(music in foreign language)
(candidate speaks in foreign language)
- [Andrew] Speeches, campaign
trucks, and photographs.
This might look like campaigning
during normal times, but they aren't.
Because this is an election
during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Candidates try to give
speeches from trucks
that are socially distanced from voters.
Handshakes are replaced with gloved
fist-bumps and thumbs-ups.
Staffers wear face masks that
match their party's colors.
In late February, South
Korea was one of the worst
virus-hit countries, but two months later,
it moved ahead with the national election.
Meanwhile, the pandemic has
pushed dozens of countries
to postpone their elections,
including some U.S. primaries.
- I'm speaking to you from my home--
- And forced candidates to
cancel rallies and go online.
Outside Korea, elections
are either being suspended
or being conducted in a
very restrictive manner.
But here in Korea, there's
a dose of normalcy,
but with a few adjustments.
So here's how I voted in
the nationwide election
amid the pandemic.
- [Announcer] Please make
your way to platform four.
- Voting in person now
has a lot more steps.
First, a temperature check.
Then, a pump of hand sanitizer,
before the plastic gloves come on.
(upbeat music)
There are a lot candidates running.
And at early voting stations,
when it comes to ID checks,
fingerprint scanners have been replaced
with a stylus and a tablet.
I'm wearing a mask because
everyone else is wearing it.
Other precautions that
officials here are taking
include social distancing.
Voters are being asked
to stand one meter apart.
And the government even set
up early voting stations
at treatment facilities
for COVID-19 patients.
South Korea was able to
go ahead with its election
in part because the
country has been taking
a different approach
to containing the virus
compared to most Western countries.
The government is using
an ambitious strategy
of stringent testing, contact
tracing, and isolation,
which earned praise from the WHO.
South Korea initially emerged
as the second-worst-hit nation
after China, but after two months,
it has successfully flattened the curve.
The country is also not
under any sort of strict,
nationwide lockdown,
because most people here
have been complying with
social distancing guidelines.
Masks were also common
before the pandemic hit.
(music in foreign language)
All this has helped keep
campaigning close and personal,
(people cheering)
with some minor adjustments.
(candidate speaks in foreign language)
Gloves, masks, and microphone slipcovers
are essential for every campaign team.
(candidate speaks in foreign language)
One candidate, eager to
introduce himself to voters,
ditched the face mask
for a transparent shield.
- If I take off mask,
my voters cannot notice,
the (laughs) who are you?
(light classical music)
- [Andrew] As the fear of
Coronavirus gradually subsides
with fewer new infections,
Koreans have become more relaxed
about safety precautions.
(light classical music)
On the campaign trail, people
flip down their face masks
for cheek-to-cheek selfies.
One voter even unwrapped
candy with her bare hands
and popped it into the
mouth of a candidate.
(light classical music)
Korean health authorities continue to warn
that quickly returning to normal life
could spark a new outbreak.
But if this vote runs without
causing a subsequent spike
in infections, it may provide
a road map for other countries
with elections during
this unprecedented year
of the pandemic.
(light classical music)
