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Download South Korea has elected its first female head of state.

Conservative leader Park Geun-hye comes with a painful political legacy.

Her father was president during the '60s and '70s.

Her mother was killed in an assassination attempt on the president in 1974 and the president himself, Park Chung Hee, was assassinated by the chief of the secret police in 1979.

Ms Park has won office promising to create more jobs and increase welfare spending while reviving South Korea's sluggish economy.

Liam Cochrane from Radio Australia speaks to Professor Lee Jung Hoon from Yonsei University about this.

Malte Kollenberg

Download In South Korea, one of the world’s most wired countries, what you say online could get you in trouble. Especially if it’s about North Korea. 

Just ask Park Jung-geun who was recently found guilty of supporting the Pyongyang regime. 

Human rights groups say the National Security Law is being used to silence opponents of President Lee Myung-bak. 

And they want South Korea’s next leader to scrap the law.    

Reporter Jason Strother has more from Seoul.

Photo: Jason Strother

Download By now you’ve probably heard the South Korean pop music sensation Gangnam Style.

And you’ve maybe even have done the invisible horse dance that singer Psy shows off in the song’s video, which has gone viral worldwide.

Gangnam Style is K-pop’s biggest hit to date and is putting South Korea on the map as a entertainment powerhouse. 

And now the South Korean government sees an opportunity to cash in on the song’s success.

Reporter Jason Strother has more from Seoul.

Photo: Malte Kollenberg

Download The World Health Organization warns that overpopulation and a lack of arable land contribute to global food insecurity.

So scientists are developing new farming technology to offset potential food shortages. 

Researchers in South Korea are experimenting with vertical farms; gardens that instead of spreading out, go straight up.

Jason Strother starts off this report from Seoul.