May the Best Dance Crew Win!: Korean Election Season

Not that the 2008 presidential election in the united States wasn’t entertaining enough, because let’s face it, it was; but I have to think it would have been even more so if McCain and Obama had engaged in a dance off to determine who would lead our great nation. This may seem like a far out idea, but for the Koreans it is no stretch at all. It is voting day here in South Korea and for the past month every street corner has been overtaken by a chorus of singing and dancing campaigners, each group with its own color scheme and theme song. By far the most colorful election season I have had the privileged of witnessing!

In total there are about a dozen political parties currently functioning in South Korea with the two major parties being: The Grand National Party and the Democratic party. Conservative Grand national party President Lee Myung-Bak will not be up for re-election until 2013, after serving his five year presidency and most Koreans I have spoken to seem to be in favor of him leaving office in a hurry. With recent investigations of the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel, today’s elections will no doubt undergo protesting against candidates associated with the President’s conservative party. With excess police force out patrolling the streets in fear of riots and thousands of colorful t-shirt wearing campaigners in Ulsan alone, this has been an another exciting cultural experience getting to witness the 2010 local elections from South Korea.

If you would like some more Korea election reading material, check out the

Korea Herald

Korea’s English newspaper. P.S I apologize for the photo quality, these were taken on the back of a scooter 😉