Iranians in Korea express mixed reactions to death of Khamenei

Park Si-ma, head of the Iranian Network in Korea / Courtesy of Park Si-ma

The Iran that Park Si-ma remembers was once described as the “Paris of the Middle East,” a place where women wore miniskirts instead of hijabs and some residents flew abroad for weekend shopping trips.

That changed in 1979, when the Iranian Revolution toppled the Pahlavi dynasty and ushered in the Islamic Republic — the same year Park moved to Korea with the husband she had met in Iran. The revolution transformed Iranian society and governance, ending decades of secular, Western-oriented rule and replacing it with a theocratic system that reshaped everyday life and cultural norms.

Since 2009, the Iranian Network in Korea (INK) has carried out activities from Korea opposing the Iranian government. On Saturday, too, Park and about 70 other Iranians held a rally in Seoul condemning Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

That same day, Khamenei was killed in coordinated U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on his central Tehran compound — a dramatic escalation in hostilities that marked one of the most significant military operations in the long-running conflict and triggered retaliatory strikes across the region.

“We are celebrating in both Iran and Korea,” Park told The Korea Times in a phone interview. “Those tied to the government may feel differently, especially if they face trial or have assets at stake.”

But Khamenei’s death is not the end, Park said, adding that without a regime change, another leader would simply take his place. She said that while additional U.S. support is important, the decisive push must ultimately come from the Iranian people.

“It’s about the system. If the United States removes more at the top, then the people will take it from there,” Park said.

Members of the Iranian Network in Korea (INK) hold a rally condemning Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at Seoul Station in Yongsan District, central Seoul, Feb. 14. Captured from INK’s Instagram

This year, INK has staged rallies in Seoul — including along Teheran-ro in Gangnam District, named in 1977 for a sister-city pact between Seoul and Tehran — calling for regime change and the return of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince of the former Pahlavi dynasty ousted in the revolution.

“Tehran’s actions have had little impact on Iranians in Korea, as it remains focused on domestic unrest and crackdowns,” Park said, adding that if the regime stays in power, it will eventually affect Iranians abroad.

Last December, protests over soaring prices spread across Iran and later intensified. A government crackdown left many dead, though the exact toll remains unclear. State media reported 3,117 deaths in January, while human rights groups say the figure could be in the tens of thousands.

Park said official figures from Iran cannot be trusted, citing accounts from friends and relatives there who claimed some of the wounded were shot in hospitals while receiving treatment, while others hid at home for fear of arrest or death.

“The real number is likely far higher,” she said. “Almost every Iranian in Korea has family back home, and with internet access cut off, some can reach them while others cannot.”

Park said her homeland has changed beyond recognition from the Iran she once knew. After moving to Korea, she learned of the transformation through updates from family.

“In the Iran where I lived, women wore miniskirts and bikinis instead of hijabs. After Khomeini (the founder of the Islamic Republic) took power, the hijab became compulsory,” Park said. “Women were reduced to second-class citizens.”

Asked why she chose to take an active role in Korea rather than remain indifferent to events in Iran, she had a simple answer: It’s her homeland.

“No matter how long you live abroad, your homeland does not change,” Park said. “Citizenship and even your name may change, but your blood does not.”

Siavash Saffari, professor of West Asian studies in the department of Asian languages and civilizations at Seoul National University, speaks during a press conference condemning U.S. airstrikes on Iran at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno District, central Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Park Ung

Meanwhile, voices condemning the U.S. airstrikes on Iran have also surfaced in Seoul.

On Tuesday, about 30 members of the Organizing Committee for the International People’s Action Denouncing the Trump Regime held a press conference across from the U.S. Embassy in Seoul to denounce the strikes and call for an immediate end to U.S. military intervention in Iran, framing the attacks as violations of international law and a form of foreign interference.

“We are seeing a repeat of 2003, when the George W. Bush government lied to the American people, and to the whole world, in order to justify an illegal war against Iraq,” said Siavash Saffari, an Iranian Canadian professor of West Asian studies in the department of Asian languages and civilizations at Seoul National University.

Saffari added that hundreds of Iranians, including civilians, have already been killed, while schools and hospitals have been bombed and access to food, water and medicine disrupted.

“(The Israeli and American governments) do not care how many Iranians are killed as a result of this war. They don’t care about the pain and suffering that war brings to the Iranian people,” Saffari said. “There is one reason for this war, and one reason alone: to ensure U.S. and Israeli dominance in the Middle East region.”