Gender row over Korean banknotes

Shin Saimdang has already appeared on a stamp

South Korea's decision to use the image of a 16th Century symbol of motherhood on one of its banknotes has sparked a row about gender stereotyping.

The country's central bank has chosen Shin Saimdang, regarded as something of a maternal icon, to be the first woman to grace one of its notes.

Her face will adorn a new 50,000 won note when it appears in early 2009.

But women's rights groups said the choice merely served to reinforce sexist stereotypes.

'Wise choice?'

Shin Saimdang is well known in Korea for raising a famed Confucian scholar, Yi I, who was also known as Yulgok.

She was also an accomplished painter and calligrapher.

Known as the "wise mother", a government web site describes her as "the best example of motherhood in Korean history".

The central bank said she was selected for representation on the new notes "to promote gender equality and women's participation in society".

But womens' campaigners said her selection bolstered the idea that mothers should stay at home and devote their lives to their children's education.