South Korean politicians are shaving their heads again. Does anyone care?

SEOUL – Head-shaving protests have returned to South Korean politics as the local elections draw near. But some question the impact of such protests, saying that the once-powerful political tool has been exploited.

The latest politician to have his locks publicly shorn was Mr Oh Jun-hwan, a mayoral hopeful for the city of Goyang in Gyeonggi province. Shaving his head in front of the People Power Party headquarters in Seoul on March 24, Mr Oh claims the party eliminated him from the mayoral race, even though he was the front runner in multiple polls, and demanded fairness in the party’s candidate selection process.

Mr Oh was not the only conservative who refused to accept the People Power Party’s candidate nomination results.

Former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Byong-wook had his head shaved on March 23 after he was eliminated as a potential candidate for mayor of Pohang, North Gyeongsang province. He also called the party’s selection process unfair, likewise noting his performance in the polls.

Similarly, North Chungcheong province Governor Kim Young-hwan protested against the party’s decision to eliminate him from the race for the seat he holds. Following the announcement of his elimination on March 16, Mr Kim posted a video on Facebook showing his hair falling at a local barbershop on March 19.

“It is only North Chungcheong residents who can cut me off in the race... We still have hope,” his post read.

Strategic choice for local election?

Meanwhile, incumbent Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon on March 23 also got buzzed – for the first time in his two-decade political career – in front of the National Assembly’s main building in Seoul. He denounced the liberal party-controlled National Assembly’s move to sideline a special Bill aimed at providing incentives for investments in Busan and improving its urban infrastructure.

Mr Park’s complaint was that Busan is being discriminated against, given that similar special Bills to support Gangwon and North Jeolla provinces had gained parliamentary committee approval and were set to be tabled at the National Assembly’s plenary session.

His move apparently followed that of Gangwon Governor Kim Jin-tae, who had his hair shorn off in February, when he called for a special Bill to incentivise investment in Gangwon province. On March 17, Mr Kim was confirmed as the People Power Party’s candidate for another term as Gangwon governor.

Mr Park is one of two contenders in the party’s Busan mayoral race, alongside Representative Joo Jin-woo.

As lawmakers and councillors butted heads over the heated political debate surrounding the launch of one or more megacities, some of them opted to go under the razor.

Regarding the proposed launch of a megacity through the administrative merger of Daejeon and South Chungcheong provinces, Ms Ahn Kyung-ja, a Daejeon city councillor affiliated with the People Power Party, turned up with a bare scalp on Feb 12 to protest against the liberal bloc’s unilateral push for the merger of the two administrative bodies.

This followed corresponding actions from liberal politicians in favour of the megacity plan, including Democratic Party Representative Park Beom-kye. Announcing a bid to lead a newly merged megacity, Mr Park endured his own buzz cut on Feb 28.

The clippers’ efforts were for naught, though, as a merger before the June local elections effectively fell through after Mr Park dropped the bid and decided not to pursue any post in the upcoming local election.

Culture of a bygone era

Many South Koreans, under the enduring influence of Confucian tradition, have considered the act of shaving one’s head as a way to express unwavering commitment to a certain goal.

But experts today largely doubt that this non-violent move holds the significance of a political message meant to symbolise strong determination and sacrifice. Voters, they say, fundamentally no longer subscribe to the belief that their bodies should be cherished as a gift from their parents.

Political science professor Lee Jun-han, who is also vice-president for external affairs at Incheon National University, told The Korea Herald: “In the past, head-shaving ceremonies were performed in an environment where these actions were perceived as a show of desperate need to make such a choice, even though it was considered a great act of disrespect to one’s parents.

“The sense of determination is not being conveyed as much as it used to in the past... Since politicians (recently) shave their heads ahead of elections and candidate selections, it can be perceived as being far from driven by pure motivations.”

Political science professor Lee Jae-mook from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies added: “Today, it seems highly likely that voters will perceive it as a somewhat cliched and anachronistic performance.

“It is questionable how much genuine empathy such outdated behaviour can elicit.” THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK