Politicians use ‘mukbang,' YouTube livestreaming to engage with voters
Former ruling People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon may have missed out on the party's presidential nomination, but he is still trying to eat his way into voters' hearts.
'I love lamb skewers. Did you guys eat yet?' he asked, greeting viewers on a live YouTube broadcast Monday.
Han then starts eating his food, in 'mukbang' style, a Korean termfor people consuming a large quantity of food on livestreams, while donned in a casual gray T-shirt.
'I love lamb skewers too,' one of the viewers replied in the live chat section.
'The food looks really delicious,' another pointed out.
Korean politicians have been livestreaming for years, but the new trend is to offer voters a glimpse into their more relaxed daily lives after work, or often a closer look into the fierce political battleground. And voters are interested.
This culture of connecting with fans through casual livestreaming is a staple of the K-pop industry, but has now seeped into the realm of politics.
Han's channel, which was launched less than a year ago, has amassed some 125,000 subscribers as of Wednesday. Two of his latest livestream videos have each garnered over 820,000 and 610,000 views, respectively.
He remains active on YouTube despite having failed to clinch the People Power Party's nomination for the June 3 presidential election last week. He even turned on a live YouTube broadcast, thanking his supporters, right after he lost in the last round of the presidential primary to former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo.
Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea candidate Lee Jae-myung is another politician who utilizes YouTube livestreams to connect with his supporters. But Lee's videos are currently more conventional, focusing on capturing the details of his campaigning tours for the upcoming election, across the country.
A livestream video aired around Wednesday noon showed Lee meeting with his supporters and shaking hands with vendors at a traditional market in Imsil County in North Jeolla Province.
Though it wasn't livestreamed, Lee on Sunday uploaded a video of him revealing and celebrating YouTube's prestigious Gold Button, awarded to creators who reached 1 million subscribers. The video received over 600,000 views, with several of his supporters congratulating him in the comment section. Lee's YouTube channel currently has 1.35 million followers.
Lee Jun-seok, the presidential candidate of minor conservative New Reform Party, uploaded a YouTube livestream video last month of himself, telling his viewers in a moving vehicle that he had just visited his grandparents' graves in North Gyeongsang Province to pay respects.
He shared the details of his schedule that day, saying that he was heading to the city of Andong as part of his campaigning in the North Gyeongsang region.
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