총 44페이지

25
FromInternationalEyes
seesattheHiSeoulfestival;nevertheless,theywearcostumeswiththepicturesoftheir
candidate printed on them. The election campaigning methods in Korea seem to be
quitenewandinnovativetome.
Everytimepeopleenterorexitasubwaystation,theyaregreetedbyafewajummas
(middle-aged women) wearing a special costumes that includes a cap on their head
and a band worn diagonally across the torso. On the band, the number and the name
ofthecandidatetheysupportareprinted.Iwonderedwhythecandidateschooseonly
ajummascampaignforthem.Then,afriendtoldmethatthepreferenceforajummasis
simplybecausetheyhavemorefreetimethanotherpeople-maybeitistrue,maybeit
isnot!
The supporters bow down to greet (almost) every passerby, greeting with a common
expressionandofcourse,mentioningthenameoftheircandidate.Someofthemeven
singaquickjinglefortheircandidate.Justfewmetersapart,thereisusuallyonemore
person(read:teammate)distributingacardamongthepeople.Atthefirstglance,you
maymistakeitforacouponforfreedrinksordiscountsbutthatisnottobe.Itisakind
of business card with the information about the candidate and his/her slogan written
on it. When you escape one such team, there is another one for another candidate
waiting just meters away. Anyway, it is interesting that in a 20-meter radius, people
canpossiblyfindaboutfivedifferentteams,withoutanyshowofbitterrivalry-itisso
peacefulandprofessional.
Aboutthegreetingandthecard-givingpart,noteverybodyrepliedtothegreetingsor
agreedtoreceivethecandidate’scard.Butagain,noteverybodywasluckyenoughto
begreetedorgetofferedcardbythecampaigners!
They greet everybody who is or at least looks
Korean,buttheydon’tusuallygreetoroffercards
totheoneswhodonotmatchtheirdesiredprofile!
Well, some of them do! Once I got five business
cardsjustina6or7seconds,andhadtobowback
six times in ten seconds (as I always try to bow
back) as I passed six different campaign teams.
But most of the campaigners often just ignore the
foreigners. I am not sure whether foreigners have
therighttovote,butthismightbethereason.
OnceItriedtolistencarefullytoacandidatedeliveringaspeech.Hementionedabout
the transportation system, promised something about the improvement of education
facilities.However,Iamsurehedidnotmentionabouttheforeigners,orisitthatmy
Koreanisnotgoodenoughtocomprehend.EventhoughIdidnotwitnessorhearitby
myself,onanotheroccasionstheymusthavetouchedtheissuesonforeigners,foraren’t
theforeignersarealsoapartoftheKoreansocietynow?
Bythetimethisarticleispublished,thewinnersmusthavebeenalreadydeclared.We
wishtheelectiongoeswell,andwhoeverwinscanmaterializethepromisestheymade
duringthecampaign,andinturn,bringbettermenttoallofus,thepeople.
Bytheway,didyourcandidatewin?
prihantoro2001@yahoo.com
JUNE 2010

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