Korean civilization

1. Korean 10: Korean Civilization
Week 5: Slide Presentation 1 of 3
South Korea
Prof. Mickey Hong
Modern Languages & Civilizations

2. The First
Republic
(1948-1960)
 Rhee Syngman political
dictatorship
 Liberal Party (1951): Rhee
created Liberty Party
 Amended Constitution
(presidential election
system limited 4 years and
only can rerun once)
 Repeal of the limit on
the number of
presidential term
 National Security
Law: anti-communism
law (witch-hunt)
 Hundreds demonstrators were
killed under the national
security law
Posters: Immediately Report North
Korean/Communist Propaganda flyers

3. The First Republic
(1948-1960)
 In order to consolidate his regime
 Rhee punished his political opponents and
students who are against him under the
National Security Law
 Against national unity
 His electoral opponents for the presidency had
died shortly before the election.
 Democratic Party (1954)
 Korea Democratic Party (KDP) => Democratic
Party: two-party system of Liberal Party
(Syngman Rhee) vs. Democratic Party
 Mainstream opposition party (1950s-1980s)

4. Rapid
reconstruction and
development
 South Korea was extremely poor:
Gross National Income (GNI) per
capita (the average annual income
before tax of a citizen) was $120.00
in1962
 South Korea relied almost entirely
on foreign funds
 United States mostly aided the
postwar recovery of South Korea.
 $12 billion from the US to South
Korea 1945-1965.
 The US willing to help Syngman
Rhee in return for strong support in
the Cold War

5. Miracle
on the
Han River,
70 years

6. Seoul before and after the
Korean War

7. Seoul Station before and
after the Korean War

8. US Influence on
Korean Diet
 Korean people subsisted
on rice for thousands of
years.
 Huge amount of wheat
flour were donated
from the US.
 Encouraged the Korean
people to eat bread,
noodle, dumpling made
of wheat flour.
 Housewives, were
trained in cooking
dishes made from flour

9. French Missionaries enjoying
traditional Korean style meal w/
huge bowls of Rice
Koreans almost always had plenty to eat--rice,
vegetables, meat, seafood, etc. until the Korean War
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/history-of-
korean-food

10. Wheat,
not Rice
 Rice is
presented as
unhealthy
 Promoting diet
based on multi-
grain and wheat
products

11. American diet =
Modernity
 Symbol of modernization/Westernization,
Food made with flour = modern and
American
 Dried milk and wheat flour food aid
advocated by the positive image of the US
& Western countries
 Americans are tall and strong? Why?
Because they live on flour food and milk
(enriched with nutrients (calcium,
vitamins, etc.), and more protein.
 Newspaper and public education to
advocate flour food. Even misinforming
that rice makes you less smart.
 The banner: “Improve diet with
multigrain and flour meals”

12. Why noodles in
Korean soup dishes?
 From August 1964, various
traditional soup dishes which
were served entirely with rice
had to be prepared with with
only 50% rice, 25% multigrain,
and 25% noodles
 This is why there are noodles in
popular soup dishes:
Seolleongtang, Gomguk, and
yukgaejang

13. Flour food/meal
(Bunsik/Punsik) is now
synonymous as snack or
street food in Korea
 Various fried food: flour
battered
 Sundae: used to be
stuffed w/ rice before
clear noodles made
from starch)
 Tteokbokki (ttŏk-
pokki): used to be
made with rice cake
made with rice flour,
instead of wheat flour
 Hot dog in South Korea
is what Americans call
corn dog

14. Army stew:
the first Korean
fusion dish?
 After the Korean War, the US
army stationed in South Korea.
 Koreans had first taste of
American staples such as
canned meat and vegetables
(Spam, Vienna sausage, baked
beans, etc.)
 Koreans used these foreign
ingredients and innovated a
new dish.
 The ingredients are from the
US and the seasonings and
cooking style is Korean .
 Koreans got the ingredients
from US military bases, so the
dish called 'Budae Jjigae’.
“Budae/Pudae” means army
base/camp; jjigae/tchiage
means stew in Korean.
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Budae-jjigae

