Over the last two weeks there has been a lot of visible campaigning around Seoul. Campaigners are easy to spot because they wear colored uniforms with sashes. I don't know if this is by custom or if there is some sort of legal requirement.
On March 31 I took some photos of campaigners on my little street.
This van for Candidate #1, Yu Gihong, parked at the corner (by the kids' stationery store).
Then these two men, one in a dark suit and one in a green campaigning uniform, got out of the van and walked into each shop on the block, presumably to talk to the shop owners and seek their votes. The guy in the suit seemed to be a handler. So I wonder if the guy in the uniform was the candidate himself.
They are going into the little tteok specialty shop next to my dorm.
Every morning there have been campaigners outside the busiest subway station entrances. They are invariably in groups of two to four, periodically chanting slogans in unison while making some sort of coordinated arm motion, and then bowing. It's not clear to me if this would sway anyone's vote, but it does get my attention.
I tried yesterday, the day before the election, to film this so you could see what it looks like. I was a bit hampered because I was trying to be inconspicuous and I was using only one hand.
Sorry about my finger blocking the lower right corner of the screen!
The greens were out in force -- occupying two sides of the sidewalk and working in unison. The blues, standing closer to the subway entrance, looked a bit demoralized by comparison.
Watching the movie now, I've just realized that the greens are chanting something like "Il-beon Yu Gihong-imnida 일번 유기홍입니다" -- "It's #1, Yu Gihong!". (Can someone verify this for me?)
Today there was no campaigning -- it must be illegal on the day of the election. I, like almost everyone else in Seoul, took advantage of the holiday to go hiking in the mountains.
You are right. The supporters chant the name and the number. Each cadidates have numbers assigned according to their party. #1 was given to 통합민주당, the majority party. The candidate Mr.Yu lost to the #2 ruling pary cadidate. The numbering started when there were many illiterates in Korea. There is almost no illiterates in Korea now but the numbering still helps people to remember the cadidate or the party of their choice.
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