SKorean candidates use song, dance to get votes
SEOUL: Due to the peculiarities of South Korean election law and history, almost every candidate on the campaign trail has a theme song, dance routine, and politically adjusted lyrics to ensure their messages reach voters.
From K-pop chart toppers to «Baby Shark,» still the world's most-watched song on YouTube, seemingly no music is safe from a South Korean political makeover.
At a rally for Democratic Party lawmaker Nam In-soon, running for a fourth term in office in Seoul's Songpa district, campaign speeches were interspersed with ear-splitting blasts of music, as uniformed campaign staff performed choreographed moves.
DANCE, DANCE, DANCE Democratic Party campaign choreographer Kim Mi-ran (second, left) dances with her team during a rally for lawmaker Nam In-soon running in Seoul’s outer Songpa district on April 2, 2024. AFP Photo«This kind of campaigning helps raise voters' interest,» Nam told AFP before next week's parliamentary election.
«I can convey my message and policy promises through the campaign songs,» she said, adding that the tunes were carefully selected, and the lyrics thoughtfully re-worked, to help her engage with constituents.
This election cycle, Nam had chosen a hit K-pop song called «Jilpoonggado» — which means «Stormy Road» in English — for her campaign.
AdvertisementThe original lyrics, which speak of giving people courage against a storm, were tweaked to request «storming courage» for the candidate, and end with: «ballot number 1 Nam In-soon! The right person to lead Songpa.»
But the campaign also used «Baby Shark» and a few «trott» hits — a kind of slower K-pop, popular with older South Korean listeners — to cover their bases.
K-pop campaigning is not only grueling work for the candidates: campaign choreographer Kim Mi-ran performs an elaborate dance routine three times a day, every day for around two weeks before the vote, everywhere Nam goes.
«The party headquarters gave us some guidelines, but the candidate's staff have a lot of decision-making power» over song selection and dance routines, said Kim, who is not a full-time dancer but works as a civil activist outside of election time.
Advertisement«I talked to her staff to decide on
