A South Korean female parliamentarian has sparked widespread public controversy for wearing a red and white dress during a session of Parliament, and was subjected to a barrage of online abuse in this East Asian country, where women have long complained of sexism and patriarchal culture.
Not long after legislator Ryo Ho-jeong wore this dress in front of the South Korean Legislative Assembly on Tuesday that social media was flooded with hate-style comments, indicating the sexism faced by the country's female politicians.
Some comments on social media believe her appearance was not a good fit for parliament, with women making up 19% of MPs - the largest ever percentage of female legislators in South Korea's legislature, but still low by international standards. Others asked why this woman should be in parliament in the first place.
"Soon you will come to work in a bikini," one of them wrote on a Facebook page belonging to supporters of the Democratic Party, led by President Moon Jae-in. "It looks like we're in a bar?"
Some commented about her age, as she is 27, and is considered the youngest member of the National Assembly.
Ryo told Yonhap News Agency that she wore the dress "to break the tradition of lawmakers who wear suits," adding that "National Assembly deputies have nothing to do with their clothes."
While Ryo's clothes sparked controversy online, this won her support from her party and the ruling Democratic Party.
Ryo is a member of the left-wing Justice Party, which he said was a victim of the biting and sexist comments. In a statement, the party affirmed that “it absolutely does not tolerate votes that describe political women as lacking qualifications only through evaluating their appearance and image instead of their legislative work.
The statement goes on to say, "Female legislators are still subject to controversy because of their wearing of trousers or their choice of bright-colored outfits. We express our regret for the current reality in the National Assembly where the shouting and arrogance of MPs at each other has become a normal matter, while wearing the dress is considered a problem."
Democratic Party member Ko Min Jung said that while she did not support Ryo's choice of dress, she sympathized with her because she was criticized for the clothing she wore.
"I express my gratitude to her for breaking the excessive authoritarian tradition of the National Assembly," Coe wrote in a post on Facebook.
Although South Korea is a country with an advanced economy, many feminist activists argue that the country remains a place where women are subjected to harassment.
Over the past few years, South Korea has faced stinging criticism for its deep patriarchal culture. Women face discrimination in the workplace, and they also experience sexual violence and harassment.
The country still ranks poorly in the world in terms of women's representation in government and equal pay.
Even prominent women still face gender discrimination.
Last year, a right-wing politician told a senior economics professor at Harvard who works on government committees that she can contribute to the country's development by having children.
Ryo talks via video to some pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong, about the source.