The person who cracked the solemn, taken-for-granted grammar of election publicity turned out, unexpectedly, to be a local civil servant. Park Ji-su (32), an administrative official with Gunsan City Hall, joined hands with the Jeonbuk Election Commission to create short-form content. In an era when political cynicism and indifference have become routine, he dug into the daily lives of voters with the unstructured language of ‘fun’.

On the 9th, the Jeonbuk Election Commission announced that it had released the short-form election-promotion content produced in collaboration with Park on its official social networking service (SNS) channels. In a roughly 60-second video, he breezily asks, “Want to check out the policy pledges?” Precautions such as the ban on taking proof photos inside the voting booth are conveyed not through explanation but through scenes, not as rules but as rhythm. Information shifts from an object of ‘understanding’ to an object of ‘consumption,’ and then to the realm of ‘experience.’ It is the moment when the grammar of election publicity is reorganized from reading to watching, and then to enjoying.

Park has been rewriting the ‘success formula’ of public-sector communications. Drawing on his background majoring in practical music at university, since his appointment in 2018 he has overseen the YouTube channel and social media of Gunsan City, shifting supplier-centered government publicity to demand-centered ‘memes’ and parody. It was an attempt to lower the threshold of administrative language and sensibly reconfigure how public messages are delivered.

In particular, during the 21st presidential election, the videos he planned and appeared in recorded a cumulative 5.94 million views, demonstrating the potential of public publicity. In recognition of these results, he was selected for the Ministry of the Interior and Safety designation ‘Master of Local Administration’ and received a special promotion from grade 9 to grade 8 for proactive administration. More recently, he has appeared on entertainment programs such as JTBC <Knowing Bros>, showcasing regional appeal with his signature wit and expanding his standing as a ‘star civil servant’.

However, behind these experiments lies a sense of crisis over low voter turnout. In the 8th local elections, turnout in Jeonbuk was 48.6%, a signal that the will of the region was not being properly reflected in the political process.

The commission and Park arrived at the same question. Recognizing that authoritarian, one-way publicity struggles to draw voters to the polls, they adopted a strategy of ‘B-grade sensibility.’ Lightness and playfulness were not a compromise but a mode of persuasion to encourage participation.

For him, the label of ‘star civil servant’ is closer to responsibility than to achievement. He said, “In a situation where regional extinction is accelerating, low turnout is a signal that the voice of the region is not reaching the center,” and added, “Voting needs to move beyond duty and take root as a culture of everyday life.”

He also accepted the awkwardness and pressure of the filming process. It is an attempt to set aside authority by making himself the butt of the joke, and to fill that space with civic participation.

Park said, “If my making a fool of myself can lower the threshold to voting, that is enough.”

He hopes this video will not remain at the metric of ‘views.’ “Examining the pledges of candidates is the most certain investment for safeguarding regional survival,” he said, aiming to break the vicious cycle in which political cynicism hardens into regional silence. That is the direction his 60 seconds targets.

This experiment, which puts cheerfulness forward, ultimately converges on a single question. Must democracy still be only heavy. Park said, “Short videos summon the heaviest of acts through the lightest of forms,” adding, “I hope a ‘gentle call’ delivered in the language of everyday life will inspire people to reimagine their steps toward the polling place.”