15. Possible
ingredients
for Army Stew
• Ham/Spam
• Vienna sausage
• Ramen noodle
• Tofu
• Rice cake
• Processed cheese lices
• Macaroni
• Green onions
• Kimchi
• Canned beans
• Gochujang/Koch’ujang
(red chili paste)

16. Army Stew, innovation to survive to
global marketing as a “Korean” dish
 Army stew is a
reminder of painful
history for Koreans:
postwar poverty and
American imperialism
 Koreans have
innovated and
adopted what’s
“foreign” into
“Korean”
 Koreans have further
succeeded by
marketing the
modernized/Westerni
zed product globally
 There are now army
stew restaurants all
over the US and Asia.

17. The Fall of the
First Republic
 Syngman Rhee (1875-1965)
 Served as the South Korean
president from 1948-1960, 12
years total
 “Elected” consecutively in
1948, 1952, 1956 &1960
 Election irregularities
 changed term limits
 Rhee’s political
opponent was murdered
10 days before the
election
 fraudulent voting
 National Security Law
 April 1960 Student
Revolution
 Resignation of Syngman Rhee

18. April Revolution (April 1960)
 Rigged election in March  student
protest
 A body of a high school student, Kim
Chuyŏl, a protestor killed by a tear
gas canister found in Masan
 Students in Seoul explode in
discontent against Rhee’s
dictatorship, corruption, and
violence against .
 April Revolution/Uprising (April 11-
26,1960)
 Nation-wide student
demonstration
 186 people killed during the two
weeks
 Student demands:
 democracy and
reunification of Korea
 Resignation of Rhee and
new election

19. Trigger warning!
Disturbing, graphic,
violent images
The next 2 slides contain
the pictures of the corpse
of the high school student
who was killed by a tear
gas canister which the
police used against the
protesters.
Kim Chuyŏl’s body floated
up in the port of Masan. He
was only 14 when he died
These images enraged the
students and caused the
April Revolution.

20. Kim Chuyŏl
Missing for 27 days after March protest. The body
discovered with tear gas canister lodged into his eye.

22. Rhee
Resigns
 March 17, 1960
 April 20, 1960
 April 27, 1960

23. The Second
Republic
(1960-1961)
 Democratic Party regime
 President: Yun Posŏn
 Prime minister: Chang Myŏn
 Changes and problems
 Parliamentary government
system
 Incompetence of the
government & the masses
 Nature of Democratic Party
 Landlord class and wealthy
intellectuals: very conservative
 No detailed reform plan,
indecisive
 People in general
 Little knowledge in democracy
 Feared social disorder: more
interested in food than democracy
 Ideological polarization between the
conservatives and the students

24. Madame Freedom (1956)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkAbV
Qhfpmw

25. Madame Freedom (1956):
Against patriarchy
 Box office hit
 Shocking at the time: the story of a married woman with a
son having an affair with a younger man, and leaving her
family
 Synopsis: Madame O (O Sŏnyŏng) starts working as a
manager cosmetic store to supplement her husband’s small
income as a professor. Her neighbor, a younger man, and
her boss’ husband both woo her. Her husband is also being
seduced by an attractive student. The boss discovers about
the affair between her husband and O. O’s husband throws
her out because of her neglect of their son and the
anonymous messages about her indiscretions.
 Ending: O admits her faults but does not beg forgiveness,
accepts her husband’s wish to leave him and their son

26.  Sensational and
glamorous: portrays
upper educated women
in latest Western
fashion, enjoying
drinking, smoking, and
dancing
 Korean heroine is not a
model of filial piety or
faithful wife like the
popular female
characters in Chosŏn
fiction, Shimch’ŏng and
Ch’unhyang

