In February 2013, we will have a female president for the first time in our history. Since electing a woman is something that even the United States has not been able to do yet, Koreans are very proud. Only a few years ago, women were reluctant to vote for a female president, thinking that a male president would perform much better in the hostile political arena. In the last presidential election, however, many Korean women reportedly voted for Park Geun-hye and many men did as well. Korean politics has indeed progressed. 

Having a lady president entails a number of advantages. At a summit meeting, for example, a female president is usually treated with more courtesy and respect. She can draw attention easily from other political leaders who are ready to listen to her. Besides, women are often subtler, more intricate, and refined with their words, and therefore are suitable for diplomacy. Thus, South Korea is lucky to have a female president at such a critical moment when we need a political leader who has superb diplomatic skills to deal with the stream of international crises.

For the sake of our domestic arena, we also have every reason to welcome a lady president. Generally speaking, women are more flexible and gracious when dealing with complex problems. South Korean society has long been torn brutally due to the stubborn ideological fight between the Left and the Right.

A woman president, however, may be able to heal our psychic trauma, dressing our gaping wounds, and eradicating our indelible scars with her soft, tender touch. As Helen Cixous points out, feminine flexibility is, in fact, stronger than masculine dominance. In that sense, the “feminine principle” resembles water, which is soft to the touch, but strong in essence. “Water is fluid, soft, and yielding,” Lao Tzu said. “But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield.”

After the election, our opinion leaders keep asking President-elect Park to put an end to our nation’s chronic problem of regional discrimination and factional antagonism that have seriously plagued and undermined Korean society. And as a way of guarding against regional discrimination, they suggest that the president-elect appoint a man from the discriminated region as prime minister of the new cabinet. But our ex-presidents have made such hollow gestures in the past already without solving the roots of the problem and as a result, they have invariably failed. What we need is not such a superficial gesture, but the alteration of our consciousness.

First, the ruling party must change. President-elect Park should always bear in mind why Ahn Cheol-soo, who was totally inexperienced in politics, was suddenly able to emerge out of the blue as a popular political idol that seriously threatened her votes.

The so-called Ahn phenomenon indicates that the Korean people are fed up with conventional politics and incompetent politicians. So Park should show us a fresh image by refurbishing the ruling party. In these rapidly changing times, even conservatism must change in order to suit the new age and accommodate the alteration of the national consciousness.

Unless Park meets the high expectations of Korean society, people may be disappointed in the ruling party and turn their backs on it five years later. She should also bear in mind that voters chose the ruling party not because they so loved the party, but because they did not like the opposition that might jeopardize our national security. Park should also know that the people, who had witnessed inexperienced, amateur politicians clumsily making irrevocable mistakes in the past, wanted a leader who was experienced, had proven diplomatic skills, and could converse with foreign leaders in English comfortably.

By the same token, the progressives must change radically as well. As long as their mental clock remains stopped in the 1970s, not seeing the radical changes that have occurred since then, they won’t be able to win the election in the future. They are wrong, for example, if they mistakenly believe they are still fighting against the dictatorship as they did in the 1970s.

They are also wrong to believe that they are the victims of political power even after they have enjoyed political power themselves for 10 years now. Furthermore, if the progressivism they assert simply refers to equal distribution of wealth, or anti-American, pro-North Korean socialism that denounces capitalism, they will inevitably lose the election again. True progressivism must encompass the spirit of liberalism, globalism and open-mindedness, not ultra-nationalism, parochial jingoism or blind hatred toward the rich and privileged.

If they really care about the future of Korea, the progressives should help the new president steer the nation in the right direction. If the progressives row the boat in the opposite direction, the boat will become stuck or even capsize in the swift current of international crises. Then, we will all go down together. We cannot let such a thing happen, for we dearly love and are immensely proud of our country.

By Kim Seong-kon

Kim Seong-kon is a professor of English at Seoul National University and president of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea. ― Ed.