총 44페이지

02
Editorial
The Rising Wave of
Voting among Young People
P
osterstitled“Aegata”canbeseenallaroundtheHUFScampus.Thewordisaplayon“Avatar”-
thetitleofJamesCameron’sworldwideblockbustermovie.InKorean,itmeanstoleavesomeone
hanging.Andthesedays,it’sbeingusedtourgeyoungpeopletovote.
WiththelocalelectionsscheduledforJune2,thoseintheir20sarenotoriousforfailingtomakethe
triptopollingstations.Theoldergenerationchastisesthegroupforbeinglethargicanddisinterestedin
politicsandsocialmatters.However,amidthecriticism,some20-year-oldsaretakinguptheinitiative.
They’vecreatedorganizationstopromotetheelections,aswellaspledgedtocastballots.
Recently,votersintheir20shavebeengatheringbothon-andoff-linetotakepartindiscussionsand
makequirkypledges.OnesucheventimitatedthecurrentAmerican“TeaParty”movement,wherethe
group got together over coffee. At another one, people had their picture taken while holding a placard
thatread,“Novote,Nokiss.”
Two major gatherings were also held in the build-up to the local elections. University students
participatedinaneventwiththeslogan“Revolutionofvotingof88tenthousandwongeneration!Vote
for Change!” as well as a festival promoting democracy, in which 15,000 college students from 30
universitiesshowedup.Theparticipantsmadepledgesaswellascheckedexistingones.
Some 20-year-olds are even running in the elections. Choo Seong-ho, last year’s student president of
HUFS, is competing in Seoul’s municipal election, as well as a student from KAIST and another one
from Hongik University. The Grand National Party said they are planning on nominating about 10
candidateswhoareintheir20s.
Despitethepush,skepticismisunlikelytobequelleduntilWednesday’sresultsaretallied.
Since older people traditionally have higher voter turnout, candidates often make campaign pledges
dealingwiththeirwelfare.Yet,thisshouldnotdetertheyoungergenerationfromvoting.AsAbraham
Lincoln,the16thU.S.President,putit,“Theballotisstrongerthanthebullet.”
Byvoting,studentscanhavetheirvoicesheard.Theproblemsthoseintheir20sfaceasagroupcannot
besolvedbyindividuals’efforts.Theycanonlybesolvedwithaninstitutionalapproach.Votingisthe
firststep.Asvoterturnoutamongthoseintheir20sgoesup,politicalpartiesandpoliticianswillstart
gearingtheiragendasinaccordance.Byvoting,futuregenerationswillalsobenefit.
Readupontheproblemsthattheyounggenerationsface(i.e.unemploymentandschoolexpenses),and
vote for the candidates that have specific and realistic solutions to fix them. Your parents changed the
fateoftheworldwithbullets;nowyouhavetheopportunitytochangetheworldwithballots.Don’tstop
there.Aftercastingyourballot,keepdevelopingvariousandmeaningfulactivitiestohandleyourown
issues.
Editor-in-Chief
HwangJung-hyun
www.theargus.org

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