Korean celebrities show support to protesters

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

 
Many Korean celebrities were not afraid to show their support in joining the rally on Saturday to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday, the same day that the motion was passed. They joined the rally, either in person or through donations, which took place in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul.  
 
Veteran singer Lee Seung-hwan, who had canceled his ongoing concert shows following Yoon’s declaration of emergency martial law on Dec. 3, held a free concert instead in front of the National Assembly on Saturday.    
Lee sang many of his hit songs and often replaced the words in the lyrics with the word “impeachment.” Lee, 59, said towards the end of the concert that he’s a “professional singer for Korean presidents’ impeachment protests.” Lee had also staged a concert in 2016 when mass protests and candlelight vigils were organized in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, calling for former president Park Geun-hye’s impeachment.  
 

A sign is placed in front of a restaurant in Yeouido, western Seoul, which reads, ″We still have prepaid gimbap [seaweed rice rolls] left for protestors!″ [YONHAP]

 
“The reason I’m standing on such a stage again is that, for someone my age with a proper sense of reality, you’d think this way: how you live is more important than what you become,” Lee said. “I hope the day comes soon when I no longer have to stand on rally stages like this and where I don’t have to donate my hard-earned money anymore [to organize such a concert].”
 
Though they did not participate in the rally in person, members of the girl group NewJeans said they pre-paid for 110 rolls of gimbap (seaweed rice rolls), 250 drinks and 200 bowls of different types of hot soup with rice at several restaurants around the National Assembly neighborhood so that rally participants with a “K-pop lightstick” can pick them up for free.  
 

Light sticks with ″Impeach″ written on them are displayed at a rally demanding Yoon’s ousting in front of the National Assembly in western Seoul on Saturday. [YONHAP]

 
“Korea is really cold. We prepared warm food for you so we hope you keep yourself full,” the members said. “We’re watching everything. We see that so many idol fans are making an effort, not just the Bunnies. We support you. We hope you stay safe,” the members said in a post uploaded on Saturday on its new Instagram account separate from the official account managed by the group’s agency ADOR.
 
Singers IU and Yuri of girl group Girls’ Generation also prepared food and hand warmers for members of their fans participating in the rally.  
 

Singers IU, left, and Yuri of Girls’ Generation [EDAM ENTERTAINMENT, SM ENTERTAINMENT]

 
“We prepared food and hand warmers in hopes that Uaena’s frozen hands will be warmed even just a little while they hold their I-Ke at the rallies in this cold weather,” IU’s agency EDAM Entertainment said on the singer’s official fan club on Friday.
 
Uaena is the name of IU’s fan club and I-Ke is the name of the fan club’s lightsticks.
 
EDAM Entertainment prepared for the food and hand warmers to be picked up at five different cafes and restaurants located near the National Assembly. A total of 200 packets of bread, 200 cups of coffee or other drinks, 100 packets of tteok (rice cakes) and 200 bowls of gukbap (rice in soup) have been already paid for by the singer’s agency.
 

Protesters wave light sticks of various K-pop groups during a rally demanding President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido District, western Seoul, on Saturday. [YONHAP]

 
Yuri also prepaid for rolls of gimbap, which fans could claim so long as they were carrying Girls’ Generation lightsticks.
 
K-pop stars, who usually stay silent when it comes to sensitive political issues, also voiced out their opinions on social media.  
 
“Am I not in a position to talk politics?” said Former IZ*ONE member Lee Chae-yeon wrote on her social media channel on Saturday. “Then what position is appropriate to talk about politics? As a citizen and as a person, I’ll decide for myself. I’ll say what I want when I want.”
 
Ateez’s Wooyoung also expressed on his social media that “sometimes it’s tough not being able to say what you truly feel” with a candle emoji, which represents a candlelight vigil. His post featured Girls’ Generation’s debut song “Into the New World” released in 2007, which was sung continuously by the protestors on Saturday.  
 

The location of free food and hand warmers provided by IU’s agency EDAM Entertainment [EDAM ENTERTAINMENT]

 
“But I believe time will resolve things. My principles guide me, and I refuse to act just for show. I hope those close to me understand this,” Wooyoung added.  
 
 

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE, YOON SO-YEON [[email protected]]