A history of martial law in South Korea in Associated Press photographs

When South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law this week it was the first time a South Korean government took such a drastic measure since it became a fully functioning democracy more than 35 years ago.

But in the decades of largely autocratic governments and military rule from the end of World War II until the establishment of the Sixth Republic in 1988, martial law was not uncommon as the country faced political turmoil, uprisings, frequent protests and all-out war with North Korea.

It was last imposed in 1979 by Prime Minister Choi Kyu-hah after the assassination of President Park Chung-hee, a military dictator who had seized power in a 1961 coup. It was then extended in 1980 by Gen. Chun Doo-hwan, who also took the presidency in a military coup.

He used military force to put down student-led demonstrations in Gwangju, some 250 kilometers (150 miles) south of Seoul, killing hundreds of protesters.

In Seoul, thousands of university students took to the streets…