K-pop and autocrats Jolt to democracy lays bare the two sides of South Korea

In the global battle for soft-power supremacy, a winner has emerged in recent years: South Korea. Spearheaded by the boyband phenomenon BTS, the Korean Wave has turned a country few knew much about into a cultural behemoth.

- Justin McCurry Tokyo Raphael Rashid Seoul

But just days ago, as anticipation grew over the start this month of the second season of Squid Game - whose first season became Netflix's most-watched show ever - real-life dystopia intervened when the South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, announced he was imposing martial law to root out "anti-state forces" and overcome political opponents who were obstructing his policy agenda.

Yoon, an arch conservative, reversed course about six hours later after parliament, including some members of his party, voted to oppose the decree. But by then the reputational damage had been done, with the US - Seoul's most important ally - Japan and the UK among those voicing "grave concern" over the short-lived slide into government by force.

A global audience more accustomed to the positive vibes of K-pop were witnessing in real-time a side to South Korea that few recognised - one that for older citizens evoked the trauma of a time when their country was ruled by military dictators and democracy campaigners were shot dead in the street.

The most striking contrast between the Hallyu Wave - a huge portfolio of internationally acclaimed film, drama, pop music, and now literature - and this week's turmoil was evident outside the national assembly building in Seoul, where lawmakers clambered over walls and confronted armed soldiers to retake the democratic rights seized by their president, while military helicopters hovered overhead.

As the uncertainty continued into the weekend, when parliament was due to vote on Yoon's impeachment, South Koreans wondered if their country would emerge from the chaos with its reputation intact. "Our reputation has taken a serious hit," said Kim Jung-ho, a Seoul resident. "We had built it up so much, especially this year with Han Kang winning the Nobel prize in literature and our peaceful global image. All of that crashed in an instant."