This Year's Seollal Table Political Debate Topics Are... 'Corona, Real Estate, Presidential Candidates'

"Political Opinion Exchange Among Families Remains an Important Channel Despite COVID-19"
"Expected to Be a Forum for Evaluating Government's Quarantine and Real Estate Policies"

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] "This year, the main topics of conversation at the dining table will be COVID-19 and real estate. If the conversation extends to political topics, it will lead to discussions about next presidential candidates such as Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party, and Yoon Seok-youl, Prosecutor General. However, issues regarding the Seoul or Busan mayoral elections are likely to be excluded."

Two days before the Lunar New Year holiday, on the 9th, citizens are purchasing ritual items at Gyeongdong Market in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

On the 10th, Professor Park Sang-byeong of Inha University Graduate School of Policy predicted the topics of conversation at this year's Lunar New Year dining tables.

Professor Park also anticipated the possibility of the government and ruling party performing well in this year's Lunar New Year conversations. He said, "The number of COVID-19 cases today, tomorrow, and the day after, along with the vaccination progress by the end of this month, will reflect public opinion that the Moon Jae-in administration is achieving results in this area." Regarding real estate, he added, "Minister Byeon Chang-heum of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is actively working, and if these measures practically help stabilize the real estate market downward, so-called soft landing, the current government's burden could be eased."

On the other hand, he viewed the position of the opposition parties such as the People Power Party as weak in relation to Lunar New Year public sentiment. Professor Park pointed out, "In the case of the People Power Party, there is nothing to bring up in this Lunar New Year dining table conversation," adding, "The government and ruling party have many topics, but the People Power Party lacks such material."

Of course, issues like real estate could also become a platform for expressing dissatisfaction with the current government. Political commentator Yoo Chang-seon said, "There will be exchanges of opinions on real estate measures," and "There will be divided opinions on whether to buy a house or not." He also predicted, "Criticism of real estate measures will continue, such as the halt in villa transactions."

Even in the COVID-19 era with bans on gatherings of five or more people, is dining table conversation still important? It is expected that dining table conversations will continue to play a significant role in shaping citizens' political stances.

Professor Shin Yul of Myongji University said, "In the past, Lunar New Year and Chuseok public sentiment was important because families gathered to share political opinions and exchange information, but recently, with the increase of spaces to access political information such as YouTube, its significance has diminished compared to before," yet he added, "Nevertheless, it still holds importance as a place for political opinion exchange."

Professor Shin predicted, "Despite the ban on gatherings of five or more, many people visit their parents and hometowns," and "Political opinion exchanges will take place and influence public sentiment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.