South Koreans who called for the removal of Yoon Suk Yeol from the presidency are celebrating the confirmation of his impeachment by sharing images of a humorous visual pun online: photos of various green-onion-sprinkled noodle dishes, the name of which means "removal" in Korean.
This "'pamyeon (removal)' challenge" refers to posting photos of noodles ("myeon" in Korean) sprinkled with green onions ("pa") on social media. The trend had been going on for several weeks leading up to Friday's historic ruling by the Constitutional Court, which immediately removed Yoon from the presidency for declaring martial law on Dec. 3.
An Italian restaurant in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province recently launched a spaghetti aglio e olio dish named "pamyeon," with the description being: "a fusion aglio e olio that carries the yearning of the people." A user of social media platform X who shared a photo of noodles with green onions said, "I ate the pamyeon praying for (Yoon's) removal. The name of the dish is actually 'pamyeon.'"
Kim Gyu-ri, a South Korean actor who frequently and openly voices her political opinions, posted a photo of instant ramyeon sprinkled with green onions on her Instagram account on Friday with the Korean symbol for crying, a thumbs up emoji and a heart emoji.
Film director Lee-Song Hee-il last Wednesday posted a photo on his Facebook page of a pasta dish piled high with green onions, saying he added eight pieces of roasted tomato and pollock roe as he wished for a unanimous 8-0 ruling to uphold Yoon's impeachment.
Rep. Jung Chung-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea was among the earlier participants in the pamyeon challenge, posting a clip that shows him chopping green onions into a bowl of noodles with "pamyeon" written over the video. Earlier Sunday, he posted a clip in which he was speaking at an event he described as a party celebrating Yoon's removal.
Yoon's impeachment was upheld in a unanimous decision by the Constitutional Court on Friday, ruling that he gravely violating the law and democratic principles by declaring martial law on Dec. 3.
He is still on criminal trial for insurrection, and is suspected to have given illegal orders to his top police officials and military commanders -- many of whom are on trial for insurrection as well.
Yoon became the second sitting president in South Korean history to be removed via impeachment on April 4.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
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