In the five years since Park Ji-hyun's 21st birthday, the South Korean activist has busted an online sex crime ring, published a memoir, revealed her identity to the masses, and become a senior adviser to a leading presidential candidate.
He lost, but she didn't. The election elevated Park to the highest levels of national politics. Just months after emerging from anonymity, Park was named interim co-chair of the Democratic Party and the leader of its rebuilding efforts. She’s also become a lodestar for millions of South Korean women enraged by a rash of high-profile sexual harassment and violence against women — and the gender politics of newly elected president Yoon Suk-yeol.
"It is very surprising that in Korea, a woman in her 20s is a leader of a major party,” Park said in a rare interview with a global media organization. "I hope it’s more normal in the future, and not only in Korea. I hope that we can become a society where, regardless of generation or gender, anyone can do anything they want to do.”