In recent days, the streets of Seoul look a lot more like concert arenas than protest sites.

Demonstrators chanting for President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment are grooving over chart-topping techno hits and waving colourful light sticks, signature accessories more often associated with K-pop fans more than political movements. 

Lee Seul-gi, a 36-year-old woman who is a fan of K-pop boyband ATEEZ, said the festive atmosphere has made the protests more "accessible."

"Previous rallies might have been a bit violent and scary. But the light sticks and K-pop have lowered the barrier, and thanks to this, I think people experienced solidarity here and came out with light sticks," Lee said.

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Despite the serious demand for Yoon's removal following his botched martial law declaration, the K-pop infused protests have gone viral on social media along with meme-bearing flags. Tens of thousands of demonstrators, braving near sub-zero temperatures, have gathered outside the National Assembly over the last week.

The K-pop industry is notoriously apolitical, and many K-pop songs playing at the impeachment protests reflect that neutrality. Nonetheless, protest emcee Park Min-ju has strategically adopted catchy K-pop beats to keep the crowd energized and engaged.

"We will continue to hold the protest rallies, so I wanted to make people get excited to join the rallies without getting tired. Although we are in a serious situation, I prepared (K-pop songs and added slogans to them) to cheer people up," Park said. 

Past protests, including the 2016 impeachment of former president President Park Geun-hye, were defined by candlelight rallies. Park was ousted over a graft scandal and later jailed over the scandal that exposed webs of corruption between political leaders and the country's conglomerates. 

Seoul-based music critic Kim Do-heon says K-pop light sticks offer a more vibrant and durable symbol of resistance, and that the pop music allows protests to span different generations as well.   

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"For now, K-pop is the music that can attract every generation immediately. That's why many K-pop fans are gathering at the protest and protest leaders are using K-pop songs," Kim said.

While he survived a first impeachment vote on Saturday (December 7), the opposition has vowed to try again and Yoon's own party says it is formulating a plan for him to eventually step down. Protesters will likely continue to demonstrate, marching to the beat to their own drum and some K-pop anthems along the way. 

(Production: Nicoco Chan, Joseph Campbell, Tom Bateman, Daewoung Kim, Minwoo Park)