Dictator father looms over South Korea's 1st female president as she returns to childhood home. Flashcards
stand-in
When Park Geun-hye last lived in the presidential Blue House more than 30 years ago, she was a young, stand-in first lady, serving after the assassination of her mother and before the killing of her dictator father.
[NOUN] A stand-in is a person who takes someone else’s place or does someone else’s job for a while, for example because the other person is ill or away.
unchecked [ʌntʃekt] 1 2
vote rigging [rɪgɪŋ] 1
His critics remember the brutal way he dealt with opponents to his unchecked rule, the claims of torture, execution and vote rigging.
[ADJ] If something harmful or undesirable is left unchecked, nobody controls it or prevents it from growing or developing.
*투표 조작[NOUN] [usu supp N] Vote or ballot rigging is the act of dishonestly organizing an election to get a particular result.
lay out
Park, a legislator since 1998, laid out a fairly moderate platform in her campaign to replace unpopular President Lee Myung-bak, a member of her conservative party.
[VERB] [tr, adverb] to arrange or spread out
forge [fɔ:rdʒ] 1
ruthless [ru:θləs] 1
But despite her history-making win and her efforts to forge her own path, many see in her only the embodiment of her father, who grabbed power in a 1961 coup and ruled with ruthless efficiency until his spy chief shot him dead at a 1979 drinking party.
[VERB] If one person or institution forges an agreement or relationship with another, they create it with a lot of hard work, hoping that it will be strong or lasting.
[ADJ] [oft ADJ in n] A ruthless action or activity is done forcefully and thoroughly, without much concern for its effects on other people.
seize on
Critics have long seized on what they see as Park’s queen-like aura in an attempt to link her with her father
*to suddenly show a lot of interest in something, especially because you can use it to your advantage.
point to something
cf) point out
Park herself points to the embodiment of female imperial rule, Elizabeth I of England, as her role model.
- to mention something that you think is important and/or the reason why a particular situation exists.
- [VERB] to indicate or specify
persona [pərsoʊnaɪ]2
Much of Park’s public persona has been built on her close association with her father’s rule.
[NOUN] [FORMAL] Someone’s persona is the aspect of their character or nature that they present to other people, perhaps in contrast to their real character or nature.
put something down to something
Even her choice of college major – electronic engineering, which the website describes as “rare for women” – is put down to self-sacrifice, an effort to help the country increase exports by concentrating on developing electronic industries.
*to consider that something is caused by something
botch [bɒtʃ] 1
Kim Il Sung killed her mother in a botched assassination attempt against her father.
[VERB] [INFORMAL] If you botch something that you are doing, you do it badly or clumsily.
gash [gæʃ]
She was a major figure in conservative politics in 2006 when a convicted criminal slashed her face as she was shaking hands with voters, opening up a gash that needed 60 stitches during surgery.
[NOUN] A gash is a long, deep cut in your skin or in the surface of something.
primary [praɪmeri]1
Park lost narrowly in the 2007 presidential primaries to Lee.
[NOUN] A primary or a primary election is an election in an American state in which people vote for someone to become a candidate for a political office. Compare general election.
belligerent [bɪlɪdʒərənt]2
cover [kʌvər] 1
That might be difficult, however, with a belligerent Pyongyang fresh off the surprising success of a rocket launch that the South, the United States and others say was a cover for testing long-range missile technology.
[ADJ] A belligerent person is hostile and aggressive.
[NOUN] [usu sing] Something that is a cover for secret or illegal activities seems respectable or normal, and is intended to hide the activities.구실
