Whether one likes to admit it or not, K-pop artists have significantly led rather silent and controlled lives despite being touted as “idols.” Comparisons with their American musical counterparts run heavy as fans around the world often challenge the lack of freedom the former are afforded. In the midst of all that, you can completely let go of the chances of South Korean celebrities voicing their political bent. And in cases where there is a slight possibility of these stars emerging beyond their silent facades – even if not intentional – the whole things spiral into a full-fledged “controversy.”

Contrary to American celebrities, like Beyonce, Taylor Swift and others, publicly endorsing their presidential preferences, K-pop artists have not only turned their backs on campaigning for their political picks, but also vehemently avoided signalling any symbolism that would give away their political expression otherwise. Despite Korean musicians evidently steering clear of the conversation, respective South Korean presidential campaigns are still strategically instrumentalising K-pop as a means to get through to the general public.

K-pop takes over South Korean presidential elections

To boost their political messaging, both leading parties have found backing in K-pop hits like Kim Jong Kook’s “Lovable,” Young Tak’s “Next Door Oppa,” Koyote’s “Pure Love,” and Uhm Jung Hwa’s “Festival,” which have attained the status as campaign anthems despite the actual singers maintaining a distance from the political scene.

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Meanwhile, the conscious choice to use the retro fixtures by front-runners Lee Jae Myung (Democratic Party or DPK) and Kim Moon Soo (conservative People Power Party or PPP) is just another ploy to avoid licensing new music from K-pop giants like SM Entertainment and HYBE.

PPP campaign official Kim Dong Hwan revealed this conscious choice helped reduce costs as licensing fee, though determined by the track’s popularity, could climb as high as in the range from 3 million won ($2,170) to tens of million won, as per Bloomberg. Meanwhile, Democratic Party official Kim Dae Young noted that since this particular presidential election comes after a period of martial law and impeachment, “There were debates about including strong political messages, but we decided instead to build a space where people could gather naturally — through music, dance, and video.”

Before South Koreans head to the polls on Tuesday, June 3, they are witnessing presidential campaigns heavily falling back on late 1990s and early 2000s K-pop catalogues to draw from their high-energy quotient. The PPP official confirmed, Kim Moon Soo’s “frequent use of heart gestures inspired us to highlight a ‘lovable’ image, playing on the song’s message to enhance his public appeal.”

On the other hand, the Democratic Party enlisted a 48-member “Shouting Korea” team, to travel nationwide and create festive, street-level rallies. The liberal party has also seen pro-dancer Yim Young Hwan coming in to choreograph several performances. Keeping them deliberately simple, Yim said that they hoped to grab people’s attention, wanting them to exclaim ‘Wow’ while seeing their presentations.

While politicians lean on retro music, new K-pop idols grab attention otherwise

On the flip side, certain beloved new-age K-pop idols have witnessed viral-levels of boost to their popularity amid the ongoing presidential campaigns.

IU casts early vote: Without specifying her political bent, singer-actress IU cast an early vote for this year’s South Korean presidential election. On Friday, she wrote on a fan platform called Berriz: “I voted early yesterday. Early voting is open until 6 PM today!!!” The “Love Wins All” hit-maker opted for neutral colour tones, as she was seen sporting in a photo of she attached with the post.

aespa‘s Karina political controversy: While IU’s message was more focussed on urging citizens to effectively cast their vote in this year’s election and fulfill their national duty, aespa’s Karina came into focus for controversial reasons. Just days ago, the young K-pop diva got embroiled in a political controversy after she posted a photo on her social media wearing a red and black jacket with the number “2” on it.

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Although the image was reportedly taken in Japan, the SNS post quickly garnered unwarranted interpretations. Many misconstrued her outfit as a symbol of political support for a particular party and presidential candidate. For the unversed, Number 2 on the ballot is associated with the conservative People Power Party.

Karina’s agency, SM Entertainment has since responded to the claims, saying, “Karina simply shared everyday content on social media without any other purpose or intention.” The post was also subsequently removed from social media, with the K-pop company adding, “Once we recognized the potential for misunderstanding, the post was immediately deleted. We sincerely apologize for causing concern unintentionally.” However, that wasn’t enough to stop people from buying the piece of clothing adorned by the aespa member. According to AllKPop, the windbreaker, as seen in the SNS post, got sold out online.

While Karina’s unintentional post gained unwarranted traction, sexually explicit comments targetting her appeared to have been swept under the rug. Democratic Party presidential hopeful Lee Myung Jae’s son repeatedly posted obscene remarks about the K-pop singer in online communities. He was belatedly fined 5 million won (around $3,638) for making these X-rated statements and habitual illegal gambling. Despite the charges against him, social media largely continued to make noise about Karina’s post instead of calling the politician’s son out for the derogatory name-calling.

ATEEZ airport departure becomes hot topic: Similarly, ATEEZ’s Wooyoung and Yunho hilariously grabbed attention as their airport departure clip and photos went viral on fan community platforms. As per K-pop idols’ instinctive habit of shooting up a V-sign while posing for pictures, Wooyoung followed through with the act without a second thought. However, his bandmate Yunho, standing right next to him, was quick to shoot his hand down to avert any potential controversy dragging Wooyoung down like it did Karina.

Since the incident, Wooyoung has issued an apology on fan platform Bubble. “Sigh, I’m a dumb fool, making the V sign. I have years of experience, who am I kidding? I still haven’t gotten it together. I’m sorry… I love you, Yunho. Thank you,” he wrote online poking fun at himself.