Yi So-yeon To Be South Korea's First Astronaut, Let Alone Female Astronaut

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31 year old Ko San will be replaced by 29 year old Yi So-yeon at the request of the Russian government. Instead of Ko, Yi will be taking his place on a flight to the International Space Station in April with Russian cosmonauts. This had come as a stroke of luck as the Russian government requested Ko to be replaced.

According to a senior official, Ko had violated rules placed by the Russian Federal Space Agency. One breach of the training center rules was when Ko sent a training book to the South Korean government. The other breach was reading a book that he was not supposed to read in the first place.

But, the South Korean government downplayed the rules.

In the case of Yi, it looked to be a miracle for her. Ko himself had got the position to possibly be South Korea’s first astronaut after he had beaten over 36,000 other people that applied for it. For at least a year, Ko had trained in Russia.

But, Ko is not completely out of the picture yet. He will be a back-up astronaut when Yi flies out in April.

Regardless, this is a historical moment in South Korean history. South Korea will have its first astronaut let alone female astronaut. It will also be the sixth country in Asia to have someone in outer space.

It was a by a miracle that Yi managed to get herself into this current position.