On November 23rd 2010 North Korean artillery shelled military and civilian targets on Yeonpyeong, one of five South Korean islands in the West (Yellow) Sea, close to North Korea. Two marines and two civilians were killed, 18 people were injured, and fire damage to property and land was substantial. South Korean forces on the island returned fire, but the South did not escalate its retaliation further. Most of the island's population was evacuated over the next few days. The South's currency, the won, fell and stockmarkets were shaken, but in the end both held up relatively well.

The political fallout went deeper. There was fury in South Korea over the country's apparently impotent response to Northern aggression. This came just six months after the South had accused North Korea of sinking a Southern military vessel, the Cheonan, in nearby waters on March 26th. On both occasions the South threatened to strike back the next time such an incident occurred. While some South Koreans had been sceptical of the official account of the Cheonan's sinking, this time they were nearly unanimous in their condemnation of the North. The longer-term political impact in the South remains to be seen. Although the president, Lee Myung-bak, took immediate flak, the military confrontation hardly helps the centre-left opposition Democratic Party (DP), which wants to restore the former "sunshine" policy of engaging the North. Applications to join the marines shot up in December, amid talk of a sea-change in attitudes towards the North from widespread pity and sympathy to fear and hatred. However, Southern political sentiment can be volatile.

Following reports that the radar and some howitzers on Yeonpyeong had not worked, South Korea's defence minister, Kim Tae-yong, who had offered his resignation in May over the Cheonan, found it accepted on November 25th. A former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Kim Kwan-jin, replaced him.