27. Madame Freedom (1956)
Glimpse into the upper class at
the time
 Dynamics between the
social class: the seduction
of the wealthy lifestyle
 The sexual attraction
towards those who are
above their social class:
• The younger neighbor
(poor, young man)  O
Sŏnyŏng (professor’s
wife)
• O Sŏnyŏng  boss’
husband
• Student  professor (O’s
husband

28. Park Chung-hee
(1917-1979)
 No person is more associated
with South Korean history
than Park.
 For good or bad, linked to
the combination of
authoritarian state-making
and rapid economic
development (the miracle).
 He remained as the top
political figure for almost
two decades from 1961 to his
assassination in 1979.

29. Park Chung-hee:
The product of
Japanese Imperial
training
 Born into a poor rural family, he
took advantage of all the
opportunities made available by
Japanese colonialism to escape
his condition.
 Attended Manchukuo Imperial
Army Academy
 When he first applied the
academy, he was rejected
because of his young age
 Showed loyalty to Japan: Park
wrote a letter with his blood
vowing to sacrifice his life for
Japan.
 Army Staff College in Japan
 Lieutenant in Manchukuo
Imperial Army
 Joined in South Korean military at
the Korean war

30. Park Chung-hee (1917-
1979) and Park Geun-
hye (1952-): Dictator
and his daughter
 Park succeeds military
coup in 1961
 Park was assassinated in
1979
 His daughter, Park Geun-
hye, became the
president of South Korea
in 2013, 34 years after
her father’s death

31. The Third Republic
(1962-1972):
Developmental Dictatorship
 May 16 Military Coup d’etat (1961)
 Led by Park Chung-hee and political
soldiers who had served in the Japanese
army
 National Security Law used for
suppression of the people
 Park made his priority clear: to lead the
country out of poverty and set it on the
path to economic modernization through
industrialization.
 Park Chung-hee elected as the president
(1963)
 Back to the presidential government
system
 Power bases
 Military and police
 Republican Party: Functioned as
legislative basis of Park

32. Military dictatorship:
Economic development first and
unification next
 Export-led growth policy, 1960s
 Park Chung-hee recognized by the US
 Normalization with Japan (August 14, 1965): during
Johnson Administration: US plan => US-Japan-SK bloc
 Vietnam War (1965-73)
 60K troops in Vietnam a year => 7000 Korean soldiers
killed or missing
 US paid Korea $1 billion a year (1965-1970)
 Heavy industry grew: 95% of steel production exported
to Vietnam
 The government selected well-performing companies for
targeted export-oriented production, rewarding them with
cheap and big loans, licenses, tax benefits, and government
guidance => astonishing growth of many of these companies
into entities dominating South Korean economy

33. Korean Veterans of Vietnam
War (mercenaries)

34.  Concatenation of finance, industry, labor, market
 The biggest beneficiaries of the state-led export-oriented
industrialization were family-owned companies called
Chaebŏl: Samsung, Hyundai, LG
 The government selected well-performing companies for
targeted export-oriented production, rewarding them with
cheap and big loans, licenses, tax benefits, and
government guidance.
 The result is astonishing growth of many of these
companies into entities dominating South Korean economy.

35. Rise of chaebŏl,
great financial conglomerates
 Chaebŏl
 Family owned gigantic combines of economic enterprises
 Connection between state (politics) & chaebŏl (economy)
 State: gives cheap money and guidance
 Chaebŏl follows guidance and gives political funds
 The Big Push (1973): from light manufacturing to state-led
heavy and chemical industrialization
 Construction of large industrial complexes
 Preferential benefits

36. Samsung (Three
Stars) Trading
company, Daegu,
1938
Samsung’s $300
million office in
Silicon Valley,
2015

37. From Noodle seller to
Multinational conglomerate
company

38. Hyundai Engineering and
Construction Company founded
in 1947
 Now the operates the world's largest integrated automobile
manufacturing facility in Ulsan

