There’s a presidential election underway in South Korea. The former president, Park Geun-hye, was ousted following a corruption scandal, and a gaggle of candidates is competing to take her place. Voting is happening today, and it looks like Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party is on track to win. Considered a “clean” alternative to the corrupt Geun-hye, Jae-in is in favor of improving diplomatic relations with North Korea, which breaks with Geun-hye’s more confrontational policy.
And all that’s very interesting, but what really matters is that SBS, a South Korean radio and television network, recast the presidential candidates as Game of Thrones characters for an elaborate TV spot than ran during its election coverage. Watch it below. It’s pretty nuts.
That’s Jae-in riding the dragon at Daznak’s Pit in the beginning. Other candidates — including centrist Ahn Cheol-soo and conservative Hong Jun-pyo — make appearances as well, flipping Braavosi coins into the harbor, jousting at the Tourney of the Hand, and sitting in the Three-Eyed Raven’s perch.
What I love about this is how detailed it is. SBS didn’t slap a couple swords and helms into this promo and call it a Game of Thrones parody. Whoever put this together clearly knows the show well. Even less celebrated scenes — like Jojen’s initial encounter with Ghost — make an appearance, with the part of Ghost being played by a white tiger (1:26).
The super-serious tone is great, too. Can you imagine if American elections were reported like this?
h/t CNN