The Presidential Election

      Fresh of the heels of the United States of America's presidential election, the Republic of Korea has just had their own chance to speak up and elect their future leader. In a historic moment, the first female president in this country's history has just been elected. I've tried my best to keep up with this interesting event despite the language barrier.

      Conservative presidential candidate, Ms. Park Geun-Hye, will now be taking charge of Asia's fourth-largest economy. The last numbers that I saw showed that Ms. Park won 51.6 percent of the vote in what was a tight race against her competition Mr. Moon Jae-In, a liberal. It was reported that more than three-quarters of eligible voters turned out to vote despite the below freezing temperatures.

      Ms. Park will take office for a single, five-year term in February 2013 and will face an immediate challenge from a hostile North Korea, who just recently put a satellite into orbit and fired off long-range missiles. She'll also have to tackle the economy, where annual growth rates have fallen two more percent from a 50 year average of 5.5 percent. The country is also grappling with income inequality, angst over education, and employment prospects for its youth. Apparently it's just as hard to find a job out here after graduating college as it is back in the States.

      Here's where things get interesting. Ms. Park is the daughter of the late military strongman-turned-president Mr. Park Chung-Hee, and will return to the presidential palace where she served as her father's first lady in the 1970's after her mother was assassinated by a North Korean gunman.

      The legacy of her father, who ruled for 18 years and transformed the country from the ruins of the 1950-1953 Korean War into an industrial power-house still divides Koreans. Older, conservative voters credit him with promoting rapid industrialization and laying the foundations for today's powerful economy. Others have not forgotten his ruthless crackdowns against opponents, some of whom were tortured or executed, and blame him for delaying the arrival of democracy. Her father was also assassinated and his rule ended in 1979.