I’m voting for losers from now on

South Korea’s local elections are coming up in about a month. Every election season, the media pours all its resources into convincing voters that there are only two choices: either the liberal party or the conservative party.

This pattern has persisted for at least twenty years, ever since I started watching how elections unfold across the country. Candidates attract zealots the way K-pop idols do, while politics has turned into a religious battle. In “blue” areas, whoever becomes the liberal party’s candidate basically determines the winner. In “red” areas, the same thing happens because the vast majority of voters go to the booth and stamp the ballot for the party they feel affiliated with.

This election might be slightly different because the conservative party is so unpopular in Korea right now. But most voters who have given up on the conservative party won’t even consider voting for a third party. For them, the election is simply a game between 1 and 2.

For more than 10 years, I’ve voted for either number 1 or 2. I knew the faces of the major candidates and wanted to play the winning game so I wouldn’t waste my vote. Now I feel like my vote doesn’t really matter for the future of this country. I’ll still vote, but as long as elections remain a popularity contest in this materialistic, hierarchical society, there’s no doubt that only a power-hungry, sadistic person, most likely some old man, will stand out as the alpha candidate.

I want to vote for someone who doesn’t belong to this insider game. I want to get to know who’s running besides the two men the media will show nonstop. I want to vote for someone who refuses to bow before the royal authority of bureaucratic politicians. I want to support someone who doesn’t parrot phrases like “economic growth” and “AI-first.” If there’s no such option, I’d rather go to the booth and cast an empty ballot.