From: lim@rani.chem.yale.edu (Dongchul Lim)
Subject: Re: President Park Jung Hee
Organization: Yale University
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 04:19:44 GMT

kim@cs.arizona.edu (Kyung Soo Kim) writes:
: > However no matter how good things he did to economy and defense,
: > one should also condiser what he did to democracy and human rights.
: > 
: > First of all, he made a precedent of overthrowing civilian government
: > by military coup detat. The military coup led by Chun (nearly 20
: > years after Park's coup) was modelled after this.
: 
:   You are quite right that President Park Jung Hee became presedent
:   by overthrowing civilian government.  And it may be continued to 
:   President Chun.
:     However, you must consider how it is possible for you and us live
:   like now.
:   If President Park's economic and defense miracle didn't happen,
:   you(we) wouldn't even be able to live like now, and talking like 
:   this wouldn't be possible.  If I have chioce to live like in 60's
:   of Kore with no dictatorship, and living like in 80-90's of Korea 
:   with some exprience of dictaorship, I would choose latter one.
:   It's been historically proven that people try to criticize more on the
:   dark side of someone's achivement even though they live in and have taking
:   great advantage of one's bright side of achivement.
:     I am not saying President Park was abolutely right man, but he was 
:   one of the most repectalbe men of Korean history.
: 
:   Kyung-Soo Kim
:   kim@cs.arizona.edu
:   Dept of Computer Science
:   The University of Arizona
: 

What you're saying seems to be quite brain-washed statements,
as JP fools the people all the time. All the military juntas
in the world who got the power by coup have the common
attributes - somehow they have to justify their overtaking of
the government by illegal means. The easiest way to fool the
people is to exaggerate an economic growth or a theat from a
potential enemy. Therefore a social disorder or an economic
failure gives an excellent excuse to militia for a coup.
Sometimes they do well. Sometimes they screw up. 
If they do well, they try to perpetuate their ruling in an
excuse of continuing what they've been doing. And they
propagandize like this; "You wouldn't even be able to live
like now, if there had not been our coup detat."
If they screw up, another coup may follow or they may
encounter serious civilian resistence. Whether they do well
or screw up, what's wrong is wrong. 
Are you going to thank me, if I overthrow Korean government
by something like coup, improve economic growth a lot, turn
everybody into soldier to strengthen the defense, and throw
anybody who opposes my politics into prison, and hold the
presidency for my life?
Wake up from your fantasy, my fellow countrymen. Park is not
a Saviour. He was "Jjok-ba-ri" (japanese-lover) and a dictator.
He should have been thrown into jail for his life time, when
we restored independence. I've never heard Park repented what
he had done in the time of japanese occupation.
Forgiveness - yeah, that's fine, but forgiving traitors hurts
the spirit of our nation.
What can I say, when a traitor entered a military academy and
becomes even a president by coup?
Should I thank him because I didn't die of starvation yet?
-DCL

--
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* Dongchul Lim                   | Phone (203) 432-6288            *
* Dept. of Chemistry, Yale Univ. | Email: lim@rani.chem.yale.edu   *
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