South Korea

Credit: Markus Winkler

HOW TO VOTE FROM SOUTH KOREA

 

Democrats Abroad Republic of Korea (DAROK) is the official country committee for all Democrats living abroad in South Korea. We are the fastest growing country committee in the Asia Pacific region, and it is our goal to register every American in the country to vote back home and influence elections up and down the ballot. Help us accomplish our mission by clicking the “join” tab at the top right-hand corner to become a member of Democrats Abroad Republic of Korea. Then, make sure to visit votefromabroad.org to request your absentee ballot. 

Want to do more to help get Democrats elected from South Korea? Consider one (or more) of the following:

  • Follow us on Instagram and Facebook and share our content
  • Becoming a precinct captain and helping Americans in your area request their absentee ballots
  • Forming a country chapter to host local voter registration booths, fundraisers, and get out the vote events in your province or metropolitan area
  • Joining a DAROK committee and helping us create national level programming. We currently have three committees: Fundraising and Events; Diversity, Inclusion, and Recruitment; and Communications

To get involved, please reach out to [email protected].

Make sure to watch this space for announcements and news pertaining to DAROK. We have events planned throughout the year across the country, and everyone is encouraged to join.

If you have any other questions, please reach out to our Executive Committee listed on the right.

We look forward to working with you.  

 

Democratically yours,

Cory J. Lemke / Ha Woon Do, Chair

[email protected]

Democrats Abroad Republic of Korea

DA South Korea Leadership:

Cory Lemke
| Chair, DAROK ; International Treasurer
kyle detwiler
| Vice Chair, DAROK, Chair, Busan-GSND Chapter
Joann Short
| Secretary and DPCA Voting Representative
Robet Evans
| Treasurer, DAROK
See all Leaders


  • News

    Forming a Chapter of Democrats Abroad Republic of Korea

    What is a DAROK chapter? 

    Chapters are administrative subdivisions of Democrats Abroad Republic of Korea (DAROK). Chapters have formal leadership structures and work to advance the mission of DAROK in their locality. We currently have active chapters in Busan-S. Gyeongsang and Incheon-Gyeonggi. We are looking to start chapters in the following localities: Seoul, Pyeongtaek, Daegu-N. Gyeongsang, Daejeon-Chungcheong, Gwangju-Jeolla, Gangwon, and Jeju. 

     

    Why form a DAROK chapter? 

    There are tens of thousands of Americans residing in South Korea. Is organizing here consequential? You bet! 

    • Republican Lauren Boebert won Colorado's 3rd Congressional District by 546 in 2022.
    • Democrat Kris Mayes won the Arizona Attorney General race by 280 votes in 2022.
    • Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks won Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District by 6 votes in 2020

    And that's just South Korea! Democrats living abroad ARE increasingly the difference in elections back home - federal, state, and local. People vote when they feel it meaningful to do so. We need your help to create that meaning!

     

    Okay, I'm sold. What do I do now? 

    You can contact the DAROK Chair at [email protected] The chapter formation application can be found here

     

     

     

    read more

    Americans in South Korea by Sigugun

    Americans in South Korea by Sigugun: A Resource for National, Chapter, and Precinct Organizers 

    This post is intended to provide useful demographic and geographical information to our leaders and organizers here in South Korea. The visuals in this post are intended to aid national, chapter, and precinct leaders in our primary mission - helping Americans register to vote, request their absentee ballots, and encouraging them to join Democrats Abroad. The full, interactive version is here

    When viewing the visuals, please be keep a few things in mind: 

    1. These visuals were constructed using data published by Korean Immigration Service (KIS) under the Republic of Korea Ministry of Justice. KIS provides these statistics to the public on semi-annual basis in March and September. The data utilized for these visuals comes from the September 2021 report. COVID-19 protocols were still in place at the time this data was published, policies that may have suppressed the total number of Americans in the country or their movement around the country.  

    2. This visual information only includes "registered foreigners with American citizenship," 등록외국인 in Korean, 27,764 people in total. This does not include ethnic Koreans with American citizenship 제외동포 43,212, American military personnel 군인 (estimated 28,500), their dependents 협정, nor diplomatic personnel 외교. It also does not include dual citizens. While the data only considers a percentage of the total, it still illuminates centers of American congregation where all Americans are likely to interact in some capacity.

    If you are able to provide local analysis and nuance to these visuals, we invite you to send it to [email protected]

    read more
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    Upcoming Events

    Friday, March 03, 2023 at 12:00 AM through March 31, 2023 Eastern Time (US & Canada)

    ERA Call to Action - Cake time

    The Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced
    in Congress in 1923 - 100 years ago!

    To commemorate that, Democrats Abroad is joining women across the U.S.
    holding birthday parties 
    in March – many on March 22
    the date in 1972 that Congress submitted the ERA to the states for ratification.

    Despite that we’ve met all the constitutional requirements, the ERA has not been published.

    The goal is to raise awareness that the ERA is still not officially in the US Constitution.

    So have a little party with a birthday cake or cupcakes in recognition that we are still waiting for the Equal Rights Amendment to be added to the US Constitution.  This can be a small gathering in you home, a large gathering, or simply part of an already planned meeting or event.   Take lots of photos and post on social media with hashtag #ERA100.
    Please share these flyers at the birthday party and with your family and friends:

    Equal Means Equal has created a "cookbook" of ideas and graphics for groups to leverage. Click here to access.

    For more details on the ERA 100th birthday party, listen to Shari Temple’s appearance on the DA Blue Cafe podcast. 

    Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 11:00 AM Time · 4 rsvps

    Incheon-Gyeonggi Chapter Annual General Meeting 2023

    Join us on March 25th for our first Incheon-Gyeonggi Chapter Annual General Meeting 2023. We will be electing our chapter leadership and developing a strategy for the 2024 elections. 

    Please note that you must be a member of Democrats Abroad Republic of Korea Incheon-Gyeonggi to vote in this meeting. Click here to join Democrats Abroad and enter a valid Incheon or Gyeonggi address to join the chapter. 

    If you would like to nominate a member for the positions of Chapter Chair, Vice Chair, or Membership Coordinator, please use this form to do so. You may also self-declare your candidacy using the same form. This form will close 14 days prior to the election on March 11th, 2022, and ballots with accepted nominations will be sent out to the voting membership shortly after. Candidates must adhere to the election rules adopted by the Nominations and Election Committee. There will not be a vote on the day of the meeting unless a position receives zero nominations; all voting will take place electronically otherwise. If you have any questions or concerns, please email [email protected] 

    If you are unable to attend the meeting, please use this form to assign your vote by proxy to a member who will attend.