39. LG (Lucky Goldstar)

40.  Assignment of heavy industries + preferential loans
 Economic reform (1965): domestic capital
 Raise bank interest 15% => 30%
 Increase in domestic savings
 Increase in industrial investment & output
 Increase in employment
 Regionalism
 Favoritism on Kyŏngsang province
 Isolation of Chŏlla province: Democratic party, Kim Dae
Jung
 US support
 Export-led Growth Policy, 1960s

41. Birth of Korea Inc.:
state-led industrialization
 Nationalization of commercial banks
 Allocation of capital to small number of entrepreneurs
 Preferential loans and special subsidies

42. Bruce Cumings, Korea’s Place in
the Sun, p. 316
 Here’s the deal: I will arrange for, say, a bank in Japan to
give you $10 million at below-market rates to make 12-inch
black-and-white TVs, and guarantee the loan to the bank. I
will set aside property for you in our free-export zone, build
the roads to your plant, give you heat and electricity at
preferential rates, and set aside American surplus cement
for your buildings. I will find a foreign firm with
established markets, know-how, and channels of
distribution, which will sell your TVs everywhere in the
United States, even in grocery stores. I will guarantee a
steady supply of educated and disciplined labor at a set
price (also well below market), and outlaw unions, and send
in the army whenever dangerous combinations emerge at
the workplace. I will decide how many competitors you will
have, give you annual targets for production (with bonuses
for going beyond them), and make sure there’s room
enough for all of you to grow. (Not to mention the fact that
you are my wife’s brother, etc.)
-

43. Death of Yuk Young-
soo, the first lady
(1974)
 Happened in Seoul National Theater
of Korea during an Independence
Day ceremony
 Yuk was shot and killed by Mun Se-
gwang, a Zainichi Korean (ethnic
Korean who is a Japanese resident or
citizen). He was a North
Korean sympathizer who actually
attempted to assassinate President
Park
 Mun was executed by hanging after 4
months
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
80Lrz9ZVXp0

44. The First Family

45. After her mother’s death, Park Geun-hye takes on the
role of the First Lady by her father’s side

46. Park Geun-hye adopts the image
of her late mother
(fashion/hairstyle)
Park Geun-hyeYuk Young-soo


47. Is this any different than the
political strategy of the North?

48. Jeon Tae-il (Chŏn T'ae-il)
(1948-1970)
 November 13, 1970, shortly
before noon, in the middle of the
busy industrial area, known as
Pyonghwa (Peace) Market, a part
of the larger Dongdaemun (East
Gate) market, a 22-year-old
worker in the garment industry in
Seoul poured gasoline over himself
and then set himself on fire
 Self-immolation as protest. He
shouted while on fire, dying:
“Observe the Labor Law!”, “We
are not machines!”, “Let us rest
on Sundays!”

49. At what price Korean
economic miracle?
 Who made the crushing
sacrifices?
 Winners: Chaebŏl
 Victims: the labor force
 Is Park Chung-hee justified in
his brutal drive to achieve his
vision?
 A Single Spark(1995).
Biographical film on Jeon Tae-il
https://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=TXWnPQZDt60

50. The Fourth Republic (1972-
1979)
 Oppressions and oppositions
 Student demonstrations
 Factory workers demonstrations
 Kim Dae Jung (political opponent)
 Demand for human rights
 Yusin constitution (1972)
 No limit on number of presidential terms
 Right of emergency measure ordinance

51.  Park established a political party and was elected
president. He was repeatedly reelected.
 In 1972 he assumed dictatorial powers and pushed
through new amendments to the constitution, ending
democratic presidential elections in South Korea.
 Although authoritarian, Park's government did not
completely curtail basic freedoms. Under him
substantial economic development occured and South
Korea became industrialized.

52. The Housemaid (1960), Kim
Kiyŏng
 Synopsis: A story of a
fatal attraction. The
composer Kim Tongsik
just moved to a two-
story house with his
wife and two kids. He
hires a housemaid for
his wife who is
exhausted. The
housemaid used to be a
factory worker.

