INTERVIEW 'Becoming nation's 1st female pilot wasn't easy'

By Kim Hyun-bin

Coming in first in any category is a challenging affair, but to be the country's first female commercial pilot in a male dominated industry is a story of its own.

Despite the challenges, the storyline perfectly describes Hong Soo-in, a pilot for the country's flagship carrier Korean Air, whose wish to become the first female pilot came true in 1996, marking a new chapter in the country's aviation history.

Starting from a young age, she loved the skies and loved the thought of flying and wanted to pursue a career in aviation. But at the time, the industry was not ready to welcome her in.

“When I was younger, there were no opportunities for women to become pilots, and I started work in a different field at Samsung Electronics. But suddenly, in 1995, Korean Air was hiring pilots, including women for the first time. I applied and got the job, becoming the nation's first female co-pilot in the country's civil aviation history,” Hong said.

Along with Hong, two other women shared the title by going through around a 10 to 1 competition at the time.

“It is not easy to become the first in any category and had to overcome prejudices and unfamiliar environments. I did overcome those obstacles, and was proud and honored to become the first female pilot in 2008,” she said.

A pilot has its perks being able to travel to different countries day in and day out and learn to be open-minded from experiencing other cultures from abroad.

However, Hong believes one of the best benefits is being able to see the alluring horizon from the best seat on the plane.

“Watching over the horizon inside the cockpit is dazzling, seeing the sun rise and set, lightning among the clouds, the aurora in the polar regions, Alaska's glaciers and the endless ocean ― there is not one sight that doesn't leave you breathless,” Hong said.

The airline industry has drastically changed for the better since I first entered Korean Air, such as the advancement of technology and state-of-the-art aircrafts as well as changes in the overall work atmosphere, which has become more female-friendly.

“At first, I felt the pressure as all the attention was on me, but now I have many female subordinates. Not just in Korea, but worldwide airlines have employed not only female pilots but maintenance and air controllers, so the corporate culture has become more female-friendly,” she said.

Even with over 23 years of experience and close to 10,000 accumulated flight hours, there is still an aspect Hong finds difficult.

“Flying is a continuous fight against fitness and jet leg, as a pilot needs to repeatedly fly over 10 hours and rest a little, then fly back again over 10 hours. I still have not gotten used to jet lag,” she said.

“Another difficult aspect is being away from family. I have a 10-year-old daughter, but I am not able to be with her for a couple of days at a time, which is stressful.”