Park Chung-hee (, ; 14 November 1917 – 26 October 1979) was a
South Korean politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
and
army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
general who served as the dictator of
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
from 1961 until
his assassination in 1979; ruling as an unelected military strongman from 1961 to 1963, then as the third
President of South Korea
The president of the Republic of Korea (), also known as the president of South Korea (often abbreviated to POTROK or POSK; ), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Korea. The president leads the State Council, and is ...
from 1963 to 1979.
Before his presidency, he was the second-highest ranking officer in the
South Korean army
The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國 陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...
and came to power after leading
a military coup in 1961, which brought an end to the interim government of the
Second Republic. After serving for two years as chairman of the
military junta
A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...
, he was
elected president in 1963, ushering in the
Third Republic. During his rule, Park began a series of economic reforms that eventually led to rapid economic growth and industrialization, now known as the
Miracle on the Han River
The Miracle on the Han River refers to the period of rapid economic growth in South Korea, following the Korean War (1950–1953), during which South Korea transformed from a least developed country to a developed country. The rapid reconstru ...
, giving South Korea one of the fastest growing national economies during the 1960s and 1970s, albeit with costs to
economic inequality
There are wide varieties of economic inequality, most notably income inequality measured using the distribution of income (the amount of money people are paid) and wealth inequality measured using the distribution of wealth (the amount of we ...
and
labor rights. This era also saw the formation of ''
chaebol''s, family companies supported by the state similar to the Japanese
zaibatsu
is a Japanese term referring to industrial and financial vertically integrated business conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed control over significant parts of the Japanese economy from the Meiji period unt ...
, with prominent examples including
Hyundai Hyundai is a South Korean industrial conglomerate ("chaebol"), which was restructured into the following groups:
* Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested
** Hyundai Mobis, Korean car parts company
** Hyundai ...
,
LG, and
Samsung
The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
that remain dominant and influential in the country today.
Although popular during the 1960s, Park's popularity started to plateau by the 1970s, with closer than expected victories during the
1971 presidential election and the subsequent
legislative elections
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
. In 1972, Park declared
martial law
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.
Use
Marti ...
and introduced the highly authoritarian
Yushin Constitution
The fourth Republic of Korea () was the government of South Korea from November 1972 to March 1981.
The Fourth republic was founded on the approval of the Yushin Constitution in the 1972 constitutional referendum, codifying the ''de facto'' d ...
, ushering in the
Fourth Republic. Political opposition and dissent was now constantly repressed and Park had complete control of the military, and much control over the media and expressions of
art
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
. In 1979, Park was
assassinated by close friend
Kim Jae-gyu
Kim Jae-gyu (Hangul: 김재규, April 9, 1924 – May 24, 1980) was a South Korean politician, army lieutenant general and the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency. He assassinated South Korean President Park Chung-hee— ...
, director of the
KCIA
The National Intelligence Service (NIS; Korean language, Korean: 국가정보원, 국정원) is the chief intelligence agency of South Korea. The agency was officially established in 1961 as the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA; Korea ...
, following the
Bu-Ma student demonstrations. Whether the assassination was spontaneous or premeditated is something that remains unclear to this day. Economic growth continued in spite of the 1979
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
and considerable
political turmoil in the wake of his assassination. The country
eventually democratized in 1987.
Generally regarded as an authoritarian
dictator
A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in tim ...
, Park is a controversial figure in modern South Korean political discourse and among the South Korean populace in general, making a detached evaluation of his tenure difficult. While some credit him for sustaining economic growth, which reshaped and modernized South Korea, others criticize his authoritarian way of ruling the country (especially after 1971) and for prioritizing economic growth and social order at the expense of
civil liberties
Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...
and
human rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
. A Gallup Korea poll in October 2021 showed Park,
Kim Dae-jung
Kim Dae-jung (; ; 6 January 192418 August 2009), was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003.
He was a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his work for democracy and human ...
(an old opponent of Park that he tried to have executed), and
Roh Moo-hyun
Roh Moo-hyun (; ; 1 September 1946 – 23 May 2009) was a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the ninth president of South Korea between 2003 and 2008.
Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for ...
as the most highly rated presidents of South Korean history in terms of leaving a positive legacy, especially among
right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
conservatives
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
and the elderly.
Park's eldest daughter
Park Geun-hye
Park Geun-hye (; ; often in English ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, until she was impeached and convicted on related corruption charges.
Park was the fi ...
later served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 until she was impeached and convicted of various corruption charges in 2017.
Early life and education
Park was born on 14 November 1917, in
Gumi, North Gyeongsang
Gumi (; ) is the second largest city in Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. It is located on the Nakdong River, halfway between Daegu and Gimcheon, also lies on the Gyeongbu Expressway and Gyeongbu Line railway which are the principal traffic routes ...
,
North Gyeongsang Province
North Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상북도, translit=Gyeongsangbuk-do, ) is a province in eastern South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remained a province of Korea until the ...
,
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
to parents Park Seong-bin and Baek Nam-ui. He was the youngest of five brothers and two sisters in a poor
Yangban
The ''yangban'' () were part of the traditional ruling class or gentry of dynastic Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. The ''yangban'' were mainly composed of highly educated civil servants and military officers—landed or unlanded aristocrats ...
family.
[Hwang, Kyung Moon ''A History of Korea'', London: Macmillan, 2010 page 229.] Extremely intelligent, egotistic and ambitious, Park's hero from his boyhood on was
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
, and he frequently expressed much disgust that he had to grow up in the poor and backward countryside of Korea, a place that was not suitable for someone like himself.
Those who knew Park as a youth recalled that a recurring theme of his remarks was his wish to "escape" from the Korean countryside.
As someone who had grown up under Japanese rule, Park often expressed his admiration for Japan's rapid modernization after the Meiji Restoration of 1867 and for ''
Bushido'', the Japanese warrior code.
![Park Chung-hee, Manchu Shinmun](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Park_Chung-hee%2C_Manchu_Shinmun.jpg)
As a youth, he won admission to a teaching school in
Daegu and worked as a teacher in
Mungyeong-eup after graduating in high school, but was reportedly a very mediocre student.
The ambitious Park decided to enter the
Manchukuo Army Military Academy in
Changchun with help from Colonel Arikawa, a drill instructor at the teaching school in Daegu who was impressed by Park's military ambitions. During this time, he adopted the Japanese name . He graduated top of his class in 1942 and was recognized as a talented officer by his Japanese instructors, who recommended him for further studies at the
Imperial Japanese Army Academy
The was the principal officer's training school for the Imperial Japanese Army. The programme consisted of a junior course for graduates of local army cadet schools and for those who had completed four years of middle school, and a senior course f ...
in Japan.
His talents as an officer were swiftly recognized and he was one of the few Koreans allowed to attend the Japanese Imperial Military Academy near Tokyo. He was subsequently posted to a Japanese Army regiment in Manchuria and served there until Japan’s surrender at the end of World War II.
Military career
In Manchukuo
After graduating third in the class of 1944, Park was commissioned as a
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
into
the army of
Manchukuo,
a Japanese puppet-state, and served during the final stages of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
as
aide-de-camp to a regimental commander.
Return to Korea
![Parkjunghee573](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Parkjunghee573.jpg)
Park returned to Korea after the war and enrolled at the
Korea Military Academy
Korea Military Academy (KMA) is the leading South Korean institution for the education and training of officer cadets for the Republic of Korea Army. Along with the Korea Army Academy (Yeongcheon), it produces the largest number of senior office ...
. He graduated in the second class of 1946 (one of his classmates was
Kim Jae-gyu
Kim Jae-gyu (Hangul: 김재규, April 9, 1924 – May 24, 1980) was a South Korean politician, army lieutenant general and the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency. He assassinated South Korean President Park Chung-hee— ...
, his close friend and later assassin) and became an officer in the
constabulary army under the
United States Army Military Government in South Korea. The newly established
South Korean government
The Government of South Korea is the union government of the Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of state and is the ...
, under the leadership of
Syngman Rhee
Syngman Rhee (, ; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965) was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960.
Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Ko ...
, arrested Park in November 1948 on charges that he led a
Communist cell
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a Far-left politics, far-left Political sociology, sociopolitical, Political philosophy, philosophical, and Economic ideology, economic ideology and current within th ...
in the Korean constabulary.
Park was subsequently sentenced to death by a military court, but his sentence was commuted by Rhee at the urging of several high-ranking Korean military officers.
While Park had been a member of the
Workers' Party of South Korea
The Workers' Party of South Korea ( ko, 남조선로동당) was a communist party in South Korea from 1946 to 1949. It was founded on 23 November 1946 through the merger of the Communist Party of South Korea, New People's Party of Korea and a fa ...
, the allegations concerning his involvement in a military cell were never substantiated.
Nevertheless, he was forced out of the army. While working in the Army as an unpaid civilian assistant, he came across the 8th class of the Korea Military Academy (graduated in 1950), among whom was
Kim Jong-pil
Kim Jong-pil (; ; January 7, 1926 – June 23, 2018), also known colloquially as JP, was a South Korean politician and the founder/first director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA, now the National Intelligence Service). He s ...
, and this particular class would later serve as the backbone of the
May 16 coup
The May 16 military coup d'état () was a military coup d'état in South Korea in 1961, organized and carried out by Park Chung-hee and his allies who formed the Military Revolutionary Committee, nominally led by Army Chief of Staff Chang Do ...
. Right after the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
began and with help from
Paik Sun-Yup
Paik Sun-yup (; November 23, 1920 – July 10, 2020) was a South Korean military officer. Paik is best known for his service during the Korean War, for being the first four-star general in the history of the South Korean military, and for his ...
, Park returned to active service as a major in the
South Korean Army
The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國 陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...
.
He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in September 1950 and to colonel in April 1951. As a colonel, Park was the deputy director of the Army Headquarters Intelligence Bureau in 1952 before switching to artillery and commanded the II and III Artillery Corps during the war.
By the time the war ended in 1953, Park had risen to become a brigadier general.
After the signing of the
Korean Armistice Agreement
The Korean Armistice Agreement ( ko, 한국정전협정 / 조선정전협정; zh, t=韓國停戰協定 / 朝鮮停戰協定) is an armistice that brought about a complete cessation of hostilities of the Korean War. It was signed by United Sta ...
, Park was selected for six-months training at
Fort Sill in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
After returning to Korea, Park rose rapidly in the military hierarchy. He was the head of the Army's Artillery School and commanded the 5th and 7th Divisions of the South Korean army before his promotion to major general in 1958.
Park was then appointed Chief of Staff of the First Army and made the head of the Korean 1st and 6th District Command, which gave him responsibility for the defense of
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
.
In 1960, Park became commander of the Pusan Logistics Command before becoming Chief of the Operations Staff of the South Korean Army and the deputy commander of the Second Army. As such, he was one of the most powerful and influential figures in the military.
Rise to power
On 26 April 1960,
Syngman Rhee
Syngman Rhee (, ; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965) was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960.
Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Ko ...
, the authoritarian inaugural
President of South Korea
The president of the Republic of Korea (), also known as the president of South Korea (often abbreviated to POTROK or POSK; ), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Korea. The president leads the State Council, and is ...
, was forced out of office and into exile following the
19 April Movement, a student-led uprising. A new democratic government took office on 13 August 1960. However, this was a short-lived period of parliamentary rule in South Korea.
Yun Bo-seon
Yun Po-sun (; or ; August 26, 1897 – July 18, 1990) was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the second president of South Korea from 1960 to 1962. He was the only president of the parliamentary Second Republic of Korea.
H ...
was a figurehead president, with the real power vested in Prime Minister
Chang Myon. Problems arose immediately because neither man could command loyalty from any majority of the Democratic Party or reach agreement on the composition of the cabinet. Prime Minister Chang attempted to hold the tenuous coalition together by reshuffling cabinet positions three times within five months.
Meanwhile, the new government was caught between an economy that was suffering from a decade of mismanagement and corruption under the Rhee presidency and the students who had instigated Rhee's ousting. Protesters regularly filled the streets making numerous and wide-ranging demands for political and economic reforms. Public security had deteriorated while the public had distrusted the police, which was long under the control of the Rhee government, and the ruling Democratic Party lost public support after long factional fighting.
Against this backdrop of social instability and division, Major General Park formed the Military Revolutionary Committee. When he found out that he was going to be retired within the next few months, he sped up the Committee's plans. It led a
military coup
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
on 16 May 1961, which was nominally led by
Army Chief of Staff Chang Do-yong
Jang Do-young (also romanized as Chang Do-yong and variations thereof; ; 23 January 1923 – 3 August 2012) was a South Korean general, politician and professor who, as the Army Chief of Staff, played a decisive role in the May 16 coup and was t ...
after his defection on the day it started. The military takeover rendered powerless the democratically elected government of President Yun, ending the
Second Republic.
Initially, a new administration was formed from among those military officers who supported Park. The reformist military
Supreme Council for National Reconstruction was nominally led by General Chang. Following Chang's arrest in July 1961, Park took overall control of the council. The coup was largely welcomed by a general populace exhausted by political chaos. Although Prime Minister Chang and
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
General Carter Magruder resisted the coup efforts, President Yun sided with the military and persuaded the United States
Eighth Army and the commanders of various ROK army units not to interfere with the new government.
Soon after the coup, Park was promoted to
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
. The South Korean historian Hwang Moon Kyung described Park's rule as very "militaristic", noting right from the start Park aimed to mobilize South Korean society along "militaristically disciplined lines".
[Hwang, Kyung Moon A History of Korea, London: Macmillan, 2010 page 229.] One of Park's very first acts upon coming to power was a campaign to "clean up" the streets by arresting and putting the homeless to work in "welfare centers".
The American historian Carter Eckert wrote that the historiography, including his work, around Park has tended to ignore the "enormous elephant in the room" namely that the way in which Park sought ''kündaehwa'' (modernization) of South Korea was influenced by his distinctively militaristic way of understanding the world, and the degree in which the Japanophile Park was influenced by Japanese militarism as he created what South Korean historians call a "developmental dictatorship".
[Eckert, Carter ''Park Chung Hee and Modern Korea The Roots of Militarism'', Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2016 pages 1–2.] Eckert called South Korea under Park's leadership one of the most militarized states in the entire world, writing that Park sought to militarize South Korean society in a way that no other South Korean leader has ever attempted.
In the Imperial Japanese Army, there was the belief that ''Bushido'' would give Japanese soldiers enough "spirit" as to make them invincible in battle, as the Japanese regarded war as simply a matter of willpower with the side with the stronger will always prevailing. Reflecting his background as a man trained by Japanese officers, one of Park's favorite sayings was "we can do anything if we try" as Park argued that all problems could be overcome by sheer willpower. Eckert wrote when interviewing Park's closest friends, he always received the same answer when he asked them what was the important influence on Park, namely his officer training by the Japanese in Manchukuo.
[Eckert, Carter ''Park Chung Hee and Modern Korea The Roots of Militarism'', Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2016 page 4.] All of Park's friends told Eckert that to understand him, one needed to understand his ''Ilbonsik sagwan kyoyuk'' (Japanese officer training) as they all maintained Park's values were those of an Imperial Japanese Army officer.
![JFKWHP-AR6895-A](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/JFKWHP-AR6895-A.jpg)
On 19 June 1961, the military council created the
Korean Central Intelligence Agency
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
in order to prevent counter-coups and suppress potential enemies, both foreign and domestic. Along with being given investigative powers, the KCIA was also given the authority to arrest and detain anyone suspected of wrongdoing or having anti-government sentiments. Under its first director, retired Brigadier General
Kim Jong-pil
Kim Jong-pil (; ; January 7, 1926 – June 23, 2018), also known colloquially as JP, was a South Korean politician and the founder/first director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA, now the National Intelligence Service). He s ...
, a relative of Park and one of the original planners of the coup, the KCIA would extend its power to economic and foreign affairs.
President Yun remained in office, giving the military regime legitimacy. After Yun resigned on 24 March 1962, Lt. General Park, who remained chairman of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction, consolidated his power by becoming acting president; he was also promoted to full general. Park agreed to restore civilian rule following pressure from the
Kennedy administration
John F. Kennedy's tenure as the 35th president of the United States, began with his inauguration on January 20, 1961, and ended with his assassination on November 22, 1963. A Democrat from Massachusetts, he took office following the 1960 p ...
.
In 1963, he was
elected president in his own right as the candidate of the newly created
Democratic Republican Party. He appointed
Park Myung-keun
Park Myung-keun (; September 7, 1928 – December 9, 2004) was a former South Korean Army captain, prosecutor, and a member of the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 14th South Korean National Assembly. He represented the Democratic Republican Party for his f ...
, the Vice Leader of the party as the chief of the President's Office. He narrowly defeated former President Yun, the candidate of the Civil Rule Party, by just over 156,000 votes—a margin of 1.5 percent. Park would be
re-elected president in 1967, defeating Yun with somewhat less difficulty.
Presidency (1962–79)
Foreign policy
In June 1965 Park signed a
treaty normalizing relations with Japan, which included payment of reparations and the making of soft-loans from Japan, and led to increased trade and investment between South Korea and Japan. In July 1966 South Korea and the United States signed a
Status of Forces Agreement A status of forces agreement (SOFA) is an agreement between a host country and a foreign nation stationing military forces in that country. SOFAs are often included, along with other types of military agreements, as part of a comprehensive security ...
establishing a more equal relationship between the two countries. With its growing economic strength and the security guarantee of the United States, the threat of a conventional invasion from North Korea seemed increasingly remote. Following the escalation of the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
with the deployment of ground combat troops in March 1965, South Korea sent the
Capital Division
The Capital Mechanized Infantry Division ( ko, 수도기계화보병사단, hanja: 首都機械化步兵師團), also known as Fierce Tiger Division ( ko, 맹호부대, hanja: 猛虎部隊), is currently one of the six mechanized infantry divisio ...
and the
2nd Marine Brigade to
South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
in September 1965, followed by the
White Horse Division in September 1966. Throughout the 1960s, Park made speeches in which he blamed the
Anglo-Japanese Alliance
The first was an alliance between Britain and Japan, signed in January 1902. The alliance was signed in London at Lansdowne House on 30 January 1902 by Lord Lansdowne, British Foreign Secretary, and Hayashi Tadasu, Japanese diplomat. A dip ...
and the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
for Japan's takeover of Korea.
Vietnam War
![CongressBuilding SEATO](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/CongressBuilding_SEATO.jpg)
At the request of the United States, Park sent approximately 320,000 South Korean troops to fight alongside the United States and
South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
; a commitment second only to that of the United States. The stated reasons for this were to help maintain good relations with the United States, prevent the
further advance of communism in East Asia and to enhance the Republic's international standing. In January 1965, on the day when a bill mandating a major deployment passed the National Assembly (with 106 votes for and 11 against), Park announced that it was "time for South Korea to wean itself from a passive position of receiving help or suffering intervention, and to assume a proactive role of taking responsibility on major international issues." South Korean soldiers were not able to ultimately defeat the
Viet Cong
,
, war = the Vietnam War
, image = FNL Flag.svg
, caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green.
, active ...
, even though South Korea was quite successful. They also gained a reputation for brutality towards civilians.
Although primarily to strengthen the military alliance with the United States, there were also financial incentives for South Korea's participation in the war. South Korean military personnel were paid by the United States federal government and their salaries were remitted directly to the South Korean government. Park was eager to send South Korean troops to Vietnam and vigorously campaigned to extend the war. In return for troop commitments, South Korea received tens of billions of dollars in grants, loans, subsidies, technology transfers, and preferential markets, all provided by the
Johnson
Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...
and
Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
administrations.
North Korea
![Card Stunt for Park Chung-hee](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Card_Stunt_for_Park_Chung-hee.jpg)
Park oversaw transitional changes between the two Koreas from conflict to consolidation. In 1961, the North Korean leader,
Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...
secretly sent Hwang Tae-song, a former friend of Park Chung-hee and a vice-minister in ministry of trade, to South Korea, hoping to improve inter-Korean relations. However, in order to dissipate the suspicions about his Communist leanings and assure Americans his firm stance as an ally, Park decided to execute Hwang as a spy.
Beginning in October 1964, North Korea increased the infiltration of its intelligence-gatherers and propagandists into the South. More than 30 South Korean soldiers and at least 10 civilians had been killed in clashes with North Korean infiltrators by October 1966.
In October 1966, Park ordered the Korean Army to stage a retaliatory attack without seeking the approval of
General Charles Bonesteel. This action, which was in retaliation for ongoing South Korean losses, caused tension between Park's government and the U.S. command in Korea, which wished not to violate the armistice.
Between 1966 and 1969 the clashes escalated as Park's armed forces were involved in firefights
along the Korean DMZ. The fighting, sometimes referred to as the Second Korean War, was related to a speech given by
Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...
on 5 October 1966 in which the North Korean leader challenged the legitimacy of the 1953
Armistice Agreement. Kim stated that irregular warfare could now succeed in a way conventional warfare could not because the South Korean military was now involved with the ever-growing
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. He believed Park's administration could be undermined if armed provocation by North Korea was directed against U.S. troops. This would force United States to reconsider its worldwide commitments. Any splits would give the North an opportunity to incite an insurgency in the South against Park.
On 21 January 1968, the 31-man
Unit 124
Unit 124 ( ko, 124부대) was a black operations unit of the North Korean Special Operation Forces formed to assassinate South Korean President Park Chung-hee in the Blue House raid in January 1968.
Formation
Unit 124 was established from thir ...
of North
Korean People's Army
The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) is the military force of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Under the ''Songun'' policy, it is the central institution of North Korean society. Currently, WPK General Sec ...
special forces
Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
commando
Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured
A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...
s attempted to
assassinate Park and nearly succeeded. They were stopped just 800 metres from the
Blue House
Cheong Wa Dae ( ko, 청와대; Hanja: ; ), also known as the Blue House, is a public park that formerly served as the executive office and official residence of the president of South Korea from 1948 to 2022. It is located in the Jongno distr ...
by a police patrol. A fire fight broke out and all but two of the North Koreans were killed or captured. In response to the assassination attempt, Park organized
Unit 684
209th Detachment, 2325th Group ( ko, 2325부대 209파견대), commonly known as Unit 684 (684부대), was a black operations unit of the Republic of Korea Air Force formed to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Il-sung in 1968, in retaliation fo ...
, a group intended to assassinate Kim Il-Sung. It was disbanded in 1971.
Despite the hostility, negotiations were conducted between the North and South regarding
reunification
A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller polities, or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal governm ...
. On 4 July 1972 both countries released a joint statement specifying that reunification must be achieved internally with no reliance on external forces or outside interference, that the process must be achieved peacefully without the use of military force, and that all parties must promote national unity as a united people over any differences of ideological and political systems. The United States Department of State was not happy with these proposals and, following Park's assassination in 1979, they were quietly buried.
On 15 August 1974, Park was delivering a speech in the
National Theater in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
at the ceremony to celebrate the 29th anniversary of the ending of
colonial rule
Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colony, colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose the ...
when a man named
Mun Se-gwang
Mun Se-gwang (December 26, 1951 – December 20, 1974) was a Japanese-born North Korean sympathizer who attempted to assassinate South Korean president Park Chung-hee on August 15, 1974. The assassination attempt resulted in the deaths of Par ...
fired a gun at Park from the front row. The would-be assassin, who was a
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
-born North Korean sympathizer, missed Park but a stray bullet struck his wife
Yuk Young-soo
Yuk Young-soo (; 29 November 1925 – 15 August 1974) was the wife of the 3rd South Korean president Park Chung-hee and the mother of the 11th South Korean president Park Geun-hye. She was killed in 1974 during an attempted assassination of ...
(who died later that day) and others on the stage. Park continued his speech as his dying wife was carried off the stage. Mun was hanged in a Seoul prison four months later. On the first anniversary of his wife's death, Park wrote in his diary "I felt as though I had lost everything in the world. All things became a burden and I lost my courage and will. A year has passed since then. And during that year I have cried alone in secret too many times to count."
