bad turbulence hits a Boeing 777-200 en route from Seoul in Korea to Dallas-Fort Worth and causes cabin damage

Those who fly certain routes, particularly over alps and into certain airports such as Wellington, know to expect turbulence which will cause an adrenaline rush, but little else. However, this documents an incident on Tuesday when it hit violently and caused cabin damage; five people were injured, fortunately none seriously. The pilots decided to land in Tokyo.

It's quite unlikely that turbulence will cause structural damage to modern airliners, but loose things inside the aircraft - including the passengers - are another matter.

Aircraft have weather radar which detects turbulence associated with storm fronts and pilots will do their best to avoid the rough stuff. However, the phenomenon of clear air turbulence is something which they can't detect.  Usually it won't last too last, though.

The obvious message is, when seated, keep your seat belt fastened at all times.

More details here