On this day 50 years ago, Park Chung-hee’s efforts to suppress challenges to his rule by pro-democracy clergy, students, and journalists culminated in the promulgation of Emergency Measure 9, which banned all dissent and decreed sentences ranging from one year in prison to the death penalty. The reason he felt there was a consensus supporting this authoritarian measure was due to the way he and the Yusin state exploited the fall of South Vietnam, arguing that dissent needed to be suppressed lest North Korea take advantage of the divisions in the South to launch a new war. In addition to ‘encouraging’ various groups in society to show their support for the ROK government via street demonstrations and newspaper ads, the authorities also mobilized newly-arrived refugees from Vietnam to speak to audiences, particularly students, nationwide.
This is the story my latest Korea Times article tells.
I couldn't include these in the article since they are from the Korea Herald, which was then a government-run newspaper, but it printed numerous photos of these pro-government demonstrations in early May 1975. Seen below are banners like 'Overthrow Kim Il-sung,' 'Smash the communist party,' and 'Defend Seoul to the death.'
Beyond digging through contemporary Korea Times and Korea Herald articles (along with some Korean language newspapers and various wiki articles used to find exact dates), I also consulted Letters from South Korea, which covers the resistance against Park Chung-hee from 1973 to mid-1975, and Paul Y. Chang's Protest Dialectics State Repression and South Korea's Democracy Movement, 1970-1979.
Letters from South Korea is well worth reading, as it goes into great detail about the price paid by those who spoke out - and their families. It puts a human face on the suffering caused by the dictatorship, and all as it was ongoing. Various volumes were produced; the first two can be read and downloaded at Archive.org: Volume 1 ; Volume 2. Other editions were reprinted in Pyongyang and may be edited. A search here turns up various volumes.
Another interesting story I had to leave out, regarding this paragraph:
Its most audacious act was kidnapping Kim Dae-jung from a Tokyo hotel with the intent of throwing him from a boat into the East Sea — a fate averted by the U.S. State Department condemning the kidnapping as an “act of terrorism” and U.S. Ambassador Philip Habib offering the Park regime the face-saving understanding that a “rogue KCIA faction” had carried out the abduction.
What is left out is the story of the man at the State Department’s Korea Desk who issued the statement calling the kidnapping an “act of terrorism” – Donald Ranard, who had been the political officer at the US Embassy in Seoul during Park Chung-hee’s 1961 coup. While the CIA and USFK learned about the coup beforehand (and warned the ROK Army commander), the embassy was completely surprised by it. After trying but failing to undo the coup, charge d'affaires Marshal Green (there was no ambassador at the time) somehow came out of the incident unscathed, but the State Department wanted to punish someone at the embassy for having been so out of touch, so Ranard was chosen as the fall guy, and his career never really prospered after this. And so it was that he was at the Korea Desk in Washington in 1973 when Kim was kidnapped from Tokyo, and apparently Ranard issued the statement, with its unprecedented criticism of the ROK, without sanction from his superiors. One imagines this gave him some satisfaction. (More about that episode can be found here and here, but the 'scatological' bit contradicts Donald Gregg's memoir, Pot Shards, and since Gregg was there, and because his assertion that Habib quietly made clear that the US would accept a face-saving explanation of 'rogue KCIA elements' if Kim were set free makes more sense, I find his account more likely.)
I'm also reminded that Philip Habib sent a cable to the State Department in March 1973 about newspaper cartoons. This came just months after the advent of the Yusin constitution, and according to Habib they were about the only public source of criticism, mild as it was, of government policy at that time. Habib's cable, which was part of a collection of such cables at the National Assembly Library website, can be read here.
Lastly, here is the 'tour de force' mentioned in my article - an appeal made by the Save the Nation Society in the Korea Times on May 11, 1975:
FOR OUR FATHERLAND AT STAKE
An Appeal to the People
May 10, 1975
Our nation is at present experiencing a grave situation. In the light of the of the unconditional surrender to the Communists of Cambodia and South Vietnam, the changing shape of international power politics, and the confrontation, complications and antagonism in our political society caused by the personal dissatisfaction, obstinacy and self-righteousness of some people, we are now in a juncture where unless we are awakened and united, the state as well as individual cannot survive any more.
World history well shows that weak nations, if they are not alert, are unwittingly deprived of their territory and sovereignty by the power politics of big nations. The already-devastated Indochinese situation is a good lesson to us and it should by no means be regarded as a mere fire across the river.
Kim Il-sung of the north Korean Communist clique, all out to invade us again, forgetting the national tragedy of the Korean War which started on June 25 1950, visited Peking to conspire and decide on a strategy to communize by force the whole of the peninsula. We, who experienced the bloody tragedy of war in 1950, cannot but worry about the maneuvers of north Korea as he is unleashing remarks and activities to fan war provocations.
We, who have lived in this beautiful land for about 5.000 years since the foundation of the nation by Tangun, have just come to the door of prosperity. But due to the ominous situation in and out of the nation, we are now compelled to make a wise and courageous decision as to what to do and how to behave ourselves to cope with this unprecedentedly difficult period.
At this time of making an important decision, we should take as a yardstick for our behavior the wisdom our forefathers have shown in time of national crisis.
1. Our forefathers during the Silla Dynasty achieved unification of three kingdoms on this peninsula through honest cultivation of national unity, wisely overcoming ceaseless threats and invasions from the Sui and Tang dynasties and Japan.
2. During the Koryo period, our ancestors continued to lay deep the foundation of the kingdom unified by the Silla Dynasty despite continuous invasions from the tribes on the northern border near Manchuria from the outset of the dynasty. But it well managed to repel all the invasions and threats and successfully maintained national sovereignty. And the Koryo Dynasty was wise enough to train 300,000 reserves called "Kwanggun" to crush any outside aggression in order to maintain national identity and sovereignty. Thanks to the establishment of the "Kwanggun" Army and self-defense spirit, the Koryo kingdom successfully kept its sovereignty from the aggression from the north including the invasion by the Mongols for more than 40 years during the 13th century. One thing we should not forget about the Koryo kingdom is that our ancestors despite the outside aggressions tenaciously cultivated the artistic sense to the extent of fashioning blue celadon, which widely commands acclaim even today for its exquisiteness. It was the Koryo Dynasty that produced the world-famous engravings of Buddhist scriptures on 80,000 wood blocks and invented metal printing type for the first time in world history.
3. But in the Yi Dynasty period, our ancestors were regrettably not so wise at the time of invasions from China and Japan as were their forefathers during the Koryo and Silla Dynasties. In restrospect, the Invasion by Japan during the 15th century was the work of Hideyoshi Toyotomi of Japan. But we had better criticize ourselves before blaming the Japanese general. The Invasion in part can be blamed on diehard factionalism during the reign of King Sonjo For instance, two emissaries were sent to Japan on the sly to glean information as to whether Japan was preparing an attack against the Yi Kingdom. One of them made a correct report saying that Hideyoshi was preparing to attack but the other made quite contradictory report Just to trap his opponent as he was from a different faction.
Such factionalism led to the disintegration of national unity and at last incurred a situation luring Japanese invasion rather than preventing it. At last the invasion occurred as we were not prepared against it and left the beautiful land devastated during the seven-year invasion,
Even after the invasion, our forefathers were not wise enough to build up national strength on the basis of firm national consensus, after making self-criticism. Regrettably, they continued to be bogged down in factional strife, irrespective of what was happening in China. This at last invited attacks from China.
The afore-mentioned historical facts well show what should be done for the buildup of national strength and what should be avoided, like a mirror. In the face of national trials before us now, it is evident what we should do and what we should avoid. Therefore, after learning historical lessons from our history, we should again follow wise and courageous determination to safeguard the national sovereignty and prosperity.
Firstly, as shown in the special statement by President Park Chung-hee on April 29, north Korea has been busy with reckless war preparations, designating this year as being most favorable to invade south Korea. This year coincides with the 30th anniversary of liberation from Japanese colonial rule. Therefore, we should first of all fortify our total security posture further on the basis of national unity irrespective of wealth and classes. Before this sublime goal, any factors no matter how small in number and weak in force should be resolutely eradicated if they are inimical to total security. This is because creatures like fleas on lions are likely to weaken the foundation of national power only to the advantage of the enemy.
Secondly, as a total security system is impossible without firm economic support, we should exert increased efforts for more production. And we should refrain from pursuing egoistic personal interests, an easy-going spirit, and whatever luxuries,
Thirdly, what the enemy hopes most is to win victory against us without a fight by causing the nation to split, availing itself of all means. Therefore we should achieve firm unity in consensus. Regrettably, there are some politicians, intellectuals and religious persons tending to disintegrate the national consensus and causing agitation about freedom, human rights, and democracy as if they were their personal belongings.
Such activities should be avoided and that immediately for the nation, which is in a virtual war situation against north Korea. It should be borne deep in mind that the brilliant culture of Rome and Greece collapsed because limitless freedom comparable to license and claims for democracy and human rights on the basis of individualism flourished wildly.
Fourthly, we should sublimate our spirits and concentrate them on winning victory against the Communists after suspending political strife, ideological debate and factional strife in religious circles in order to achieve the urgently-needed national consensus.
The outcry by some politicians, who are blind with greed for power, calling for a replacement of our embattled general cannot be taken for granted no matter how limitlessly freedom of speech is reserved for them. Politicians should refrain from uttering such reckless words as they would only result in advantages for Kim Il-sung.
Fifthly, everyone should be prudent in their words and deeds to prevent the nation from being split and to highly fortify the spirit of victory over communism. And all kinds of practices affected by vague flunkyism and just for criticism of others for criticism's sake should also be abandoned,
All of the nation should faithfully carry out their duties. And students, as main force to shoulder the fate of the nation in the near future, should be first of all concerned with their prime mission of study. More than that, they should cultivate their potentialities by arming themselves with knowledge and study ways and means of defeating Communists every time they encounter, learning the scheme and power of north Korea.
Lastly, what we should know is the stark fact that our nation excels north Korea by far in every held. On the top of it, there is no change in the policy of our friendly allies including the United States toward Korea. Therefore, it is up to the cараbility of our nation to decide on our own destiny on the basis of its own strength whether we would survive or not.
As our Adm. Yi Sun-shin earlier stated, we will invariably win if we fight with the determination to die but will surely be defeated if we fight cowardly to live. Since our nation is armed with undying courage and patience, victory is always on our side if we fight tenaciously in firm unity.
No comments:
Post a Comment