TEHRAN -- Throughout her three-day state visit to Iran, President Park Geun-hye has been seen wearing a headscarf in public, abiding by the dress code required of Muslim women in the region.

Through her attire, the state leader displayed her diplomatic amity toward the sanction-freed Islamic country where South Korea is hoping to gain new growth momentum for its stalled economy.

Upon arrival at the Mehrabad International Airport on Sunday, the president wore a long light-green jacket matched with a white headscarf -- or “rousari” in Persian – which covered her hair and twined around her neck.

During her summit with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and her following talks with Supreme Leader and religious cleric Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, she maintained a similar dress code, putting on a long pink-colored jacket with the rousari.

The green, pink and white combination was designed to be a tribute to the green, red, and white-colored Iranian flag.

“The president’s wearing of the rousari is an expression of respect for Iran’s traditional culture,” said presidential spokesperson Jeong Yeon-guk.

“It is the equivalent of foreigners taking off their shoes when stepping indoors in Korea.”

While some denounced the headscarf as a symbol of discrimination against women in Muslim culture, Park’s gesture seemed to have a positive effect upon the leaders of the Middle East state.

Prior to the summit on Monday morning, Iranian President Rouhani came out all the way to the vehicle to greet Park and escorted her in person to the reception hall.

During the press conference following the summit, Park and Rouhani sat side by side at a table in a relatively informal composition.

This was not the first time that the South Korean president wore a piece of traditional garment during a state visit.

When visiting Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in March last year, Park wore a shaya, the local Arabian version of the headscarf. But her special dress code then was limited to the religious event only that time.

President Park also said at the end of the press conference “dust va hamrahe khub,” meaning “friend and good companion” in the Persian language.

It was amid this cordial mood that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei consented at the last minute to a face-to-face meeting with Park.

The presidential office had been attempting to confirm a meeting with the religious chief, who not only holds leverage over the religious circles but also upon the country’s administration, legislature and judiciaries.

Also, as the last schedule on her agenda, Park paid a visit to the Iran National Museum on Tuesday afternoon to appreciate the cultural heritage of the Persian empire.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)
Korea Herald correspondent