How social media reacted to South Korea's martial law saga

South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol has reversed his decision to impose martial law in the country after widespread protests with opposition parties since filing a motion to impeach him.

Martial law is when military authorities temporarily rule in a time of emergency, when civil authorities are deemed to not be able to function.

Shortly after the president imposed martial law, CCTV footage revealed chaotic scenes where staffers used sofas and fire extinguishers to block soldiers armed with assault rifles and night-vision goggles from entering the national assembly.

Protests continue across the country calling for the president to resign and social media users have been reacting online.

CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour shared her interview with former South Korean foreign minister Kyung-wha King who said: "This is completely unacceptable. This is an aberration."

Dr Khursten Santos said: "What we are seeing in South Korea right now is not just a moving example of democracy but also an important reminder of how strong historical education can empower people to not repeat the worst of its history."

Gregg Brazinsky said: "I can't emphasise enough what a terrible mistake President Yoon has made. Even if martial law is quickly lifted, the declaration itself undermines so much progress that South Korea has made. As someone who has worked on South Korea for more than two decades, this is the most horrific act by an ROK president that I have seen. It may well be the worst thing any South Korean leader (including Park Geun Hye) has done since 1987. I am shocked and incredibly disappointed."

"Only one in 500 people own a gun in South Korea and they were able to stop a right-wing government from taking power through military force in a matter of hours," one posted.

Another said: "In South Korea, they defeated an attempt to set up a dictatorship in two hours with no bloodshed through a simple parliamentary vote. Perfect proof of the superiority of liberal democracy. Imagine how much better the world would be if the citizens of every single country had this power to block dictators."

"Democracy has often been dismissed as a 'Western' thing. But in recent years, months and hours, from Myanmar to Thailand to Hong Kong to Bangladesh to Taiwan to South Korea, one sees more determination in Asia to fight for or maintain democracy than anywhere in the West," another posted.

One posted the famous clip of Professor Robert Kelly explaining South Korean politics live on BBC News when he was interrupted by his kids and said: "We desperately need this expert on South Korea."

Another shared a video of a South Korean woman grabbing a soldier's gun during the protests and hailing her as a "legend".

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