53.  The housemaid seduces Kim when his wife when she
becomes pregnant and visits her family with their kids.
 The housemaid also becomes pregnant and black mails
Kim, insisting she is now his concubine
 Kim confesses to his wife and she convinces the
housemaid to have an abortion.
 When Kim’s wife gives birth to their third child, the
housemaid kills their son as revenge
 The housemaid ends up killing herself
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J_HTZFC32s

54. femme
fatale or
victim?
 The
development of
middle class
 The danger of
factory worker
class women as
femme fatale
destroying
family
 The role of wife:
the keeper of
tradition and
family value, but
is it worth it?

55. Assassination of President Pak
Chung-hee
 October 26, 1979 Kim Chaegyu, the president’s security
chief (the director of Korean Central Intelligence
Agency (KCIA) shot him at a dinner party.

56. Assassination of President Pak
Chung-hee
 October 26, 1979 at a dinner party, Kim Chaegyu, the president’s security
chief (the director of Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) shot Pak
in the chest and head, and Pak died almost immediately.
 Four bodyguards and a presidential chauffeur were also killed.
 Kim was favored man of the president as a No. 2 man in Pak’s regime and
his relationship with President Park was that of brothers.
 They came from the same hometown and were classmates at the Korean
Army Academy.
 However, President Pak appointed a new chief bodyguard and favored him
over Kim. Kim was losing his status and power and was jealous of new
bodyguard.
 There is still a great deal of controversy on Kim’s motive--whether it was
a planned act as part of a coup or just an impulse
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7o5ZKjkOpg

57. Kim’s motives for
Assassinating Park in
the Last Statement
at the Trial
 Firstly, to restore free democracy;
 Secondly, to prevent further
bloodshed of Korean people;
 Thirdly, to prevent North Korean
aggression
 Fourthly, to completely restore the
close relationship with our strong
ally the United States, which fell to
the worst point since the founding
of South Korea and advance our
national interest through closer
cooperation in defense, diplomacy,
and economy
 Fifthly, to restore Korea's honor in
the international community by
cleansing the bad image of Korea
as a dictatorship country.

58. The Fifth Republic
(1980-1987)
 After the assassination of Pak, people looked forward to
democracy.
 Two months after the Pak’s assassination, military Rebellion
occurred by Chun Doo-hwan. He wanted to be a president like
Pak Chung-hee.
 When Chun Doo-hwan seized power by military force, nation-
wide student demonstrations erupted
 Chun Doo-hwan expanded martial law
 closed universities
 banned political activities
 further curtailed the press
 Many citizens grew unhappy with the military presence in their
cities

59. Kwangju Uprising
(May 18-26, 1980)
 May 18, 1980, the citizens of Gwangju organized and
protested the new military regime.
 Chun sent military troops to clear demonstrators from
the city.
 Bloody massacre over the next two days, leading the
deaths of several hundred Gwangju citizens.
 Korean press, under the control of Chun, announced
that US approved him as the president
 Before the announcement, the public sentiments
toward the US was positive.
 Afterwards, anti-US sentiments spread among the
Korean people.

60. Legacies of
Dictatorship
Kwangju, May
18-27, 1980

61. The Fifth Republic:
Chun’s military
regime
 New dictatorship
 Dissolved all political parties
 DJP (Democratic Justice Party) and some
satellite parties => political soldiers +
opportunists + conservatives
 Politics
 Presidential term = 7 years & only one term
 Relied on the police
 News media censored in advance
 Submissive to US: cancellation of the nuclear
and missile projects
 June Uprising of 1987
 Major demonstrations in Seoul middle-class
citizens
 Restoration of Democratic Party : Kim Dae
Jung and Kim Young Sam
 Direct popular vote

62. June Uprising of 1987
During demonstrations, a number of students were killed and tortured to
death: Yi Hanyŏl and Pak Chongch’ŏl
Chun was sentenced to death in 1996 for his role in the
Kwangju Massacre, but later President Kim Young-sam pardons him

