South Korea has a new First Lady...In Chief!

For the first time in South Korea’s history a women president was elected. As reported by CNN correspondents Sheen McKenzie and Paula Hancocks, South Korea elected sixty-two year old Park Geun-hye to head of state. This is not new territory to the new president; she is the daughter of Park Chung-hee, president of South Korea from 1961 to his death in 1979 -- when his own intelligence chief shot him over dinner. The murder of her father came only five years after his wife, and Park Geun-hye's mother, was also killed by an assassin who had been targeting her husband.  

The importance of her position is not lost on me. South Korea has one of the largest wage gaps between the sexes in the world, and its treatment and promotion opportunities for female’s leaves a lot to be desired. In her interview with CNN’s Leading Women she is quoted as remarking on changing gender roles within our new globalism,  

"I believe the very fact that I was elected as the first female president of the Republic of Korea is testament to the dynamism of Korean society. I feel an even greater sense of responsibility as president. I also feel that we can look forward to greater opportunities that enable women to fully tap into their potential and live out their dreams, given the dynamism of our society and the way the entire world is headed."

"This is a time when we see fathers, especially young fathers, who would be more than willing to play their part in raising children and who are so willing to help their wives. We see many young fathers who would find great reward, pleasure, and joy in raising their children."

The reason I decided to cover this story is that in our changing world, women (especially women of color) seem to be steeping into bigger more powerful roles in countries that still seem to have trepidation about women’s changing roles. It’s effects on race relations remain to be seen, however the fact that many “supposedly progressive” countries like our own have failed to elect a woman to a presidential or prime minister role is both telling and discouraging.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/04/world/asia/south-koreas-first-female-president/index.html?iid=article_sidebar