Abstract

BAVOLEO, Bárbara. Korean voters overseas: its History and the development of the first electoral experience in Argentina. Méx.cuenca pac [online]. 2018, vol.7, n.19, pp.45-60. ISSN 2007-5308.

In the last South Korean presidential elections of 2012, Koreans living abroad were able to vote for the first time in the history of their democracy. This milestone added Korea to the list of 180 countries -according to the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA, 2016) database- that have legislation guaranteeing the electoral participation of its citizens overseas. The Korean community in Argentina was, in relative terms, one of the groups that showed greater participation. Voter turnout was the highest. Given the novelty of this practice and the strong involvement, this study aims to investigate the issue of voting from abroad from a theoretical approach, considering the Korean regulations that stipulated this type of vote and its history, and the experience of suffrage of Koreans in Argentina contemplating, from a qualitative perspective, personal experiences of Koreans abroad and symbolic impact of this practice. It concludes with a reflection on the identity and political significance that this represented for Koreans in the country.

Keywords : vote from abroad; South Korea; Korean community in Argentina; political participation from abroad; migrants.

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