The protests that brought Seoul to a standstill may appear to be about plans to restart imports of American beef, but they have become an excuse to complain indirectly about everything that seems out of kilter with South Korea - from the authoritarian leadership style of President Lee to the soaring cost of filling a lorry with diesel. These are the ructions, analysts say, of a society at the cutting edge of the global economy, one that grew rich in an era of cheap oil, cheap shipping and cheap food, but is now fast emerging as Asia's most sensitive barometer economy.

South Korea's economic spasms and the extraordinary public backlash against Mr Lee's stance on US beef are symptoms of the country's unique sensitivity to current affairs. The former Hyundai executive is not providing the quick economic fixes that the voters expected. Unions fear a Thatcher-style assault on their power, bureaucrats fear a steamrollering of their influence and ordinary Koreans fear that their views will be ignored. Beef is a single issue in a country with much to beef about.

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