<#324 Desk Column>

By Rigoberto Banta Jr., Head Student Editor

For Gwangju citizens, December 19^th, 2012 was a date to be remembered. Change was on its way, one vote at a time. They were convinced that by no means would the tides of change be kept once again from the shore. Accounting for the highest voter turn-out in the country, the citizens of Gwangju once more defended democracy using the highest privilege that the law provides for them. While the results did not turn-out as favored, the unshaken faith of the people of Gwangju for change is still at its strongest.

Traditionally, this is how things were seen. The geographical political divide between the liberal west and the conservative east was still observed as it has been in past elections. It has revealed, however, a much deeper divide that engulfs the country into two: the divide between the old and the young. Statistics show that 65 percent of the voters in their 20s and 30s voted for the liberal candidate, while 62.5 percent from the 50s group and 72.3 percent from the 60s group voted for the conservative candidate. The clash between the 20 to 30 group and the over-50 group resulted in the victory of the latter, where they recorded a higher number of voter turn-out than the former.

Given that there was a very thin line between the liberal and conservative vote, this proves to us one thing: the empowered youth can affect change by will. Together, this bloc will provide the change that the society has been looking forward to such a long time. As the different problems that the Korean society is now facing affects the youth directly and the divide between the old and young is deepening, it is the role of the youth to rise up and be heard. We have seen efforts here and there and it is the youth’s role—our role—to actively participate in it. The ability to affect change is in our hands, may the previous elections not hinder us to let our voices be heard.