Which color will shine?

Presidential candidates seek to polish image, appeal to voters with colors

By Jun Ji-hye

At 11:20 p.m. on Nov. 6, the Empire State Building in New York was bathed in blue light. American citizens immediately noted Barack Obama's victory for a second term.

CNN used color and the skyscraper to project election results all night by displaying two columns of lights, one blue and the other red. Blue represented Obama and the Democratic Party, while red was associated with Mitt Romney of the Republican Party.

It's not much different in the Korean political scene which has turned colorful during the run-up to the presidential election. Not only candidates but their supporters are wearing clothing and scarves in colors representing their respective parties, with the ruling Saenuri Party adopting red, and the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) a mix of yellow and green.

"Color is a powerful, visual language indicating identities that gives receivers instinctive and impromptu perception on subjects. So it is an effective tool to show people which concept and image the parties pursue," said Shin Hyang-sun, a color expert who chairs the Color Clinic Institute (CCI).

Marketing experts also stressed the importance of color in terms of promotion.

"Color stimulates vision that is regarded as the most important sense among five senses that customers use to perceive products or enterprises," said Yoon Yeo-sun, professor of Marketing at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) Graduate School of Management.

"Products can be seen as candidates, enterprises as parties and customers as voters when it comes to election," she said.

Being aware of such a thing, presidential candidates and their parties worked hard to choose the symbolic color to effectively appeal to voters, though experts' evaluation varies over whether or not they chose the right color.

Park Geun-hye, the ruling Saenuri Party presidential candidate, gestures while wearing a red jacket with her supporters dressed up as Santa Claus during a campaign stop at Macheon Market in Seoul in this file photo.
/ Yonhap

Park: red

Park of the ruling Saenuri Party has used the color red since February as the conservative party changed its color from blue that had been used since 1981 when the then Grand National Party renamed itself. Saenuri means "new frontier world" in Korean.

"Red represents passion. It reflects the party's aspiration and volition to create the new world," said Kim Hye-ryun from party's public relations department.

"We completely changed our color as well as the party's name and platform. It shows our efforts to garner national support," she said.

When the ruling party announced such changes in February, Cho Dong-won, who directed Saenuri Party's campaign marketing, said to reporters, "We took the red color from the Taegeukgi, the national flag of Korea. Red also reflects young generation's preference and taste as seen in the Red Devils case."

The Red Devils, which became famous in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, refer to the supporters of the national soccer team who dress in red shirts.

As Park's lack of popularity among the young has been said to be her weak point, choosing red was one of the party's tactics to win the hearts and minds of young voters.

Cho added that the passionate color will shed Park's icy image that had brought her the nickname, "ice princess."

Indeed, blue and red used to indicate two contrary ideological views in Korean politics ― blue for the right and red for the left. The condition of the divided country into the South (blue) and North (red) deepened such a color divide. Still, the conservative often call progressive activists who seem like pro-North "ppalgaengi," or red that refers to communist.

The CCI head assessed, "It was a drastic decision that the conservative party changed its official color to red. It shows that the meaning of color can be altered in accordance with social and cultural requirements."

However, she added, "Red has some negative aspects such as fear, anxiety, struggle and aggressiveness, as well as positive ones such as passion, drive and leadership. It would have been nicer if they added a color such as orange that is the latest trend."

Moon Jae-in, the main opposition Democratic United Party contender, signals No. 2 with his fingers with supporters in yellow jumpers on a campaign vehicle in Daejeon in this file photo. / Korea Times

Moon: Yellow, green

The main opposition DUP has used a mix of yellow and green as its official color. It brought the colors from previous liberal presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun. The green also reflects Moon Jae-in's campaign symbol, ivy.

"We use a mix of green and yellow as our main color. Green is associated with ivy. We wanted to show the public our willpower to pursue regime change and political renovation as a leaf of ivy joins hands with hundreds and thousands leaves and eventually crosses a wall," said Ahn Joon-seong from PR department of the DUP.

"We seek to emphasize integration, communication, stability and peace through the color olive-green because those values are strengths of Moon who has a strong will to change power," he said.

"Also, we wanted to differentiate from the Saenuri party by using green that is the complementary color of red, the ruling party's color," he added.

Ahn pointed out successful examples with such colors.

"Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who gave hope to the poor, mainly used yellow and green, which is also a symbolic color of the country's national flag. Yellow represents the mining industry and underground resources, while green indicates forest resources that he focused on for investment and development," he said.

"Also in the Philippines, yellow has been used for the symbol of democratization since former President Corazon Aquino led the pro-democracy protests in 1980s. The color signifies progress and change."

Indeed, green and yellow has been a symbolic color for liberal factions for more than a decade in Korean politics. When the late President Kim Dae-jung ran for the presidency in 1987 and Roh Moo-hyun in 2002, their official color was yellow.

Regarding Moon's color, Yoon, the KAIST professor, said, "The mix of yellow and green for Moon fits well with the image of what he has pursued, such as peace and neutrality, though the color is not that eye catching."

Shin agreed in part with Yoon by saying, "The mix of yellow and green highlights his folksy image because it is comfortable and intimate color. But at the same time, it is somewhat insufficient to stress leadership and trust given yellow is also said to have an immature image."

Drawing support with color

Han Sang-man, professor at SungKyunKwan University Business School, said political color plays a significant role in unifying supporters into one.

"Such a role has further escalated with the growing importance of broadcasting campaigns, such as television advertisement and debates," he said.

"Once the symbolic color is embedded in supporters' mind, they want to wear the same-colored jackets or scarves as their favorite candidate to stay with him or her." he added.

Now, just a day is left before the Dec. 19 election but still nobody can easily forecast who will be elected as the two leading candidates are still in a fierce competition. Who did the best job in the color battle and successfully attracted backers will be one of the decisive factors in deciding the winner.