63. “June Breakthrough”
(1987)
 KCIA and politics of terror
 Rise of undongkwôn
democratization movement
led by the students and
laborers in reaction to the
dictatorship of Presidents
Park and Chun and the
politics of terror

64. Morning Dew (1970)
Became the march song in
protest against the government
 Over a long night, just like morning dew on leaves,
which is prettier than a pearl,
when sorrow in my mind is dewy each by each,
I climb a morning hill and learn a subtle smile.
The crimson sun rises beyond a grave;
the sizzling heat in the day light is my ordeal.
Now, I will go towards that wild field,
after throwing away all my sorrow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ujt3seEb6BM

65. Unhealed pains
of Korean War
 On Oct. 31, 2010,
436 South Koreans
were allowed to
spend three days in
North Korea to meet
their 97 North
Korean relatives,
from whom they had
been separated
since the Korean
War

66. Finding
Dispersed
Families
 special live
broadcast created
and aired by
the Korean
Broadcasting
System (KBS) from
June 30 to November
14, 1983 to united
families separated by
the Korean War

67. The Sixth
Republic
(1987-present)
 1987 presidential election:
Roh Tae Woo
 Regionalism
 Roh (33%): landslide
victory in North
Kyŏngsang province
 Kim YS (29%): South
Kyŏngsang province
 Kim DJ (24%): Chŏlla
province
 Kim JP (11%):
Ch’ungch’ ŏng province

68. Kim Young Sam
(President: 1992-1998)
 In 1992 Kim Young Sam was
elected president.
 The public pressured to
address the corruption of
previous governments and
major business leaders
 In 1995, both Chun and Roh
were arrested on charges of
collecting hundreds of
millions of dollars from
businessmen while in office.
They were also indicted on
mutiny and treason charges
stemming from Chun’s coup
and a bloody 1980 crackdown
that killed hundreds of pro-
democracy protesters in the
southern city of Gwangju.
 Chun was sentenced to death
and Roh to 22 1/2 years in
jail. They were pardoned in
December 1997.

69. Disgraceful Exits (1995)

70. Kim Dae Jung
(President: 1998-2003)
Full Democratization (at last)
 Longtime opposition
leader
 Democratization
achieved
 Financial recovery
 Sunshine Policy of
engagement

71. In June, 2000 South Korea's President Kim Dae-jung and North
Korea's President Kim Jong II met at a summit
They pledged to work toward the eventual reunification of their
countries.
As a first step, 100 people from each country were temporarily
reunited with relatives they had not seen since the start of the
Korean War in 1950.
These were the first such reunions permitted since 1985.

72. Sunshine Policy (1999)
 NK curbs missile & nuclear programs
 SK provides food & economic aid
 US normalizes with NK
 Peaceful coexistence with NK => no war, no
military tension
 SK enterprises and capital rushed into NK
 Cultural/ social exchange
 Kŭmgang Mountain tourism

73.  Kim Dae-Jung
was awarded
the Nobel Peace
Prize in 2000.

74. Roh Moo-hyun
(President 2003-
2008)
 Self-educated lawyer
 Kim Dae Jung
supporter
 the Assembly voted
to impeach him for
illegal electioneering
on 12 March 2004
 On 14 May 2004, the
Constitutional Court
overturned the
impeachment decision,
restoring Roh as
Presiden
 Suicide on May 23,
2009

75. 2002-2003
 Bush’s aggression
 Rejected any negotiation with
NK (2001)
 “Axis of Evil” (2002, Union
address)
 Stopped oil shipment
 Kim Jung Il’s reaction
 Reactivation of nuclear
facilities
 Withdrawal from NPT (Treaty on
the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons)
 Expelled IAEA (The International
Atomic Energy Agency)
inspectors
 Kim Jungil’s Military-First (Sŏn’gun)
Policy: prioritizes the Korean People’
Army in the affairs of state and
allocates national resources to the
army first.

