Women find their voice as S. Korea's first female president falls from grace
| Seoul, South Korea
Park Geun-hye is South Korea鈥檚 first female president. She鈥檚 also the country's first president to be named a suspect in a criminal investigation.
For some of her critics, these two facts are inextricably linked.
The political scandal that has embroiled South Korea for the past six weeks has women鈥檚 rights supporters fearful of an intensely patriarchal society becoming even less accepting of female leaders. The scandal鈥檚 bizarre details and lurid rumors have provided fertile ground for misogynistic beliefs in a nation where gender inequality is deeply entrenched.
鈥淧eople are talking about not only what she did and the corruption, but whether or not she was getting Botox,鈥� says , who researches Korean digital culture and politics at SOAS University of London. 鈥淭hey say this proves women cannot be leaders.鈥�
Ms. Yenn says President Park鈥檚 fall from grace 鈥� her approval rating has plunged to the low single digits 鈥� has emboldened critics of all stripes. Social media posts that propagate sexist sentiments have gained particular traction; Twitter and Facebook are filled with memes that affix blame for the scandal to the president鈥檚 gender. Offline, sexist chants can be heard at the demonstrations in downtown Seoul that have drawn millions of protesters.
But women鈥檚 rights activists are fighting back, galvanized by a newfound sense of empowerment in challenging longstanding perceptions of women.
They won a symbolic victory ahead of last Saturday鈥檚 rally when DJ DOC, a popular hip-hop trio, was barred from performing because of controversial lyrics in a song the group had released online the night before.聽
The song criticizes Park鈥檚 relationship with her longtime friend and shadowy confidante, Choi Soon-sil, who allegedly sought to enrich herself through ties to the presidential office. But feminist organizations pointed out that some of the lyrics, such as "Miss Park,鈥� were offensive to women. The term 鈥渕iss鈥� in Korea has derogatory connotations because of its historical association with young women in low social positions, including hostesses.
DJ DOC later that the lyrics were not intended to be misogynistic. Still, women鈥檚 rights groups stood firm.
鈥淲e felt that it was misogynistic in a way that shouldn鈥檛 be connoted to a president, even though she鈥檚 done many, many wrong things,鈥� says Chong So-young, a member of Femidangdang, a feminist group that helped pressure the demonstration鈥檚 organizers to call off DJ DOC鈥檚 performance. 鈥淚t was unacceptable.鈥�
Since Saturday, Femidangdang鈥檚 has received more than 2,000 offensive comments related to the group鈥檚 involvement in the canceled performance. Ms. Chong says 鈥渇eminazi鈥� is among the most common insults she鈥檚 read.
'Dictator鈥檚 daughter鈥�
Hwang Ji-young, a recent college graduate who has attended all but one demonstration, has no tolerance for chants of 鈥淢iss Park鈥� in Seoul's Gwanghwamun Square. She relishes hearing the majority of the crowd respond with silence whenever such barbs are thrown. For her, focusing on Park鈥檚 gender distracts from the real problems: everything from crony nepotism to endemic corruption.聽
鈥淢isogyny is never a trivial thing,鈥� Ms. Hwang says. 鈥淵ou have a lot of other things to criticize about her.鈥�
Park has denied accusations that she colluded in the criminal activities of Ms. Choi, the daughter of a cult leader who once claimed to be able to communicate with Park鈥檚 long-ago murdered mother. Prosecutors have accused Choi of receiving access to classified policy documents in addition to exploiting her presidential ties to extort millions of dollars in donations from Korean conglomerates.
In a speech on Tuesday, Park offered to leave office if parliament arranges a safe transfer of power. Opposition leaders called the proposal a stalling tactic and vowed to stick with their plan to try to vote on an impeachment motion as early as Friday.
Whatever happens to Park, few, if any, feminists will mourn the end of her presidency. Most saw her election in 2012 as little more than a superficial milestone. They don鈥檛 believe she ever represented women鈥檚 interests as president or as a legislator before that.
鈥淔or me, she's just a dictator's daughter,鈥� Hwang says, referring to Park鈥檚 father, the late Park Chung-hee, whose 18-year rule ended after he was shot and killed by his own intelligence chief in 1979. 鈥淪he鈥檚 not an advocate for women's rights. She never has been.鈥�
Indeed, gender inequality remains widespread in South Korea four years after Park took office. Women on average earn 38 percent less than men, the biggest gap of any rich country, and make up only 17 percent of parliament. The country ranks 116 among 144 countries in this year鈥檚 by the World Economic Forum. It鈥檚 sandwiched on the list between the Maldives and Angola, five spots below stubbornly patriarchal Japan.
Gangnam murder
While Korean women have long expressed frustration with structural sexism, it was the stabbing聽death of a 23-year-old woman on May 17 that spurred many of them to action. The attacker was a 34-year-old man with a history of schizophrenia. He he attacked the woman because he felt that women had been "dismissive" of him, according to news reports.
In the days following the attack, hundreds of demonstrators marched near the public toilets in the wealthy Gangnam district where it occurred. Thousands of women stuck post-it messages to a nearby subway gate with expressions of grief and fears about being potential targets for random acts of violence.
, an emeritus professor at Yonsei University in Seoul who studies gender issues, says the attack鈥檚 galvanizing effect has carried over into the current protests. She鈥檚 been encouraged by the large number of women who have taken to the streets, something she saw less of in the 1987 movement to democratize聽South Korea.
鈥淚n the 1980s, the democratic movement was very patriarchal,鈥� she says. 鈥淎fter the Gangnam incident, women have been getting together and raising their voices.鈥�
Chong, a graphic design student at Seoul National University, says the attack is what compelled her and a dozen friends to form Femidangdang, which roughly translates to 鈥淧roud Feminist Party.鈥� The group hosts seminars on various women鈥檚 issues and lobbies for legalizing abortion. They鈥檝e also set up a female-only zone at the weekly demonstrations. Last Saturday, about 200 women joined their group.
The Gangnam murder also had a lasting effect on Hwang, who says she had only the faintest notion of feminism before it happened. In her mind, it was a topic confined to academia. That all changed after May 17.
鈥淲hat happened last summer really opened my eyes,鈥� she says. 鈥淪ince then I鈥檝e spoken out more about the concerns I have as a woman.鈥�
One of her biggest tests occurred on Nov. 12, the night of the third demonstration against Park. On her way home in a taxi with friends, the male taxi driver quoted a while criticizing the president: 鈥淚f a hen clucks, the whole household is ruined.鈥�
鈥淭his is why women shouldn't be politicians,鈥� the middle-aged man concluded.
Hwang admits that a year ago she would have probably been too nervous to say anything, but now she wasn鈥檛 having it. She and her friends told him he was wrong and not to say things like that. He didn鈥檛 talk for the rest of the ride.
鈥淚 never thought about confronting an older man before,鈥� Hwang says. 鈥淚 feel proud.鈥�
