Park Chung Hee

1960s-1970s
Week 5: Introduction to Korean Studies
Dr Ji-yoon An
Political Landscape of
1950s
• Liberal Party vs Democratic Party
• Rhee’s personal networks (anti-communist, far-right) vs
former landed class/former Japanese collaborators
(centre-right, liberal conservatism)
• First Korean election: 1948
• Second election in 1952: Rhee won by 70% of votes
• Third election in 1956: Rhee’s support dropped to 56%
• Opposition party campaign slogan: “We can’t make a living, so let’s
change!”
• Did not nominate presidential candidate but put forward Chang Myon
as Vice-President candidate, who won in 1956 with 46.4% vote
• Growing tension between Rhee and National Assembly
Sa-Il-Gu (4.19): April Revolution

• After the 1956 elections, Rhee changed the constitution to allow

unlimited number of terms by President
• He ran again in 1960, with no opposition candidate as Cho
Pyong-ok died from cancer one month before elections:
• As presidential race became meaningless, focus came onto vice-presidential
contest
• Results of the 1960 elections revealed Yi Ki-bung’s victory over Chang Myon
as VP
• Widespread allegations of corruption and manipulation by Yi Ki-bung
• Demonstrations erupted at Masan
• Demonstrations spread after the news of death of young
demonstrator by teargas shell
• All this culminated to demonstrations in Seoul on April 19
• Mainly students who engaged in protests
• 186 killed; 1,600 wounded by police
• People were outraged and prompted
even more demonstrations by the
moderate forces
• Demonstrations alone could not topple
the government
• The military and police force
remained neutral
• US backing also evaporated,
remaining silent
• Rhee resigned on April 26, fled to
Hawaii and died there in 1965
• CIA plane (DC-4) covertly flew Rhee
and his wife out of Korea as
protesters converged onto the Blue
House (diamond ring story)
• April Revolution was seen as a triumph of
democracy that brought about the fall of
a corrupt ruler
• End of the First Republic of South Korea
The Second Republic 1960-
61
• After Syngman Rhee’s resignation, prime minster Chang Myeon ruled with a collation
of mostly conservative elites who had become anti-Rhee.
• The Democratic Party, which had been in the opposition during the First Republic,
easily gained power and the Second Republic was established.
• The Second Republic saw the proliferation of political activity, which had been
repressed under the Rhee regime, mostly from leftist and student groups:
• Limited but desperate attempts for democracy, like local elections (for provincial
governors and majors) (stopped again after Park Chung-hee, reappeared in
1990s)
• Union activity grew rapidly during the later months of 1960: the Teachers' Union,
Journalists' Union, and the Federation of Korean Trade Union
• Did not have the support of the urban middle class: mainly leftish support, while
alienated from the police and military (party was also split over an ideological polity)
• In economic terms as well, the government was faced with mounting instability. The
government formulated a “five-year development plan,” although it was overthrown
before implementation.
• Coup d’etat on May 16, 1961
Park Chung Hee
• Born into poor rural family
• Educated under colonial times
• School teacher for a while
• Selected for Japanese military academy
in Manchuria
• Participated in anti-Rhee resistance in
1940s
• Gradually ascended ranks in the military
during the war and 1950s
• Left military in 1963 to “officially” run for
office
• Known for economic boost
• Still a contested figure in Korean history
 Coup d’Etat and Military Rule
until 1962
• The coup had been in plan since February 1960, but it was interrupted by the April
Revolution
• Factors that provoked the coup:
• Dissatisfied with the clean-up measures undertaken by the Second Republic
• Convinced that the current disoriented state would collapse into communism
• Provoked by Chang’s declaration to cut the military by one third
• On May 16, 1,600 soldiers marched to the presidential palace and overthrew
government without bloodshed
• [International context: there were 183 successful and 174 unsuccessful
military coups between 1945 and 1985 in developing societies around the
world]
• The National Assembly was dissolved and military officers replaced the civilian
officials.
• Importance of military in SK context: over half of national budget went to the
military, which was the 4th largest in the world in terms of soldiers
 US Response to the Coup d’Etat?
• Opposed, but since Washington did not want active
interference of South Korean domestic politics, their
support of the new government came with a few
strings:
• Return government to civilian politicians within
two years
• Use US aid not for deep inward-looking
policies*, but for economic stability:
• Lessen the investment into new
industries, but focus on human resources
and existing factories
• US believed SK economy would be inefficient and
unnecessarily unstable if too much capital was
invested on industrial development
*Background:
Inward-looking policies: 
-Decrease focus on multinational markets
-Increase focus on domestic markets
-Focus on Internal trade: self-sufficiency
-Typical of the general approach to development
which dominated thinking after the Second World
War
Outward-looking policies:
-a more modern approach to development, and
one that relies less on government intervention
the benefits of free trade: free trade brings
welfare gains from tariff removal and increased
competition and efficiency
-In addition, outward looking countries may be
better able to cope with globalisation and with
external shocks
First Five-year Plan in 1962: “Supreme Council for National
Reconstruction”
• Ulsan became special industrial development zone/home of Hyundai
Corporation’s manufacturing
• Major infrastructure and urban growth
• First 24-hour electricity provision in 1964
Second Five-year Plan in 1967:
Overview of
• Targeted export-oriented growth  shift towards heavy industry <Five-Year
• POSCO (Pohang Iron and Steel Company): nationally owned steel
venture that supplied major shipbuilding, auto manufacturing,
construction for K to become an industrial power
Economic
• Kuro Industrial Park: special export manufacturing zone Plan>
• Growth of chaebol: selected companies that assisted economy with
export-orientated production were rewarded with cheap and big loans,
easy licenses, tax benefits, and government guidance
x2
• Hyundai: largest beneficiary of this system
• Seoul-Pusan Expressway: automobile manufacturing (based on US
Ford) began in 1967, eventually entering US market in 1980s; later even
shipbuilding, cement, chemicals, and electronics
How did this growth in export happen?
• SK government promoted industry with tax relief incentives and preferable interest rates
• SK had the lowest labour cost: half of Japan cost, lower than Taiwan and Philippines
• Growth of medium-sized companies: crucial to the production/sale of export items, like wigs, textiles,
plywood
• Lucky international factors:
• As Japan moved to higher value-added production, SK filled its niche
• There was no competitor for the vacant niche left behind by the Japanese (Taiwan was focused on
domestic market at this time, only started investing in heavy industries and exporting in 1970s/80s)
• Latin America was also focusing on import-substitution and geared towards North American market
(local governments promoted agriculture and exporting raw materials), which gave Korea space for
exporting its manufactured goods
• North America’s strong unions hindered promotion of export-oriented industrialization based on cheap
labour
 • Tungsten, iron ore, fish • Clothing, plywood,
• = 40% of all export wigs
• ~50% of all export
Comparing • Yielded total $1 million
• Yielded total $300
Exports million ($161 million,
$79 million, $60
between 1958 million)
vs 1969
 Virtually the same: prioritized self-sufficient economy but
also increase exporting
• More tax breaks, liberal credit given
• In 1964, currency was devalued by half to facilitate exporters

Second Five- Emphasis on basic infrastructures, like electricity,

transportation, and communication, to aid industrialization
Year • Electric-power generation grew more than tenfold between
1961 and 1971
Economic • Freight car capacity nearly doubled
• Port loading/unloading capacity grew 2.5 times

Plan in 1967 • In 1961: 13% of national roads and 5% of all roads paved
• By 1975, 44% of national roads and 23% of all roads paved
• National telephone service made effective
• Postal stations doubled between 1961 and 1972
• Telephone stations increased sixfold
Korea’s Industrialization in 1960s

• Koreans were able to transition to an industrial setting quickly, due to:

• Education: relatively high standards provided basic behavioral habits,
like “subjection to formal authority, time orientation, regimented
work schedule, and constant evaluation”
• Military experience: again, socialization to a regimented
organizational life; also encouraged compliance to authority
• Family: authority structure at work and industrial relations often
reproduced patriarchal family structures to ensure worker
submission and loyalty
• While there were complaints of long hours and poor working conditions,
not much complaint (as in the West) about the transition or adjustment
to the new work
Working Conditions: Long Hours

• Average workweek for Korean manufacturing workers:

• In 1970: 52.5 hours
• In 1980: 53.1 hours
• In 1986: peak of 54.5 hours
• In 1980:
• SK: 53.1 hours
• Taiwan: 51 hours
• Japan: 39.7 hours
• US: 39.7 hours
• Long hours were prevalent across all industries and across different sizes of enterprise
• If anything, larger firms had a slightly longer workweek
• Labour-intensive sector (garment, textile, food-) worked 12-hour shifts, plus
overtime
 Other Working Conditions:

• Overtime was usually enforced through the low pay:

• One fifth of blue-collar workers’ monthly salary came from overtime
• But overtime was often not calculated properly: meaning workers almost always
worked more than they were paid
• Arbitrary decisions by foremen: unclear process with firing/workload being
inconsistent (based on orders)
• Anti-sleeping pills/injections for stamina were often given to endure long hours
• Combined with long hours resulted in a rapid deterioration in worker’s health
• Industrial accidents: high accident rate and even deaths
• E.g., In the first 3 years of Hyundai shipyard, 2000+ accidents and 83 deaths
• Result of inadequate safety measures
Worker’s Main Concerns:

• Health and safety

• Economic:
• Despite increase in average wage rate, majority of manufacturing workers
were paid below subsistence level
• Job security:
• High turnover of workers: two-thirds of workers in factories were replaced
each year in 1980
• A huge reserve of surplus labour in rural areas provided a constant supply
of new workers
• Dismissal became most common threat, used arbitrarily like for
involvement in labour-organizing activities
 Gendered Bias

• Wide income gap between industries, but also between genders:

• Majority of below-subsistence wage earners were women
• Often in garment, textile, shoe, leather goods, food-processing industries
• Usually, desperate family backgrounds sustained workers’ hardship and abuse
• Top-down authority:
• Demeaning status of physical labour: social discrimination against workers: ascribed
the same low-status associated previously with servants
• But also patriarchal power exercised by employers and managers: verbal abuse,
expectation of compliance, no respect for personal/physical situation
• E.g., not allowed to take phone calls or read letters as they would interrupt
work-flow
• A result of ex-military being recruited as top-level managers in industrial firms
• Create an ambience despotic and personalistic than technical or bureaucratic
“Humane treatment”
 Legacy of Chun Tae-il
• A protest on Nov 13, 1970, organized by 22-year-old Chun
• Last resort after numerous letters to government authorities
and employers
• Self-immolation while shouting:
• “We are not machines!”
• ”Let us rest on Sunday!”
• “Abide by the Labour Standard Laws”
• “Don’t exploit workers”
• Carried the book of Labour Standard laws
• Last words before death:
• “Please do not waste my life!”
• “Mum, please accomplish the work which I haven’t
succeeded in accomplishing”
• After Chun’s act, self-immolation became a recurring theme in
Korean working-class struggles of 1970s & 1980s:
• Political struggles for democracy sometimes involved
students’ self sacrifice
• Other individuals attempted suicide or acted violently
 Formation of Working Class
• Chun’s self-immolation: sowed the spirit of resistance and rebellion in the minds of millions of workers
• Concentrated along garment factories in Pyunghwa Market:
• Employed 20,000 young workers
• 90% women aged between 14-20
• Small cubicles with low ceilings, no sunshine, no ventilation
• Worked 14-hour days
• Received less than 30 USD in wages/month for a regular stitcher (apprentice received 1/5th of
wages)
• Such working conditions were prevalent for a number of factories in labour-intensive export
manufacturing sectors  Such circumstances were juxtaposed with the national rhetoric of rapid
growth in GNP and living standards
• Memorials were held for Chun at major college campuses, thereby linking labour struggles with
students’ political struggle for democracy
 Unionization
• Workers learnt that systematic and collective
effort was crucial:
• Aimed to unionize: sometimes this meant
creating new unions, at other times it meant
capturing company-controlled unions and
transforming them to represent the workers
• Chunggye Textile Union, from Chun’s fellow
workers, was one of the first at an area-based
union organisation
• Similar unions developed in other textiles
industries, as well as in other light
manufacturing forms by the mid-1970s
• Often led by women (as women worked in the
industries with the worse conditions)
• Often opposed by men (who were in
managerial posts in these industries)
 Dongil Textile: example of union struggle
• Reveals how the unionising process was gendered: men being bought to destroy female-dominant
independent unions and create “company unions“
• “Male pride”: lack of support from men of women-led unions
• Union efforts = saw themselves as fighting for justice, an extension of democracy
• Method used by company (men) :
• Painted union activists as puppets of pro-communist organisations: sowing mistrust
between workers, inciting instability in the workplace
• Use of force: human excrement thrown at voters
• At times, “action men” (trained in martial arts) sent in to outmatch lacking physical
power of women
• “At Dongil factory, men continued to occupy the union office and stepped up their
accusations against the ‘ignorant women’ who had been hypnotized and manipulated by
pro-communist organisations” (86)
• When strikers were successfully fired, they were blacklisted, preventing further
employment
• Methods used by unions (women):
• Turned to the church or the National Union for help  but usually unsuccessful
• Publicity: held demonstrations in public (Myongdong Cathedral) or demonstrated at live
events  a bit more successful but not to ignite national interest
• Church-assisted hunger strike: supported by some professors, writers, journalists  again,
false promises given, only for strikers to be fired
 Combining Labour Movement with Political
Movement
• Though the unions weren’t successful in their quest, through their determination, they were
able to slowly form an alliance with the anti-regime political movement:
• Like the case of the Y. H. Trading Company (major wig exporter): strikes took place at the
headquarters of the opposition New Democratic Party in order to escalate matters into a
political struggle, regardless of success or failure of the strike itself
• Though unsuccessful in that strike was violently suppressed, the event led to Kim Young
Sam being ousted from his congressional seat
This led to mass demonstrations in Pusan, Kim’s congressional district
“When in the mid-eighties the male workers began to take action of their own, they found
that they were standing on the shoulders of women who had been struggling for justice for
more than ten years” (99)
Food for
Thought
• How can we think about the
role of women in Korea’s
journey to democratization,
as well as becoming a
democratic society?
• Why is Park Chung Hee a
contested figure? What are
the opinions of both sides?
• How much were Park Chung
Hee’s economic reforms
based on international
context?