76. Miracle on the Han and
Globalization
The positives and negatives

77. Obstacles to Democratic
Development in SK, 1948-1992
 Lack of leadership committed to democracy
 Lack of democratic political party: bound
w/personal loyalty rather than their political
interests
 Low level of political consciousness of the masses
 Main problem until the 1970s: poverty
 In and after the 1980s = regionalism
 Military tension with NK => beneficial enemy
 Historical legacy: never had true democracy

78. Miracle on the Han River
The Road to Pongûn Temple,
1955
CoEx Under Construction,
1985
Samsŏng-dong, Seoul, today

79. The view of Samsŏngdong
from Pongŭn Temple

80. Poverty
of the
1960s-
1970s

81. The state of the art, futuristic cities
of South Korea
Seoul and Songdo

82. Seoul Metro
System
#2 in the world only after Hong Kong’s

83. Incheon Airport, consistently
one of world’s top 5 airports

84. South Korea’s high smartphone
ownership

85. Social Problems in Korea
 Is South Korean education 'best in world'?
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-
25193551/is-south-korean-education-best-in-
world
 The last similar survey showed the UK in 28th
position out of 65 countries - and the latest
figures are unlikely to show much
improvement. The best results are expected
to come from East Asian countries such as
China, Singapore and South Korea.
 There are heavy costs and extremely long
hours for students in South Korea.

86. Highest Suicide Rate in the
world

87. Even the most popular and
wealthy cannot escape
depression and suicide

88. Lowest birth rate in the world

89. Failure on the Han
 State-led development
 Crony capitalism
 Confucianism  rigid corporate
structures  social/gender problems
 IMF (International Monetary Fund) Crisis:
In 1997 the South Korean economy was
hit by a severe financial crisis. In
December of that year a $58-billion aid
package, the largest international loan
to date, was arranged by several
countries and international lending
agencies to help South Korea's
government, banks, and industrial
corporations make payments on their
debt. The economic difficulties were the
most severe South Korea had suffered
since its industrialization following the
Korean War

90. Lee Myung-bak
(President 2008-2013)
 Former businessman
(Hyundai Construction
Chairman)
 Member of National
Assembly: excessive
campaign spending in 1996
re-election
 Mayor of Seoul (2002-2006):
Ch’ŏnggyech’ŏn, Seoul
Forest
 Campaign plans: 7-4-7 plan,
English education, Grand
Korean Waterway
 BBK scandal: stock
manipulation

91. 2018 Lee was convicted on charges of bribery,
embezzlement and abuse of power; fined 13 billion won
($11.5 million) and jailed for 15 years for corruption

92. Full circle: Park Geun-hye, Park Chung-
hee’s daughter becomes the South Korean
President in 2013

93. Artist Hong Sung-dam painted this picture in 2012. Park Geun-
hye has given birth to an infant version of her father--the
iconic image of him wearing his signature Ray-Ban sunglasses
at the 1961 coup

94. 2016-2017
Candlelight
Demonstrations to
oust
Park Geun-hye
 Park Geun-hye
was arrested in
2017 for abuse of
power, bribery,
coercion and
leaking
government
secrets. She was
fined
₩18,000,000,000
($16,798,683 )
and sentenced 25
years in prison.

95. Like father, like daughter
Abuse of power

96. Family
legacy/National
legacy
 Many older voters had elected
Park Geun-hye due to the
nostalgia of the Park Chung-hee
regime. Many were also
sympathetic to her personal
tragedy
 Is the past always the "good old
days“ even when it really wasn’t?
 How does the people’s perception
of history change after a long
period?
 Many older voters were later
horrified by their misconception
of Park Geun-hye and felt
betrayed and participated in the
protest

97. What “modern” democracy looks like: the South
Koreans demonstrated that the People decide
who their leader is, and the People have the
power to punish the corrupt government.