Developmental Dictatorship and Yushin Regime
Park (1979)“There must be certain levels of economic and social development, before establishing democracy” (Park, 1979, p. 42). “We may accept Western rationalism, but not the ills of individualism; we may accept the concept of the rule of law, but not strict formalism” (Park, 1979, p. 65) |
Effect on PopulationPoster for the October Yushin Regime, emphasizing a "fruitful tomorrow" ($10 billion of exports, $1000 gross Income) and developed rural areas (farmland)
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Scholars Debate: Brutal Dictatorship or Great Leadership
Professor Lee Joung-woo, Harvard University"Attempts should not be made to validate the argument that the long dark shadows cast over the Korean people during the developmental period were an inevitable consequence of leading the country onto the right path. Although industrialization was successful, the dictatorial regime used it as a means of consolidating its Cold War ideology of anti-communism, reinforcing its political power, and aggravating the hostile confrontations between the South and the North on the Korean peninsula. The flower of the so-called miracle on the Han River bloomed amidst the compounded tragedies of national division, political oppression, popular revolt, and the Cold War" (Lee. 2003). Ko Song-guk 1980(ok)"It is no exaggeration to say that developmental dictatorship is a core concept integrating the Korean experience of modernization in the era of extremes, as well as a key notion characterizing the Jung-hee Park regime. The conventional definition of developmental dictatorship is that it is “a system used to justify a dictatorship that restricts the people’s participation in politics based on the reason that political security is a prerequisite to economic growth” (Ko Song-guk 1980). |
Edward 2003(ok)"During the early years of military government there was an intellectual debate on national reconstruction. The Park administration concentrated on this issue and tried hard to gain the trust of the Korean people. His speeches inspired people to unite and fight against the poverty and sluggishness that had captured the nation for many years" Mason 1980(ok)In order to make the revolution for modernization possible and to create a sustainable growth regime for industrialization there needed to exist a dominant power bloc and a collective will. Park’s political regime was equipped with competent bureaucrats. To his relief, the developmental bloc was not like a predatory coalition that could have rendered detrimental outcomes for the general population. Instead, it formed an industrialist and protectionist partnership that helped the nation go into the global arena. Two key policies provided this success. One is the industrial policy of combining export promotion and import substitution. The second is the capital accumulation regime based on institutional forms called chaebols (Mason, 1980) Pollster Yoon Hee-woong, Korea Society Opinion Institute"It is as simple as that everybody won as a result of economic growth during the industrialization period. All socio-economic classes experienced their living standards going up. So there was no such thing as a winner-or-loser debate at the time" |