hankyoreh

Mar. 11. (provided by Oh Yong-seob)

In an age when South Koreans are becoming more comfortable with eating out and drinking by themselves, these people had been eating, hanging out and watching TV alone. At least that was the case until they found each other for the first time under the banner of “The People Who Came Alone” on Nov. 12, 2016. More than 300 people showed up on that day, and every week since then, through the 20th candlelight rally on Mar. 11, the banner that said “The People Who Came Alone” has been fluttering in a corner of Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul. Members of the group are now exchanging 900 messages on KakaoTalk every day. They’ve gone on trips together, and they’re even making a documentary together. Lee Ye-seul, the leader; Ahn Ju-hyeon, a jobseeker; Oh Yong-seob, who is an aspiring online comic artist; and Kim Yo-han, a student in university described this as a “strange sense of solidarity.”

On Nov. 4, 2016, Lee Ye-seul, 27, who lives in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, couldn’t find any friends to go with her to the candlelight rally. Feeling that this was an outrage, she made a Facebook page. “It really feels awkward not knowing where to stand when other people are standing under banners with people they know, doesn’t it? Let’s get rid of the awkwardness by getting together under the banner that says, ‘The People Who Came Alone!’” Lee said.

“Until right before the protest on Nov. 12, I was worried that I might really be alone, but there were quite a lot of people like me,” she said. One of the people who came to the banner was Kim Yo-han, 26, who at previous rallies had been sitting awkwardly by himself at Cheonggye Plaza until he went home. Kim became the flag bearer.

“I made a banner that said ‘South Korea Inoculation Campaign Headquarters’ with the idea of playfully addressing the president’s ethics” before the candlelight rally on Dec. 10, 2016, said Ahn Ju-hyeon, 26. Ahn came by himself all the way from Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, to Seoul carrying that banner. His destination, of course, was the banner of “The People Who Came Alone.”

“The People Who Came Alone” served as a shelter embracing each of these people. Ahn was but one of many of them who brought their own banner along with them. The banners displayed various punning parodies: The Korean Confederation of Cat Unions; the National Cat Union (referring to the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union); and the Infinite Trade Company Labor Union (referring to the television program Infinite Challenge).

As the candlelight rallies continued week after week, the group held afterparties and set up a group chatroom on Kakao Talk. Strangers ranging in age from their teens to their forties who had only got together because they were alone started sending hundreds of messages a day, from dad jokes and corny puns to political opinions. A peculiar sense of solidarity began to form.

“It was a relief to think we were all worried about the same thing. But in contrast with organizations that speak with one voice, the mood in the conversation was one of tolerance for different opinions. Since this was a space where we could freely and comfortably voice opinions about politics and society that we couldn’t easily share with the people around us, I kept getting the urge to raise a candle with these people,” said Kim Yo-han.

A gathering for people who went alone to the 20th candlelight rally in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square

The group went on a spontaneous trip to Jeongdongjin (a popular spot to see the sunrise on South Korea’s east coast), and they’ll be going on another trip on April Fools’ Day (Apr. 1). They’re also planning to make a documentary of the people who went alone that brings together photographs and videos shot by Oh Yong-seob, 34, and others. “I didn’t think that taking an interest would change things. But this was the first time I saw the world actually being changed when people who were alone came together. We’ll probably be thinking about the ways in which we can change the world with other people,” Oh said.

These people are not as alone as they thought. The relaxed solidarity through which they acknowledge each other’s opinions may symbolize the diversity embraced by the protests. The candlelight rallies will be held twice more – on Mar. 25 and on Apr. 15 – bringing this chapter to a close. “Rather than having some plan or intention, we’re planning to help each other out from time to time when someone suggests that we try doing something,” said Lee Ye-seul, who is the de facto leader because she set up the Facebook page.　

By Bang Jun-ho, staff reporter

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