S. Korean candidates embrace song and dance to pull in votes

They hit campaign trail with theme songs, choreographed moves ahead of April 10 vote

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Thanks to quirks of South Korean election law and history, almost every candidate on the campaign trail has a theme song, a dance routine and politically tweaked lyrics to make their message hit home.

From K-pop chart toppers to Baby Shark, still the world's most-watched song on YouTube, seemingly no music is safe from a South Korean political makeover.

At a rally for Democratic Party lawmaker Nam In-soon, who is running for a fourth term in office in Seoul's Songpa district, campaign speeches were interspersed with ear-splitting blasts of music, as uniformed campaign staff performed choreographed moves.

"This kind of campaigning helps raise voters' interest," Ms Nam told AFP before next week's parliamentary election.

"I can convey my message and policy promises through the campaign songs," she said, adding that the tunes were carefully selected, and the lyrics thoughtfully reworked, to help her engage with constituents.

This election cycle, Ms Nam chose a hit K-pop song called Jilpoonggado which means Stormy Road in English for her campaign.

The original lyrics, which speak of giving people courage against a storm, were tweaked to request "storming courage" for the candidate, and end with: "ballot No. 1 Nam In-soon, the right person to lead Songpa".