Japan
On June 22, 1965, the Park administration and the government of Japan signed the
Treaty on Basic Relations Between Japan and the Republic of Korea, which normalized relations between Japan and South Korea for the first time. Relations with Japan had previously not been officially established since Korea's decolonization and
division
Division or divider may refer to:
Mathematics
*Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication
*Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division
Military
*Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...
at the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
In January 2005, the government of the Republic of Korea uncovered 1,200 pages of diplomatic documents of the Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea of 1965 that had been kept secret for forty years. These documents revealed that the Japanese government proposed to the government of the Republic of Korea, headed by Park Chung-hee, to directly compensate individual victims of Japanese colonization of Korea, but it was the Park administration that insisted it would handle the individual compensation to the victims, and took over the entire amount of the grant, 300 million dollars, (for 35 years of Japanese colonial rule in Korea), on behalf of the victims. The Park administration negotiated for a total of 360 million dollars in compensation for the 1.03 million Koreans conscripted into the forced labor and military service during the colonial period but received only 300 million dollars.
Economic policy
![Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F019521-0007, Berlin, Staatsbesuch Präsident von Süd-Korea](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Bundesarchiv_B_145_Bild-F019521-0007%2C_Berlin%2C_Staatsbesuch_Pr%C3%A4sident_von_S%C3%BCd-Korea.jpg)
One of Park's main goals was to end the poverty of South Korea, and lift the country up from being a underdeveloped economy to a developed economy via statist methods. Using the Soviet Union and its Five Year Plans as a model, Park launched his first Five Year Plan in 1962 by declaring the city of Ulsan was a "special industrial development zone".
[Hwang, Kyung Moon A History of Korea, London: Macmillan, 2010 page 231.] The ''chaebol'' of
Hyundai Hyundai is a South Korean industrial conglomerate ("chaebol"), which was restructured into the following groups:
* Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested
** Hyundai Mobis, Korean car parts company
** Hyundai ...
took advantage of Ulsan's special status to make the city the home of its main factories.
Park is credited with playing a pivotal role in the development of South Korea's
tiger economy
A tiger economy is the economy of a country which undergoes rapid economic growth, usually accompanied by an increase in the standard of living. The term was originally used for the Four Asian Tigers (South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapor ...
by shifting its focus to
export-oriented industrialisation. When he came to power in 1961, South Korea's per capita income was only US$72.00.
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
was the greater economic and military power on the peninsula due to the North's history of heavy industries such as the power and chemical plants, and the large amounts of economic, technical and financial aid it received from other communist bloc countries such as the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
,
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.
One of Park's reforms was to bring in 24 hour provision of electricity in 1964, which was a major change as previously homes and businesses were provided with electricity for a few hours every day.
With the second Five Year Plan in 1967, Park founded the Kuro Industrial Park in southwestern Seoul, and created the state owned
Pohang Iron and Steel Company Limited to provide cheap steel for the ''chaebol'', who were founding the first automobile factories and shipyards in South Korea.
Reflecting its etatist tendencies, the Park government rewarded ''chaebol'' who met their targets under the Five Year Plans with loans on easy terms of repayment, tax cuts, easy licensing and subsidies.
[Hwang, Kyung Moon A History of Korea, London: Macmillan, 2010 page 232.] It was common from the late 1960s onward for South Koreans to speak of the "octopus" nature of the ''chaebol'' as they began to extend their "tentacles" into all areas of the economy.
Some of the successful ''chaebol'' like Lucky Goldstar (
LG) and
Samsung
The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
went back to the Japanese period while others like Hyundai were founded shortly after the end of Japanese rule; all would go to become world-famous companies.
Hyundai, which began as a transport firm moving supplies for the U.S. Army during the Korean War, came to dominate the South Korean construction industry in the 1960s, and in 1967 opened its first car factory, building automobiles under license for Ford.
In 1970, Hyundai finished the construction of the Seoul-Pusan Expressway, which became one of the busiest highways of South Korea, and in 1975 produced the
Pony
A pony is a type of small horse ('' Equus ferus caballus''). Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared ...
, its first car that was designed entirely by its own engineers.
Besides manufacturing automobiles and construction, Hyundai moved into shipbuilding, cement, chemicals and electronics, ultimately becoming one of the world's largest corporations. On 3 August 1972, Park made the so-called "Emergency financial act of August 3rd(8·3긴급금융조치)" which banned all private loans to make the foundation of economic growth, and supported Chaebols even further.
A sign of the growth of the South Korean economy was that in 1969 there were 200,000 television sets in operation in South Korea, and by 1979 there were six million television sets operating in South Korea.
[Hwang, Kyung Moon A History of Korea, London: Macmillan, 2010 page 244.] In 1969, only 6% of South Korean families owned a television; by 1979 four of every five South Korean families owned a TV.
However, all television in South Korea was in black and white, and the color television did not come to South Korea until 1979.
[Hwang, Kyung Moon A History of Korea, London: Macmillan, 2010 page 245.] Reflecting the growth of TV ownership, the state-owned
Korean Broadcasting System
The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters.
KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, a ...
(KBS) began to produce more programming, while private sector corporation
MBC began operating in 1969. During the Yusin era, television productions were subjected to strict censorship with, for example, men with long hair being banned from appearing on TV, but soap operas became a cultural phenomenon in the 1970s, becoming extremely popular.
South Korean industry saw remarkable development under Park's leadership. Park viewed Japan's development model, in particular the
Ministry of International Trade and Industry
The was a ministry of the Government of Japan from 1949 to 2001. The MITI was one of the most powerful government agencies in Japan and, at the height of its influence, effectively ran much of Japanese industrial policy, funding research and di ...
(MITI) and the
Keiretsu
A is a set of companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings. In the legal sense, it is a type of informal business group that are loosely organized alliances within the social world of Japan's business community. The ''ke ...
, as an example for Korea. Park emulated MITI by establishing the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and the Economic Planning Board (EPB). Government-corporate cooperation on expanding South Korean exports helped lead to the growth of some South Korean companies into today's giant Korean conglomerates, the
chaebols.
However, this economic development of South Korea came at great sacrifice to the working class: the government did not recognise a minimum wage or weekly leave and imposed free work periods for its own benefit, and twelve-hour workdays were the norm. In addition, trade unions and
industrial action
Industrial action (British English) or job action (American English) is a temporary show of dissatisfaction by employees—especially a strike action, strike or slowdown or working to rule—to protest against bad working conditions or low pay a ...
were prohibited. Despite that, the fact that people who were in poverty were able to work stable jobs was welcomed by the vast majority of South Koreans.
According to the
Gapminder Foundation
Gapminder Foundation is a non-profit venture registered in Stockholm, Sweden, that promotes sustainable global development and achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by increased use and understanding of statistics and ...
Extreme poverty
Extreme poverty, deep poverty, abject poverty, absolute poverty, destitution, or penury, is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, includi ...
was reduced from 66.9 percent in 1961 to 11.2 percent in 1979, making this one of the fastest and largest reductions in poverty in human history.
This growth also encompassed declines in child mortality and increases in life expectancy. From 1961 to 1979 child mortality declined by 64%, the third-fastest decrease in child mortality of any country with over 10 million inhabitants during the same period.
West Germany
Park's economic policy was highlighted by South Korea's relationship with
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
. Park had an
affinity for Germany due to its history of having strong leadership like that of
Bismarck and
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
, and wanted to create ties with West Germany to deal with the problems of increasing population growth and economic hardships and to receive an inflow of foreign capital for domestic development. Upon an agreement in 1961, South Korea sent labor forces to Germany, including more than 8,000 mine workers and 10,000 nurses, which continued until 1977. (See
Gastarbeiter
(; both singular and plural; ) are foreign worker, foreign or migrant workers, particularly those who had moved to West Germany between 1955 and 1973, seeking work as part of a formal guest worker program (). As a result, guestworkers are ge ...
and
Koreans in Germany
Koreans in Germany numbered 31,248 individuals , according to the statistics of South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Though they are now only the 14th-largest Korean diaspora community worldwide, they remain the second-largest in ...
)
Iran
Park was close friends with the last Shah of Iran,
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
, title = Shahanshah Aryamehr Bozorg Arteshtaran
, image = File:Shah_fullsize.jpg
, caption = Shah in 1973
, succession = Shah of Iran
, reign = 16 September 1941 – 11 February 1979
, coronation = 26 October ...
, who had established diplomatic relations in 1962 and following a visit to Iran in 1969, developed a close relationship with the two countries. Park realized the importance of Iran in securing oil for South Korea's industrial development and by 1973, was their main and only source of oil during the Oil Crisis.
Most refineries in South Korea were built to process Iranian crude and thousands of engineers and workers were sent to Iran to help develop their refining capability.
The relationship eventually expanded beyond oil as Park promoted other industries to operate in Iran. Many Chaebol's went to Iran, including
Hyundai Engineering & Construction
Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd. (HDEC; ) is a major construction company in South Korea. The company was founded by Chung Ju-yung in 1947 as the Hyundai Civil Works Company and was a major component of the Hyundai Group. Hyund ...
, whose first Middle East Project were a series of shipyards in
Bandar Abbas
Bandar Abbas or Bandar-e ‘Abbās ( fa, , , ), is a port city and capital of Hormozgān Province on the southern coast of Iran, on the Persian Gulf. The city occupies a strategic position on the narrow Strait of Hormuz (just across from Musan ...
and
Chahbahar
Chābahār ( fa, چابهار, bal, چھبار, čahbàr; ; formerly ''Bandar Beheshtī'') is the capital city of Chabahar County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran. It is a free port ( free-trade zone) situated on the coast of the Gulf o ...
to help develop Iran's maritime industry. Park's favorite architect
Kim Swoo-Geun
Kim Swoo Geun (February 20, 1931 – June 14, 1986) was a prominent South Korean architect, educator, publisher and patron of artists. Along with architect Kim Joong Up (김중업), he is recognised as a significant contributor in the histor ...
and his office designed the
Ekbatan
Ekbatan Town ( fa, شهرک اکباتان, ) is a planned town in western Tehran, Iran. It is located approximately five kilometers west of central Tehran.
Etymology
The town is named after Ecbatana, the capital city of the ancient Median Empir ...
Complex in Tehran and the South Korean Special Forces helped train the
Imperial Iranian Navy
The Iranian Navy traditionally located in the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf, has always been the smallest of the country's military forces. An Iranian navy in one form or another has existed since Achaemenid times in 500 BC. The Phoenician n ...
Commandos.
Park invited the Shah in 1978 for a special "South Korea-Iran" summit to further deepen relations but due to the
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
, it never materialized.
In preparation for that summit, Tehran and Seoul became sister cities and the two exchanged street names as well;
Teheran-ro
Teheran-ro (translation "Tehran Boulevard") is a street in the Gangnam district of Seoul, South Korea. It runs from Gangnam Station through Yeoksam-dong and into Samseong-dong. It is colloquially known as "Teheran Valley" (after Silicon Valley ...
in
Gangnam and
Seoul Street
Seoul Street ( fa, خیابان سئول) is a street that runs in the north of Tehran, Iran, close to the city's Evin district.
Name
On 27 June 1977, the Seoul Metropolitan Government suggested that the cities of Seoul (the capital of South Kore ...
in Tehran which both still remain.
Domestic policy
Among Park's first actions upon assuming control of South Korea in 1961 was to pass strict legislation
metrifying the country and banning the use of
traditional Korean measurements
Korean units of measurement, called ''cheokgwan-beop'' () or ''cheokgeun-beop'' () in Korean, is the Customary units, traditional system of measurement used by the people of the Korean peninsula. It is largely based on the Chinese units of measure ...
like the
li and
pyeong
A ''pyeong'' (abbreviationpy) is a Korean unit of area and floorspace, equal to a square '' kan'' or 36square Korean feet. The ''ping'' and ''tsubo'' are its equivalent Taiwanese and Japanese units, similarly based on a square '' bu'' ( ja: ...
.
Despite its strict wording, the law's enforcement was so spotty as to be considered a failure, with the government abandoning prosecution under its terms by 1970.
[ In the end, South Korea's traditional units continued until June 2001.
After taking office for his second term in 1967, Park promised that, in accordance with the 1963 Constitution which limited the president to two consecutive terms, he would step down in 1971. However, soon after his 1967 victory, the Democratic Republican-dominated ]National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
successfully pushed through an amendment allowing the incumbent president —himself— to run for three consecutive terms.
In the meantime, Park grew anxious of the shift in US policy towards communism under Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
's Guam Doctrine
The Nixon Doctrine (also known as the Guam Doctrine) was put forth during a press conference in Guam on July 25, 1969 by President of the United States Richard Nixon and later formalized in his speech on Vietnamization of the Vietnam War on Novembe ...
. His government's legitimacy depended on staunch anti-communism, and any moderation of that policy from South Korea's allies (including the US) threatened the very basis of his rule. Park began to seek options to further cement his hold on the country. In May 1970, the Catholic poet Kim Chi-ha
Kim Jiha ( ko, 김지하; 4 February 1941 – 8 May 2022) was a South Korean poet and playwright.LTI Korea Author Database: http://klti.or.kr/ke_04_03_011.do#
Biography
Kim Jiha was born Kim Yeongil on 4 February 1941 in Mokpo, Jeollanam-do. ...
was arrested for supposedly violating the Anti-Communist Law for his poem ''Five Bandits'', which in fact had no references to Communism either explicitly or implicitly,
but instead attacked corruption under Park. The issue of the journal ''Sasanggye'' that published the ''Five Bandits'' was shut down by the government.[Hwang, Kyung Moon A History of Korea, London: Macmillan, 2010 page 240.] One of the eponymous bandits of the ''Five Bandits'' is described as a general who began his career fighting for Japan in World War Two, and all of the bandits of the poem are described as ''Chinilpa
''Chinilpa'' ( ko, 친일파, lit. "pro-Japan faction") is a derogatory Korean language term that denotes ethnic Koreans who collaborated with Imperial Japan during the protectorate period of the Korean Empire from 1905 and its colonial rule in K ...
'' collaborators who served Japan because of their greed and amorality. Park recognized the reference to himself in ''Five Bandits'' with the character of the general while the fact that all of the bandits have a ''Chinilpa'' background was a reference to the social basis of Park's regime. In 1974, Kim was sentenced to death for his poem, and though he was not executed, he spent almost all of the 1970s in prison. Later in 1970, Park launched his Saemaul Undong
The Saemaul Undong, also known as the New Community Movement, New Village Movement, Saemaul Movement or Saema'eul Movement, was a political initiative launched on April22, 1970 by South Korean president Park Chung-hee to modernize the rural So ...
(New Village Movement) that set out to modernize the countryside by providing electricity and running water to farmers, building paved roads, and replacing thatched roofs with tin roofs (the latter was said to reflect a personal obsession on the part of Park, who could not stand the sight of thatched roofs on farmers' homes, which for him was a sign of South Korea's backwardness).
However, Park used asbestos
Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...
, which is harmful to humans, for fixing rustic houses.
In 1971, Park won another close election against his rival, Kim Dae-jung
Kim Dae-jung (; ; 6 January 192418 August 2009), was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003.
He was a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his work for democracy and human ...
. That December, shortly after being sworn in, he declared a state of emergency "based on the dangerous realities of the international situation". In October 1972, Park dissolved the legislature and suspended the 1963 constitution in a self-coup
A self-coup, also called autocoup (from the es, autogolpe), is a form of coup d'état in which a nation's head, having come to power through legal means, tries to stay in power through illegal means. The leader may dissolve or render powerless ...
. Work then began on drafting a new constitution. Park had drawn inspiration for his self-coup from Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...
, President of the Philippines
The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of t ...
, who had orchestrated a similar coup a few weeks earlier.
A new constitution, the so-called ''Yushin'' Constitution was approved in a heavily rigged plebiscite
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
in November 1972. Meaning "rejuvenation" or "renewal" (as well as "restoration" in some contexts), scholars see the term's usage as Park alluding to himself as an "imperial president."
The new ''Yushin'' constitution was a highly authoritarian document. It transferred the presidential election process to an electoral college, the National Conference for Unification
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
. It also dramatically expanded the president's powers. Notably, he was given sweeping powers to rule by decree and suspend constitutional freedoms. The presidential term was increased from four to six years, with no limits on re-election. For all intents and purposes, it codified the emergency powers Park had exercised for the past year, transforming his presidency into a legal dictatorship. As per his new constitution, Park ran for a fresh term as president in December 1972, and won unopposed. He was reelected in 1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
also unopposed. Many of South Korea's leading writers were opposed to the Park regime, and many of the best remembered poems and novels of the 1970s satirized the ''Yushin'' system.
Park argued that Western-style liberal democracy was not suitable for South Korea due to its still-shaky economy. He believed that in the interest of stability, the country needed a "Korean-style democracy" with a strong, unchallenged presidency. Although he repeatedly promised to open up the regime and restore full democracy, fewer and fewer people believed him.
In 1975, Park ordered homeless people and children to be removed from the streets of Seoul. Thousands of people were captured by the police and sent to thirty-six camps. The detainees were then used as free labor by the authorities and subjected to degrading treatment. Many died under torture.
Park abolished the usage of ''hanja
Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom.
(, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...
'' or Chinese characters
Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...
and established hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
exclusivity for the Korean language in the 1960s and 1970s. After a Five-Year Hangul Exclusivity Plan () was promulgated through legislative and executive means, from 1970, using ''hanja'' became illegal in all grades of public school and in the military. This led to less illiteracy in South Korea.
The KCIA controlled the whole country, with more than forty thousand regular employees and one million correspondents. Striking workers, protesters or signatories of simple petitions faced long prison sentences and torture. The whole country was under constant surveillance.
Final years of presidency
During his final years of presidency, Park realized that his government was collapsing. He now knew that people were not satisfied with the government.
His autocracy became increasingly open in later years.
Military
As president, Park tried to strengthen the military. He often said that if an independent country cannot protect itself with its military, it is not an independent country. Park ordered the development of missiles to attack Pyongyang
Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...
. Due to a lack of technical knowledge, Korean developers had to travel to the United States to learn how to produce missiles. After a painstaking development, on 26 September 1978, Nike Hercules Korea-1 had its successful first launch. But the development of missiles were stopped when Chun Doo-hwan
Chun Doo-hwan (; or ; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean Republic of Korea Army, army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected Political strongman, strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah ...
reigned. Park also tried to make Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...
s. He announced that the nuclear weapons would be made by 1983. This was never progressed after Park's death in 1979.
Final years and assassination
Final years
Although the growth of the South Korean economy had secured a high level of support for Park's presidency in the 1960s, that support began to fade after economic growth started slowing in the early 1970s. Many South Koreans were becoming unhappy with his autocratic rule, his security services and the restrictions placed on personal freedoms. While Park had legitimised his administration, using the provisions laid down in the state of emergency
A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
laws dating back to the Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, he also failed to address the constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
and the press
''The Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand owned by media business Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday to Saturday. One comm ...
. Furthermore, the security service, the KCIA, retained broad powers of arrest and detention; many of Park's opponents were held without trial and frequently tortured. Eventually demonstrations against the Yushin system erupted throughout the country as Park's unpopularity began to rise.
These demonstrations came to a decisive moment on 16 October 1979, when a student group calling for the end of dictatorship and the Yushin system began at Busan National University
Pusan National University (PNU), also called Busan National University, is one of ten Flagship Korean National Universities in South Korea and second highest public universities in South Korea.
Located mainly in Busan (or Pusan), the universit ...
.[ The action, which was part of the "Pu-Ma" struggle (named for the ]Pusan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, ...
and Masan
Masan is an administrative region of Changwon, a city in the South Gyeongsang Province. It was formerly an independent city from 1949 until 30 June 2010, when it was absorbed to Changwon along with Jinhae. Masan was redistricted as two district ...
areas), soon moved into the streets of the city where students and riot police fought all day. By evening, up to 50,000 people had gathered in front of Busan city hall. Over the next two days several public offices were attacked and around 400 protesters were arrested. On 18 October, Park's government declared martial law in Busan. On the same day protests spread to Kyungnam University
Kyungnam University (경남대학교; 慶南大學校) is a private university in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The university has six colleges (Liberal Arts, Natural Sciences, Education, Economics and Commerce, Law and Politi ...
in Masan. Up to 10,000 people, mostly students and workers, joined the demonstrations against Park's Yushin System. Violence quickly escalated with attacks being launched at police stations and city offices of the ruling party. By nightfall a citywide curfew was put into place in Masan.
Assassination
On 26 October 1979, six days after the student protests ended, Park Chung-hee was shot in the head and chest fatally by Kim Jae-gyu
Kim Jae-gyu (Hangul: 김재규, April 9, 1924 – May 24, 1980) was a South Korean politician, army lieutenant general and the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency. He assassinated South Korean President Park Chung-hee— ...
, the director of the KCIA, after a banquet at a safehouse in Gungjeong-dong, Jongno-gu
Bosingak bell pavilion
Jongno District () is a district () in central Seoul, South Korea. It takes its name from a major local street, Jongno, which means "Bell Road".
Characteristics
Jongno District has been the center of the city for 600 yea ...
, Seoul. Other KCIA officers then went to other parts of the building shooting dead four more presidential guards. Cha Ji-chul, chief of the Presidential Security Service, was also fatally shot by Kim. Kim and his group were later arrested by soldiers under South Korea's Army Chief of Staff. They were tortured and later executed. It is unclear whether this was a spontaneous act of passion by an individual or part of a pre-arranged attempted coup by the intelligence service. Kim claimed that Park was an obstacle to democracy and that his act was one of patriotism. The investigation's head, Chun Doo-hwan
Chun Doo-hwan (; or ; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean Republic of Korea Army, army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected Political strongman, strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah ...
, rejected his claims and concluded that Kim acted to preserve his own power. Choi Kyu-hah
Choi Kyu-hah (; ; July 16, 1919 – October 22, 2006), also spelled Choi Kyu-ha or Choi Gyu-ha, was a South Korean politician who served as the fourth president of South Korea from 1979 to 1980.
Early life
Choi was born in Wonju-myeon, Wonj ...
became Acting President pursuant to Article 48 of the Yushin Constitution. Major General Chun Doo-hwan
Chun Doo-hwan (; or ; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean Republic of Korea Army, army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected Political strongman, strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah ...
quickly amassed sweeping powers after his Defense Security Command
The Republic of Korea Armed Forces's Defense Security Command (DSC) was founded as the ''Army Counter Intelligence Corps'' (commonly known as CIC or KACIC; meaning: Special Operation Forces) on October 21, 1950, and it functioned as the primar ...
was charged with investigating the assassination, first taking control of the military and the KCIA before installing another military junta and finally assuming the presidency in 1980.
Park, who was said to be a devout Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
, was accorded the first South Korean interfaith state funeral on 3 November in Seoul. He was buried with full military honors at the National Cemetery near the grave of former president Syngman Rhee
Syngman Rhee (, ; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965) was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960.
Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Ko ...
who died in 1965. Kim Jae-gyu, whose motive for murdering Park remains unclear, was hanged
Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging in ...
on 24 May 1980.
Personal life
Park was married to Kim Ho-nam (having one daughter with her) and the two later divorced. Afterwards, he married Yuk Young-soo
Yuk Young-soo (; 29 November 1925 – 15 August 1974) was the wife of the 3rd South Korean president Park Chung-hee and the mother of the 11th South Korean president Park Geun-hye. She was killed in 1974 during an attempted assassination of ...
, and the couple had two daughters and one son. Yuk was killed in the assassination attempt against Park in 1974.
Park's eldest daughter from his second marriage (with Yuk Young-soo), Park Geun-hye
Park Geun-hye (; ; often in English ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, until she was impeached and convicted on related corruption charges.
Park was the fi ...
, was elected the chairwoman of the conservative Grand National Party
The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (), and before that as the Hanna ...
in 2004. She was elected as South Korea's 11th president and first female president in 2012 and took office in February 2013. Park Geun-hye's association to her father's legacy has served as a double-edged sword. She had previously been labeled as the daughter of a dictator; however she has been quoted as saying "I want to be judged on my own merits." Her presidency ended in her impeachment in 2016 and removal from office in 2017. She was sentenced to 24 years in prison on 6 April 2018. Park was released in 2021 from the Seoul Detention Center The Seoul Detention Center (; Hanja:서울拘置所, alternatively Seoul Prison) is a prison in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, operated by the Korea Correctional Service.
History
The Detention Center was completed in July 1967.
According ...
.
Legacy
Park Chung-hee remains a controversial figure in South Korea. The eighteen-year Park era is considered to be one of the most controversial topics for the Korean public, politicians, and scholars. Opinion is split regarding his legacy, between those who credit Park for his reforms and those who condemn his authoritarian way of ruling the country, especially after 1971. Older generations who spent their adulthood during Park's rule tend to credit Park for building the economic foundation of the country and protecting the country from North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
, as well as leading Korea to economic and global prominence. Although Park was listed as one of the top ten "Asians of the Century" by ''Time'' magazine in 1999, the newer generations of Koreans and those who fought for democratization tend to believe his authoritarian rule was unjustified, and that he hindered South Korea's transition to democracy.
Park has been recognized and respected by many South Koreans as an exceptionally efficient leader, credited with making South Korea economically what it is today. Park led the Miracle on the Han River
The Miracle on the Han River refers to the period of rapid economic growth in South Korea, following the Korean War (1950–1953), during which South Korea transformed from a least developed country to a developed country. The rapid reconstru ...
, a period of rapid economic growth in South Korea. Under Park's rule, South Korea possessed one of the fastest growing national economies during the 1960s and 1970s. According to the Gapminder Foundation
Gapminder Foundation is a non-profit venture registered in Stockholm, Sweden, that promotes sustainable global development and achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by increased use and understanding of statistics and ...
, extreme poverty
Extreme poverty, deep poverty, abject poverty, absolute poverty, destitution, or penury, is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, includi ...
was reduced from 66.9 percent in 1961 to 11.2 percent in 1979, making one of the fastest and largest reductions in poverty in human history. This growth also encompassed declines in child mortality and increases in life expectancy. From 1961 to 1979 child mortality declined by 64%, the third-fastest decrease in child mortality of any country with over 10 million inhabitants during the same period. Economic growth continued after Park's death and after considerable political turmoil in the wake of his assassination and the military Coup d'état of December Twelfth
The Coup d'état of December Twelfth (Hangul: 12.12 군사반란; Hanja: 12.12 軍事叛亂) or the "12.12 Military Insurrection" was a military coup d'état which took place on December 12, 1979, in South Korea.
Republic of Korea Army Major Gen ...
.
However, Park is regarded as a highly repressive dictator who curtailed freedoms and committed human rights abuses during his rule. Dissolving the constitution to allow him unopposed rule. Park's blackmailing, arresting, jailing, and murdering of opposition figures are well documented. The new constitution President Park implemented after declaring the state of emergency in 1971 gave him the power to appoint one third of the members of the National Assembly and even outlawed criticism of the constitution and of the president. There were also many economic feats established during Park's regime, including the Gyeongbu Expressway
The Gyeongbu Expressway ( ko, 경부고속도로; ''Gyeongbu Gosokdoro'') ( Asian Highway Network ) is the second oldest and most heavily travelled expressway in South Korea, connecting Seoul to Suwon, Daejeon, Gumi, Daegu, Gyeongju, Ulsan and ...
, POSCO
POSCO (formerly Pohang Iron and Steel Company) is a South Korean steel-making company headquartered in Pohang, South Korea. It had an output of of crude steel in 2015, making it the world's fourth-largest steelmaker by this measure. In 2010, i ...
, the famous Five-Year Plans of South Korea
The Five-Year Economic and Social Development Plans () were an economic development project of South Korea.
Background
Both North and South Korea had survived the Korean War (1950–53). From the end of World War II, South Korea remained largely ...
, and the New Community Movement
The Saemaul Undong, also known as the New Community Movement, New Village Movement, Saemaul Movement or Saema'eul Movement, was a political initiative launched on April22, 1970 by South Korean president Park Chung-hee to modernize the rural So ...
. In 1987, South Korea eventually democratized as a result of the June Struggle
The June Democratic Struggle (), also known as the June Democracy Movement and June Democratic Uprising, was a nationwide pro-democracy movement in South Korea that generated mass protests from June 10 to June 29, 1987. The demonstrations force ...
movement.
Park was accused of having pro-Japanese tendencies by some. Park is responsible for the beginning of a normalized relationship with Japan and today Japan is one of South Korea's top trading partners, surpassed only by the People's Republic of China and the United States.
Park's rule is also believed to be one of the main causes of regionalism which is a serious problem in Korea today.
Kim Dae-jung
Kim Dae-jung (; ; 6 January 192418 August 2009), was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003.
He was a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his work for democracy and human ...
, a pro-democracy chief opponent of Park who was kidnapped
Kidnapped may refer to:
* subject to the crime of kidnapping
Literature
* ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson
* ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Ca ...
, arrested, and sentenced to death by the Park administration, later served as the 8th president of South Korea. On 24 October 2007, following an internal inquiry, South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) admitted that its precursor, the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA), undertook the kidnapping of opposition leader and future President Kim Dae-jung
Kim Dae-jung (; ; 6 January 192418 August 2009), was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003.
He was a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his work for democracy and human ...
, saying it had at least tacit backing from then-leader Park Chung-hee.
Park Geun-hye
Park Geun-hye (; ; often in English ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, until she was impeached and convicted on related corruption charges.
Park was the fi ...
, Park's eldest daughter, became the 11th president of South Korea and the first female president of South Korea. Park Geun-hye's parentage served as a considerable source of controversy during the 2012 presidential election and throughout her administration, as detractors described her as the daughter of a dictator. Park was impeached
Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements.
In ...
, removed from office, and later sentenced to 27 years in prison as a result of an influence-peddling scandal.
An October 2021 Gallup Korea public opinion poll showed Park Chung-hee, Roh Moo-hyun
Roh Moo-hyun (; ; 1 September 1946 – 23 May 2009) was a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the ninth president of South Korea between 2003 and 2008.
Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for ...
, and Kim Dae-jung
Kim Dae-jung (; ; 6 January 192418 August 2009), was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003.
He was a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his work for democracy and human ...
as the most highly rated presidents of South Korean history. The poll showed Park received a favorability rating of 72% and 82% from citizens in the age range of 50–60 and 60+ years respectively, and a favorability rating of 43% and 64% from citizens in the age range of 20–30 and 30–40 years respectively.
Ancestry
Park was a member of the Goryeong
Goryeong County (''Goryeong-gun'') is a county in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.
Goryeong is a historical center of the ancient kingdom of Daegaya.
Administrative divisions
Goryeong County is divided into 1 eup and 7 myeon.
Climate ...
Park clan (), and he was a 29th generation descendant of the clan; among its various family branches, Park was from the Jikganggong Branch (). One of his great-great-grandmothers was from the Jeonju Yi clan
The Jeonju Yi clan () is a Korean clan with the surname Yi. Their Bon-gwan is in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. The clan includes the former House of Yi which ruled the Joseon dynasty and the Korean Empire.
Their founder was Yi Han (). His des ...
, the former ruling family of Joseon
Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...
and the Korean Empire
The Korean Empire () was a Korean monarchical state proclaimed in October 1897 by Emperor Gojong of the Joseon dynasty. The empire stood until Japan's annexation of Korea in August 1910.
During the Korean Empire, Emperor Gojong oversaw the Gwa ...
.[ (Volume 1, Page 334)]
* Great-great-grandfather: Park Yung-hwan ( ?-1838), courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...
Hwaeon (). He was the son of Park Se-hyung and Lady Park of the Miryang
Miryang (perhaps pronounced as Milbeol using Idu script), formerly also spelled as 推火郡 (probably pronounced as Milbeol or Miribeol using Idu script), Milbeol (密伐) and Milseong (密城), is a city in Gyeongsangnam-do Province, South Ko ...
Park clan.
* Great-great-grandmother: Lady Yi of the Jeonju Yi clan
The Jeonju Yi clan () is a Korean clan with the surname Yi. Their Bon-gwan is in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. The clan includes the former House of Yi which ruled the Joseon dynasty and the Korean Empire.
Their founder was Yi Han (). His des ...
(1786–1849), daughter Yi Hyung-ho ().
** Great-grandfather: Park Yi-chan ( ?-1846), courtesy name Muji ().
** Great-grandmother: Lady Lee of the Seongju
Seongju County (''Seongju-gun'') is a county in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. This largely agricultural area is located immediately west of the metropolitan city of Daegu. The capital of the county is the town of Seongju.
Lotte Skyhill ...
Lee clan, daughter of Lee-Yi-jeong ().
*** Grandfather: Park Yung-gyu ( 1840–1914), courtesy name Munseo ().
*** Grandmother: Lady Lee of Seongju Lee clan (1840–1915), daughter of Lee Bae-sik ().
**** Father: Park Sung-bin ( 1871–1938), courtesy name Hwaik ().
**** Mother: Baek Nam-eui ( 1872–1949); she was from the Suwon Baek clan and her father was Baek Nak-chun ()
Honours
National honours
*:
**
Recipient of the Grand Order of Mugunghwa
The Grand Order of Mugunghwa ( ko, 무궁화대훈장) is the highest order awarded by the government of South Korea. It is awarded to the President of South Korea, and it may be awarded to their spouse, heads or former heads of state of South Ko ...
**
Recipient of the Order of Merit for National Foundation
The Order of Merit for National Foundation (Hangul: 건국훈장) is one of South Korea's orders of merit. It is awarded by the President of South Korea for "outstanding meritorious services in the interest of founding or laying a foundation for th ...
(Order of the Republic of Korea)
**
Recipient of the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit
The Order of Diplomatic Service Merit (Hangul: 수교훈장) is one of South Korea's orders of merit. It is awarded by the President of South Korea for "outstanding meritorious services in the interest of enhancing national prestige and promoting ...
(Grand Gwanghwa Medal)
**
Recipient of the Order of Service Merit
The Order of Service Merit (Hangul: 근정훈장) is one of South Korea's orders of merit. It is awarded by the President of South Korea to public officials, private school teachers, and special post office employees for "outstanding meritorious ...
(1st class)
**
Recipient of the Order of National Security Merit
The Order of National Security Merit (Hangul: 보국훈장) is one of South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land b ...
(Tongil Medal)
**
Recipient of the Order of Military Merit (Taegeuk Cordon Medal)
**
Recipient of the Order of Civil Merit
The Order of Civil Merit ( es, Orden del Mérito Civil) was established by King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1926. The order recognizes "the civic virtue of officers in the service of the Nation, as well as extraordinary service by Spanish and fore ...
(Mugunghwa Medal)
Foreign honours
*:
**
Grand Cross of the Order of the Liberator General San Martín
The Order of the Liberator General San Martín ( es, Orden del Libertador General San Martín) is the highest decoration in Argentina. It is awarded to foreign politicians or military, deemed worthy of the highest recognition from Argentina. It is ...
*:
**
Grand Star of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria
The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (german: Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria. It is divided into 15 classes and is the highest award in the A ...
*:
**
Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Cambodia
The Royal Order of Cambodia ( km, គ្រឿងឥស្សរិយយសព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា; french: Ordre royal du Cambodge) was a colonial order of chivalry of French Cambodia, and is still in use ...
*:
**
Grand Officer of the Order of José Matías Delgado
The National Order of José Matías Delgado ( es, Orden Nacional de José Matías Delgado) is a distinction granted by the Republic of El Salvador to Heads of State, Salvadoran citizens, or foreigners who are distinguished by eminent services to ...
*:
**
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Queen of Sheba
The Order of the Queen of Sheba was originally instituted as a ladies' order in 1922 in the Ethiopian Empire by Empress Zawditu and would later become the diplomatic symbol of a holy pact.
Classes
The Order of the Queen of Sheba is presented in ...
*:
**
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Equatorial Star
The Order of the Equatorial Star () is a state order of Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bo ...
*:
**
Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...
*:
**
First Class of the Star of the Republic of Indonesia
*:
**
Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi.
The highest-ranking ...
*:
** Honorary Recipient of the Most Exalted Order of the Crown of the Realm
The Most Exalted Order of the Crown of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Utama Seri Mahkota Negara) is a Malaysian federal award. It is ranked lower than the Order of the Royal Family of Malaysia.
It should not be confused with the Order of Loyalty to the ...
(1965)
*:
**
Grand Cross of the Order of the Aztec Eagle
The Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle ( es, Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca) forms part of the Mexican Honours System and is the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners in the country.
History
It was created by decree on December 29, 193 ...
*:
**
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion
The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands ( nl, De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, french: L'Ordre du Lion Néerlandais) is a Dutch order of chivalry founded by King William I of the Netherlands on ...
*:
**
Grand Officer of the National Order
*:
**
Grand Collar of the Order of Sikatuna
The Order of Sikatuna ( fil, Orden ng Sikatuna) is the national order of diplomatic merit of the Republic of the Philippines. It is conferred upon individuals who have rendered exceptional and meritorious services to the Republic of the Philipp ...
*:
**
Knight Grand Cross of the National Order of the Lion
("One People, One Goal, One Faith")
, eligibility =
, criteria =
, status = Active
, founder =
, head_title = Grand Master
, head = Macky Sall
, head2_title = Grand Chancellor
, head2 ...
*:
**
Grand Cross of the National Order of Vietnam
The National Order of Vietnam ( vi, Bảo Quốc Huân Chương) was a combined military-civilian decoration of South Vietnam and was considered the highest honor that could be bestowed upon an individual by the Republic of Vietnam government. ...
*:
**
Collar of the Order of Civil Merit
The Order of Civil Merit ( es, Orden del Mérito Civil) was established by King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1926. The order recognizes "the civic virtue of officers in the service of the Nation, as well as extraordinary service by Spanish and fore ...
* :
**
Special Grand Cordon of the Order of Propitious Clouds
The Order of Propitious Clouds () is a civilian order of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The center of the medal features a picture of clouds, as a token of auspiciousness. This order was instituted in 1941 and classified into nine ranks. As with ...
*:
**
Order of the Rajamitrabhorn
The Most Auspicious Order of the Rajamitrabhorn ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันเป็นมงคลยิ่งราชมิตราภรณ์; ) is the highest royal order of Thailand. It w ...
*:
**
Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...
In popular culture
* ''The President's Last Bang
''The President's Last Bang:'' ()The original title (in English, "''The People of Those Days''") refers to a famous Korean song of a similar title – "That Man of those Days". According to official sources, this song was performed by Sim Soo-bon ...
''
*''The Man Standing Next
''The Man Standing Next'' () is a 2020 South Korean political drama film directed by Woo Min-ho. Based on an original novel of the same title, the film stars Lee Byung-hun, Lee Sung-min, Kwak Do-won, and Lee Hee-joon as the high ranking offici ...
''
*''The President's Barber
''The President's Barber'' () is a 2004 South Korean comedy drama film directed by Im Chan-sang. It follows a barber, his wife, and their only son through four decades of tumultuous Korean history. Much as in '' Forrest Gump'', we see important ...
''
See also
* List of presidents of South Korea
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Park, Chung-hee
Fourth Republic of Korea
Presidents of South Korea
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Korea Military Academy alumni
Anti-communism in South Korea
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Assassinated heads of government
Assassinated South Korean politicians
Conflicts in 1968
Deaths by firearm in South Korea
Conservatism in South Korea
Right-wing populism in South Korea
Korean collaborators with Imperial Japan
Former Marxists
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20th-century South Korean politicians
Politicide perpetrators
1979 murders in South Korea
Democratic Republican Party (South Korea) politicians
Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Korea)
Grand Crosses Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Recipients of the Order of the Liberator General San Martin
Recipients of the Grand Star of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria
Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Grand Crosses of the Order of the Sun of Peru
Order of Saint Olav
Order of Civil Merit members
Recipients of the National Order of Vietnam
Chief Commanders of the Legion of Merit
Recipients of the Order of Merit for National Foundation
Recipients of the Order of Propitious Clouds
Grand Officers of the Order of José Matías Delgado
Military personnel of World War II
Burials at Seoul National Cemetery
Imperial Japanese Army Academy alumni