Photo source: The Japan Times
Park Geun-hye, South Korea
As South Korea’s first female president, Park Geun-hye is also the first female head of state in East Asia. Being president of South Korea isn’t without its challenges, having a hostile communist neighbour to the north and a stop-and-go economy. However Park has restored the economy to growth and has made some progress with North Korea by securing reunions between families split up by the division of Korea. Being a conservative, Park has not done much in terms of social reforms, but her approval rating (which peaked at 63%) demonstrates her popularity among Koreans satisfied with her policies towards North Korea.