S Korean candidates embrace K-pop to attract votes

SEOUL: Thanks to quirks of South Korean election law and history, almost every candidate on the campaign trail has a theme song, a dance routine, and politically-tweaked lyrics to make their message hit home.

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.

“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. The 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 Insoon! The right person to lead Songpa”.

But the campaign also used Baby Shark and a few “trot” hits — another genre of Korean music, popular with older South Korean listeners — to cover their bases. “We chose songs that can appeal to a wide range of age groups,” Nam said.