K-pop light sticks fire up impeachment protests in South Korea

SEOUL - While South Korean protesters have long employed songs, dances and chants, customised light sticks popular with K-pop fans have emerged as an effective new tool for demonstrators calling for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Tens of thousands of protesters have braved near sub-zero temperatures and gathered outside the National Assembly in the capital of Seoul since Yoon's failed martial law attempt last week.

"Impeach, impeach. Impeach Yoon Suk Yeol," protesters chanted to the beat of K-pop group aespa's latest techno track "Whiplash."

Videos of synchronised chanting and light stick movements in unison at the protests have gone viral on social media along with flags carrying messages and memes from mainly younger demonstrators.

"Give us geeks the freedom to only worry about geek things," one meme flag carried on a flagpole at Saturday's protest read, capturing the mood among young people amid deepening political turmoil.

One of the advantages of the light sticks is how sturdy they are, said Kim Do Heon, a Seoul-based music critic.

"It also shines very bright and comes in a size that is easy to carry around."

South Koreans are playing the long game, said Shin Jae-yun who came out to protest against Yoon with a light stick for K-pop boy band TREASURE, because protests are a "very painful act" yet there is no guarantee things will improve right away.

"To endure such pain, you have to have something to enjoy in it so that people can stay hopeful for a long time even when it drags on," Shin said.

Playlists of popular K-pop protest songs are also being shared on X. Kim Byung-joo, a lawmaker from the main opposition Democratic Party, jumped on the trend on Monday and posted a playlist on the platform: "Impeach Yoon Suk Yeol, ringleader of treason!...from folk songs to K-pop."

South Korea has a rich history of protest since democracy took root in the 1980s after a series of military interventions. Demonstrations over worker rights, threats from neighbouring North Korea and perceived government failings have sometimes turned violent in the past.

Lee Seul-gi, a 36-year-old woman who is a fan of K-pop boyband ATEEZ, said the impeachment protests this time around have become more accessible.

"Previous rallies might have been a bit violent and scary. But the light sticks and K-pop have lowered the barrier," Lee said.

CANDLE UPGRADE

Until 2016, candles were prominent at many protests and played a central role in the rallies that led to the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye.

Park was ousted over a graft scandal and was later jailed over the scandal that exposed webs of corruption between political leaders and the country's conglomerates.

"So many people were holding candles, putting paper cups over them and carrying them out so they wouldn't go out. But now the age of the light sticks is here, not candles," music critic Kim said.

Stephanie Choi, a researcher at the State University of New York at Buffalo, said the light sticks still reflect the "power of solidarity while maintaining the original meaning of non-violence."

While men and women from all age groups are gathering and calling on parliament to impeach Yoon, young women are outnumbering their male peers at the protests.

Yoon vowed to abolish the gender equality ministry before taking office and was an unpopular candidate with women voters in their 20s in the 2022 presidential election.

He won office in 2022 by the slimmest margin in South Korean history but his party suffered a landslide defeat in parliamentary elections earlier this year.

The K-pop industry is notoriously apolitical and so are the lyrics of many K-pop songs playing at the impeachment protests. In South Korea, celebrities expressing political opinions are often frowned upon.

But experts say fans are conscious of K-pop's power and the underlying messages of female empowerment it carries.

"K-pop is a female-dominant space...and their feminist demands have shaped K-pop’s aesthetics and performances today," Choi said.

Kim Da-in, a 19-year-old fan of virtual idol group Plave, said the impeachment protests are uniting all K-pop fandoms.

"Here, I feel that we are citizens of South Korea first before we are idol fans."

(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim, Nicoco Chan and Minwoo Park in Seoul; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)