Recently on social media, a photo of Gabriel Borrich (35), President-elect of Chile, holding photocards of K-pop idol group members was uploaded.



K-pop fans inside and outside Chile reacted enthusiastically to the appearance of Borich who even made a Korean-style 'finger heart'.



It is unclear whether Borich, who won the presidential election in Chile on the 19th (local time) with close to 56% of the vote, was actually a K-pop fan, but what is clear is that some of the Chilean K-pop fans were also his fans.



Born in 1986, Millennials, who are about to take office as Chile's youngest president, received a lot of support from young people in this presidential election.



In particular, in the group of female voters under the age of 30, Borich won in 15 out of 16 regions across the country, the Chilean daily Later Sera reported.



Even among the younger generation, it was the K-Pop fans who gave especially organized support to Borich.



K-pop fans, who actively use social media such as Twitter and Instagram, have produced a number of images that synthesized K-pop stars and Borich to empower the candidates.




A Twitter account called 'Kpopers por Boric' was also created after Boric took second place in the first round of voting last month after being defeated by far-right candidate Jose Antonio Caste.



Formed by six K-pop fans aged 19-37 in Chile, the group wrote in a statement on Twitter: "We want to summon all K-pop fans to vote and unite against the rise of fascism that threatens democracy."



In less than a month, they launched a campaign for the election of Borich by posting about 1,600 posts related to K-pop and Borich.



Not only did he do online activities, but on the 16th, at a cafe in Santiago, he made and distributed cup holders 'goods' engraved with Borrich's character.



Borich also responded to the support of K-pop fans.



Earlier this month, he uploaded a TikTok video of opening gifts such as cakes from K-pop fans.




In some videos, including this video, songs such as BLACKPINK were also installed.



It is believed that the photo taken by Borich holding a K-pop photo card was also taken right after receiving a gift from K-pop fans.



Although it is impossible to measure how much K-pop fans' supportive shooting contributed to Borich's election, the Chilean media also paid attention to the activities of K-pop fans.



CNN Chile reported in an article just before the election, "Ahead of the election, platforms such as Instagram and Twitter have become a window for K-pop fans to express their candidate's preferences, fears and opinions."



This is not the first time that overseas K-pop fans have demonstrated their influence by raising their political and social voices.



The K-pop fandom gave strength to protesters online during the 'Black Lives Matter' (BLM) protest in the US last year and the anti-government protest in Colombia this year.



In Chile, after the large-scale protests in 2019, the Chilean Ministry of Home Affairs published a report that pointed out K-pop fans as one of the forces that influenced the protests.



Knowing the influence K-pop fans can't ignore, Caste, who was a candidate for Borich's opponent, also sent a love call.



He asked for the participation of fans and experts on Twitter last month, saying, "Shall we do something related to K-pop?" He released a K-pop election song as the result earlier this month.




However, the Spanish-language song doesn't seem to have captured much of K-pop fans.



Regarding the influence of K-pop fans in the US and Chile, Herti Oyarse, a journalist specializing in K-pop in Chile, said, "It shows that there are a large number of organized people who can use the Internet. It also proves that the prejudice that it is far from the truth is not true," he told CNN Chile.



"It's not about whether K-pop is political or not, it's about politics permeating every aspect of life," he said.



(Photo=Twitter capture, Borich TikTok video capture, Cast Twitter capture, Yonhap News)