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The lights come on at 5 a.m. on Thursday morning at the home of the Grand National Party candidate for Seoul mayor, Oh Se-hoon. Oh is getting ready to head for the Noryangjin Fish Market to woo supporters.
It is a draining time for the candidate. ¡°Even early in the morning, I eat a bowl of rice with fried eggs. I don¡¯t skip meals, but I lost 7 kg,¡± he says. The heels of his shoes are worn down and his suit has plenty of wrinkles. ¡°I usually wear the same suit all week¡±, he says. For the last three days, he certainly did. Oh says he feels sorry for his wife. ¡°The first play my wife dramatized and directs opens at the end of this month, and I am taking up her precious time for my election campaign.¡±
In the opinion polls, Oh is soaring ahead, but he has no time for complacency. ¡°In elections, 15 days is equivalent to 15 years. Anything can happen,¡± he says. When asked how many hours he slept last night, his guesses three or four. Once at the market, a middle-age female stallholder feeds him some raw fish, and other stallholders take off their hats and shout, ¡°Oh Se-hoon! Oh Se-hoon!¡±
Next on the agenda is the ceremony commemorating the May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising near City Hall. Some of his rivals went to Gwangju itself. Why didn¡¯t he? ¡°I think it looks so unnatural for Seoul mayoral candidates to visit Gwangju just for the event,¡± he says. On the way from City Hall to Gwanghwamun, he comes across two groups of middle-aged women who want to shake hands, saying they are fans. At the traffic lights, passersby also ask to shake hands with him. Asked why he doesn¡¯t approach them first, Oh admits, ¡°My aides always complain that I don¡¯t.¡±
Oh¡¯s next date on the street is with a group of 19-year-old supporters who will be casting their first vote in the election, at noon in Jonggak. Here, he talks about his childhood in less affluent northern Seoul and his policies to develop the area.
Developing northern Seoul is a theme that recurs in his campaign at the Children¡¯s Park in Neungdong and in Myeongdong, the last business of the day. On the way back to City Hall, there are more hands to shake.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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