18-Year-Old Muan County Council Candidate Oh Shin-haeng Makes Instant Debut as Japan Idol 'KO1KEYZ'

From establishment politics to the front line of pop culture: a young man’s audacious path

Self-fulfillment for today’s youth no longer follows a single, straight track. A 10-year-old youth who once threw himself into 'establishment politics' with dreams of transforming the local community has now reinvented himself as a 'idol (Idol)' winning over public hearts across borders. Oh Shin-haeng (22), who drew attention after running as the youngest local council candidate in the 2022 8th nationwide simultaneous local elections, is the main figure in that shift. His move reads as an intriguing sociological text that points to a diversification in how influence is exerted in modern society, going beyond a simple change of career.

According to local political circles and the entertainment industry on the 15th, Oh Shin-haeng, who announced his candidacy in the N election district of Muan County, South Jeolla Province in 2022, has recently secured a dazzling debut after landing fourth place in the Japanese major audition program 'Produce 101 Japan Shinsekaie'. By beating countless competitors and joining the 12-member debut group, he will take on the challenge of winning over the Japanese audience as a key member of the boy group 'KO1KEYZ', alongside Park Si-young (23), who finished third. It is a dramatic narrative rarely seen—one that shifts the stage from political campaign rallies to the massive spectacle of entertainment.

His past resume cannot easily be decoded under the grammar of the older generation. Four years ago, at 18, he stepped onto the election scene and captured public attention with the title of the youngest candidate in the area. In particular, he carried out an unusual 'father-and-son candidacy', running in the same electoral district as his father Oh Won-ok (53), cracking the solemnity of the existing political establishment. Although both men later hit the reality wall of losing the election, the challenge proved to be a massive prologue toward new possibilities rather than a failure.

Looking at his son, who leaped from the language of politics to the art of performance, father Oh Won-ok offered firm support, saying, "I hope you do your best with the life you chose and become someone who takes responsibility for yourself." In addition, his request that he grow up as a 'warm person' who is always able to look out for others in human communities underscores that the ultimate essence politics pursues and the aesthetics of empathy that popular arts aim for are never fundamentally different. Oh Shin-haeng’s new voyage—seeking to communicate with the world through cultural ripple effects beyond the framework of the system—continues to deliver powerful inspiration to fellow young people living in the 'age of influence'.