Park Chung Hee and the Making of ’State Populism’ in Korea: The Case of the New Community Movement
Author(s)
Han, Seung-Mi
Abstract
The long-lasting authoritarian government of Park Chung Hee (1961-1979) was characterized by a strong state and equally strong resistance from the people. And yet this resistance–which ultimately contributed to the regime’s collapse–emerged only in the latter half of Park’s rule, in the period after the mid-1970s when his control increased. More recently, Park’s rule is also remembered quite favorably by many Koreans, especially with regard to his achievements in modernization and economic development. Using the New Community Movement (Saemaul Undong) as a critical case, this paper analyzes what lies behind this ambivalent popular attitude toward Park, and concludes that Park’s rule was a curious amalgam of a strong capitalist drive and rather “anti-capitalist” populist ideals that re-worked the egalitarian ethos of the Korean village tradition.
