Park Chung-hee

Park Chung Hee and Kim Il Sung are perhaps the two most influential Koreans of the 20th century. They were leaders of two opposing sides on a divided Korean peninsula. Park was the leader of South Korea, known as The Republic of Korea (ROK), and Kim was the leader of North Korea, known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Since the Korean War, their countries have been in a stalemate characterized by a switch between periods of polarizing tension and times of cooperation and possible reunification. Despite being from rival states, these leaders actually have many similarities. In this essay, I will establish that these similarities exist in their biographical stories, cult personalities and nationalist policies imposed by their…

Park Chung Hee said that "We do not believe that the miracle. If you sweat as much as working days just I believe that there is a cost and compensation efforts (President Park).” Park Chung Hee, the president of Republic of Korea from 1963 to 1979, has been hailed to as the most influential person in the development history of the country (Hansol Park). Park Chung Hee had dictatorial power during his incumbency. On May 16th, 1961, Major General Park Chung Hee came into political power by…

Students began to, “develop a long-term perspective in anticipation of a longer authoritarian regime under Park” (Lee 217). The students knew that they couldn’t do it alone if they wanted to oust Park from his high chair and recapture their democratic government. “They articulated that social change and democracy might involve broader structural changes rather than just political reform. They perceived a need to organize various sectors of society, particularly labor” (Lee 217). This…

advantage of his power and began to remove government and military officials he considered to be “corrupt and unqualified” he also continued to repress the opposition party and his citizens by taking control over the press and the universities. Park Chung-Hee decided to recreate the constitution according in which, “the president was to be elected by direct popular vote and have strong powers - including the authority to appoint the premier and cabinet members without the legislative consent and…

The importance of restricting presidential power in Korea was undeniably proven during the often-brutal regimes that ruled the South before 1987. This was especially prominent during the terms of Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-Hwan, the latter of which was responsible for the infamous Gwangju Massacre in 1980. The origins of these regimes, however, began in the establishment of the 1948 constitution, which in the words of Yeh “…adopted a presidential system that failed to provide sufficient checks…

Leave it to writer/director Park Chan-wook to not leave any stone unturned in his erotically-charged and stylish drama The Handmaiden. We have mystery, betrayal, an explicit love affair, and a healthy dose of cringe-worthy violence and unreliable narrators all conveniently tucked inside a beautifully composed costume drama set in 1930s Korea, where a manipulative con man sets in motion his most complicated ruse to date. Told as a triptych, where three segments are referenced as "books", The…

Does Absolute Power Corrupt Absolutely? There have been many leaders throughout history that have had absolute power without becoming corrupt. Although many leaders with absolute power have become corrupt, not all leaders have abused their power. For instance, Park Chung-Hee, was a a leader with absolute power, and only used his power for good. Park Chung-Hee was the president for South Korea that started South Korea's "Miracle on the Han River" by contributing to industry and economic reforms.…

“Democratization in Asia has been seen as largely a middle class affair. However, in South Korea, the working class has played an active role in promoting democracy during its phase of democratization.” Why the working class has played an important role? Let’s see about the background of democracy process first. The beginning of South Korea democratization event is Gwangju Uprising. But before the Gwangju Uprising, the Korean were under the dictator of Park Chung-hee and ruling by long period of…

The Gwangju Uprising occurred because of many reasons. First, Chun Doo Hwan and his military regime limiting the freedom and political participation. After he proclaim the martial law, a thousands of soldiers gathered in Gwangju. They mercilessly suppress citizens and people. The soldiers treat them painfully. They extremely prohibit every situations that resist from the government. Next, Citizens wants martial law to be abolished. The government runs the martial law to repress resistance. As I…

good economy must be kept under control. Inflation is the decreasing value of a country’s money due to over printing. During the 1960s South Korea cut the production of money from 20% to 15% of the current amount.(Franks) The military leader General Park Chung-hee put all of these monetary policies in place. During the time of the building up of the economy, the country was run by the military. General Park Chung-hee set forth a series of five-year plans that integrated government in the…