Speaker Under Fire for 'sexist' Remarks on Women's Day

By Park Ji-won

The biggest challenge facing women in South Korea today is patriarchy-driven prejudice. This is especially evident in the realm of politics, positions and perception.

In the country, where Confucian-oriented mindset still matters, gender inequality may not be because of how women actually act but because of how people perceive their actions.

While a key to tackling such challenges facing society is to ensure women are at the table, making decisions, recent remarks by the National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang are regarded as highly controversial and representing an outdated attitude toward women.

On the sidelines of his congratulatory speech in the National Assembly to mark this year's International Women's Day, Moon abruptly said, “Male is more pathetic. Ask every man aged over 50.

In that age group, what men need the most is, first, my mistress, second, my wife, third, my spouse, fourth, housewife and fifth, my children's mother”

Then he continued, “In the past, if a woman gives birth to two sons, it was considered winning a gold medal. Nowadays, it is not good.

” He repeated himself saying, “Giving birth to two daughters is considered winning a gold medal.” before going on to say “Giving birth to a daughter is winning a silver medal.

Giving birth to a son is winning a bronze medal. Giving birth to two sons is hanging oneself.

”

Female groups were disappointed, and the comments also drew heavy criticism online.

“I doubted what I read about.

These outdated norms of an old generation roll back the wheel of history,” Lee Na-yong, a sociology professor at Seoul's ChungAng University, said in a Facebook post.

A Twitter user said, “The speaker Moon definitely doesn't know the core meaning of International Women's Day.

The fact that people like to have a daughter over a son and that middle-aged men need a wife are because they need female's caring labor”

Critics also said the remarks were “inappropriate” for an assembly leader because the comments were directly linked to something about “gender stereotyping.”

Lee Jin-ok, head of Korea Women's Political Solidarity, asked the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK)...