A knife darting out in a packed subway car. An assailant, chasing shoppers, stabbing wildly in the street.

These nightmares have played out in the minds of many South Koreans following a mass stabbing attack last week - the country’s second in as many weeks.

On 21 July, a man attacked commuters in the capital, killing one person and stabbing three more at a subway station. He later told police he lived a miserable life and “wanted to make others miserable too”.