S Korea shocked, shamed by attack on US envoy

Seoul - South Korea has reacted with shock and a little shame to a violent knife attack on the US ambassador that jarred harshly with the self-image of a largely safe, well-ordered society.

Civic and political protest is something of a national past-time in South Korea, but while demonstrations can be loud, passionate and physical, acts of extreme violence or civil unrest are rare.

And, putting the threat posed by North Korea to one side, the country has largely been untouched by the spectre of terrorism, domestic or external.