Seoul - When Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived in Seoul last week, she came as a powerful diplomat with a stern message against North Korea's nuclear and weapons programmes. When she departed a day later, she also left as an inspirational role model for South Korean women seeking to break through the glass ceiling in the Confucian society.

The US secretary of state talked tough against Pyongyang as it is believed to be close to test-firing a long-range missile and spoke of the possibility of a power struggle over who would succeed North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who South Korean and US intelligence agencies said had a stroke last year.

But at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, the former presidential candidate, senator, first lady and lawyer proved inspirational for the
2,000 students who attended her address on women's empowerment.

"I never could have dreamed that I could be here as the secretary of state," she said. "... Follow your dreams. With your education and with the opportunities now available in your country, there is so much that you can do."

Clinton - who made the stop on her first overseas trip as the United States' top diplomat, a post she took up last month - inspired the would-be glass-ceiling breakers to follow her example.

"I knew she is an intelligent and competent woman," student Kim Young Min, 20, said. "Now I am impressed that she is also a charming, funny and warm-hearted woman who wisely made her way as a mother, wife and working woman."

In South Korea, more and more women have been entering traditionally male-dominated jobs. The country's first astronaut, Yi So Yeon, was a woman who lifted off last year for a trip to the International Space Station, and South Korea also got its first female prime minister, Han Myeong Sook, in 2006.

However, hurdles remain for woman in the workplace. Parents have expressed discontent at a lack of male teachers, saying they want a steady male influence for their children in a country where one in 10 primary schoolteachers is male.

But what was once prejudice against women in public life is turning to acceptance and even preference.

The South Korean Justice Ministry said 51 per cent of the 112 prosecutors appointed this year were women, bringing the number of women in the prosecutors' ranks to 316 of a total of 1,716 - a big jump from 10 female prosecutors in 1996.

"She left our students a message that looks are not everything for women to chase after," said Jeon Yeo Ok, a female lawmaker who attended the speech. "She left us a dream that we also need a woman diplomat like her."

However, politics might be the last frontier for women to break through the glass ceiling in South Korea, where women make up 13 per cent of the 299 lawmakers.

Ewha Womans University president Bae Yong Lee said Clinton's appearance at the institution "will inspire and challenge Ewha students to become future leaders."

"Secretary of State Clinton's life and her work reflects the founding spirit of Ewha itself, namely its commitment to the enhancement of women's rights and the realization of human justice," she said.

Clinton faced a barrage of questions from students Friday: what were her dreams as a girl and how she balanced her work with her family.

The diplomat told her audience that it was splendid to live in the world now as a young woman. "My mother and grandmother were born in a world where women did not even have voting rights," Clinton said. "Remember what you have now brings you both a great opportunity and responsibility."

She also reminded them that no country has achieved full equality for women and not to be complacent about women's rights while also expressing a dream for South Korea:

"Before I came out on stage, I met a number of young women who are in political office here in the Republic of Korea, and I hope I was looking at a future president of this great nation." (dpa)