Colombian presidential candidate deploys K-pop memes, finger hearts, and BTS ahead of June 21 runoff

Colombia's presidential runoff is June 21. Left-wing ruling party candidate Iván Cepeda (64) is running his youth outreach almost entirely through K-culture.

His campaign team distributes memes on YouTube and TikTok that edit his photo with sparkle effects, heart filters, and pastel backgrounds—the kind of thing you'd see in a K-drama. They stamp Korean words like oppa and saranghae across the images. At campaign rallies, Cepeda himself flashes finger hearts. Local media have characterized K-pop as a core pillar of his election push.

The organized force behind it is Movimiento Kpopers por el Pacto Historico ("K-pop Fans Movement for the Historic Pact"), a supporter group that produces card news breaking down his policy positions for younger audiences and short-form videos set to K-pop idol music promoting his free education pledge.

Henesis Mesa, 30, leads the movement and produces videos. He explained the strategy to Spanish daily El País: "K-pop is inherently connected to social struggle and message delivery, and the claim that K-pop is apolitical is completely false." He cited ATEEZ's Guerrilla and BTS's Baepsae as examples of tracks addressing resistance to oppression and critiquing unequal low-wage structures imposed on youth.

The K-culture backdrop is real. As of June 8, three Korean dramas held simultaneous spots in Colombia's Netflix TV show top 10—Cham Gyoyuk at 4th, Meotjin Sinsegye at 5th, and Oneuldo Maejin Haessseumnida at 9th. Across South America, Korean dramas are placing 2–3 titles per region in Netflix top 10s. BTS, BLACKPINK, Stray Kids, and ATEEZ all have established mainstream followings in the country.

Cepeda led opinion polls throughout the race but finished second in the first round. Far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella (48) advanced instead, his campaign powered by AI video, World Cup content, and influencer networks. The K-pop pivot comes as Cepeda tries to close that gap before June 21.