tuesday in mid-April, one week after Yoon’s impeachment, a blocked-off road near Hongdae’s main roundabout is packed with around 3,000 conservatives: many of them elderly, but joined by younger men livestreaming and young women raising their fists in unison.

Pro-Yoon rallies marked by MAGA hats and American flags have erupted weekly since January, after the former president — who was elected in 2022 by a razor-thin margin — declared martial law in December 2024. Claiming his actions were necessary to thwart a supposed North Korean threat, Yoon deployed troops to block a parliamentary vote. The backlash was swift: He was impeached in April and now awaits trial for inciting insurrection, a charge that still carries the death penalty on paper.