The Park Chung Hee Era : The Transformation of South Korea

In 1959 South Korea was mired in poverty. By 1979 it had a powerful industrial economy and a vibrant civil society in the making, which would lead to a democratic breakthrough eight years later. The transformation took place during the years of Park Chung Hee's presidency. Park seized power in a coup in 1961 and ruled as a virtual dictator until his assassination in October 1979. He is credited with modernizing South Korea, but at a huge political and social cost. South Korea's political landscape under Park defies easy categorization. The state was predatory yet technocratic, reform-minded yet quick to crack down on dissidents in the name of political order. The nation was balanced uneasily between opposition forces calling for democratic reforms and the Park government's obsession with economic growth. The chaebol (a powerful conglomerate of multinationals based in South Korea) received massive government support to pioneer new growth industries, even as a nationwide campaign of economic shock therapy--interest hikes, devaluation, and wage cuts--met strong public resistance and caused considerable hardship. This landmark volume examines South Korea's era of development as a study in the complex politics of modernization. Drawing on an extraordinary range of sources in both English and Korean, these essays recover and contextualize many of the ambiguities in South Korea's trajectory from poverty to a sustainable high rate of economic growth Contents Introduction: Part I. BORN IN A CRISIS Chapter One. The May Sixteenth Military Coup Chapter Two. Taming and Tamed by the United States Chapter Three. State Building: The Military Junta’s Path to Modernity through Administrative Reforms Part II. POLITICS Chapter Four. Modernization Strategy: Ideas and Influences Chapter Five. The Labyrinth of Solitude: Park and the Exercise of Presidential Power Chapter Six. The Armed Forces Chapter Seven. The Leviathan: Economic Bureaucracy under Park Chapter Eight. The Origins of the Yushin Regime: Machiavelli Unveiled Part III. ECONOMY AND SOCIETY Chapter Nine. The Chaebol Chapter Ten. The Automobile Industry Chapter Eleven. Pohang Iron & Steel Company Chapter Twelve. The Countryside Chapter Thirteen. The Chaeya Part IV. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Chapter Fourteen. The Vietnam War: South Korea’s Search for National Security Chapter Fifteen. Normalization of Relations with Japan: Toward a New Partnership Chapter Sixteen. The Security, Political, and Human Rights Conundrum, 1974–1979 Chapter Seventeen. The Search for Deterrence: Park’s Nuclear Option Part V. COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE Chapter Eighteen. Nation Rebuilders: Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Lee Kuan Yew, Deng Xiaoping, and Park Chung Hee Chapter Nineteen. Reflections on a Reverse Image: South Korea under Park Chung Hee and the Philippines under Ferdinand Marcos Chapter Twenty. The Perfect Dictatorship? South Korea versus Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico Chapter Twenty - One. Industrial Policy in Key Developmental Sectors: South Korea versus Japan and Taiwan Conclusion: Notes Acknowledgments Contributors Index

In 1961 South Korea was mired in poverty. By 1979 it had a powerful industrial economy and a vibrant civil society in the making, which would lead to a democratic breakthrough eight years later. The transformation took place during the years of Park Chung Hee's presidency. Park seized power in a coup in 1961 and ruled as a virtual dictator until his assassination in October 1979. He is credited with modernizing South Korea, but at a huge political and social cost.

South Korea's political landscape under Park defies easy categorization. The state was predatory yet technocratic, reform-minded yet quick to crack down on dissidents in the name of political order. The nation was balanced uneasily between opposition forces calling for democratic reforms and the Park government's obsession with economic growth. The chaebol (a powerful conglomerate of multinationals based in South Korea) received massive government support to pioneer new growth industries, even as a nationwide campaign of economic shock therapy-interest hikes, devaluation, and wage cuts-met strong public resistance and caused considerable hardship.

This landmark volume examines South Korea's era of development as a study in the complex politics of modernization. Drawing on an extraordinary range of sources in both English and Korean, these essays recover and contextualize many of the ambiguities in South Korea's trajectory from poverty to a sustainable high rate of economic growth.

In 1961 South Korea was mired in poverty. By 1979 it had a powerful industrial economy and a vibrant civil society in the making, which would lead to a democratic breakthrough eight years later. The transformation took place during the years of Park Chung Heeʹs presidency. Park seized power in a coup in 1961 and ruled as a virtual dictator until his assassination in October 1979. He is credited with modernizing South Korea, but at a huge political and social cost. South Koreaʹs political landscape under Park defies easy categorization. The state was predatory yet technocratic, reform-minded yet quick to crack down on dissidents in the name of political order. The nation was balanced uneasily between opposition forces calling for democratic reforms and the Park governmentʹs obsession with economic growth. The chaebol (a powerful conglomerate of multinationals based in South Korea) received massive government support to pioneer new growth industries, even as a nationwide campaign of economic shock therapy - interest hikes, devaluation, and wage cuts - met strong public resistance and caused considerable hardship. -- Publisher description Main description: In 1959 South Korea was mired in poverty. By 1979, it had a powerful industrial economy and a vibrant civil society that led to democracy eight years later. This volume examines the transformation as a study in the politics of modernization, contextualizing many historical ambiguities in South Korea's trajectory toward sustainable economic growth "This landmark volume examines South Korea's era of development as a study in the complex politics of modernization. Drawing on an extraordinary range of sources in both English and Korean, these essays recover and contextualize many of the ambiguities in South Korea's trajectory from poverty to a sustainable high rate of economic growth."--Publisher description

In 1959 South Korea was mired in poverty. By 1979, it had a powerful industrial economy and a vibrant civil society that led to democracy eight years later. This volume examines the transformation as a study in the politics of modernization, contextualizing many historical ambiguities in South Korea's trajectory toward sustainable economic growth.

Edited By Byung-kook Kim, Ezra F. Vogel. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.