Park Chung-hee Documentary Production to Shed New Light

In the conservative camp, after the success of 'The Birth of a Nation' about President Syngman Rhee, there was a growing awareness that a proper documentary about President Park Chung-hee was also needed.

This was a volunteer activity that even family members and close aides were not fully aware of, and it demonstrates the importance of philanthropists in the past, unlike modern society which relies on tax-funded support.

This clarifies that it is a privately-led project and emphasizes the intention to illuminate President Park Chung-hee's life from an independent perspective without intervention from specific institutions.

During the Moon Se-gwang assassination attempt, the culprit Moon Se-gwang infiltrated the celebratory ceremony disguised as a Japanese national without any hindrance. This was pointed out as a clear security lapse. Chief Presidential Security Officer Park Jong-gyu struggled to pursue the assailant due to lighting issues, ultimately leading to the tragic death of First Lady Yuk Young-soo from a gunshot. This incident vividly exposed the shortcomings of the security system at the time.

He picked up exactly where he left off in the interrupted commemorative address and continued delivering it. Lee Seok-je, then chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, testified that President Park was sweating profusely, conveying the urgency of the situation. President Park's decision to finish his speech even with the risk of a second assassination attempt was evaluated as an attitude transcending life and death.

Reporter Oberdorfer recalled that such cold-bloodedness was an attitude unimaginable from an American perspective.

He described that when his car arrived near Jongno 5-ga, looking towards Namsan, the sky was unusual. One side of the sky was covered in black, as if hinting at the ascension of a great figure, and the western sky was ablaze with a fiery red sunset, he recalled in his memoir.

According to Confucian tradition, if a wife dies first, the husband cannot attend her funeral. President Park Chung-hee also could not attend First Lady Yuk Young-soo's funeral due to this custom. Instead, he made his final farewell just before the hearse departed. The public was deeply saddened by this scene, which remains a memory of that era.

After the bereavement of First Lady Yuk Young-soo, President Park Chung-hee lost his former vigor and confidence, and his personality became somewhat sharper. His longing for his wife and self-reproach for her being shot instead of him were reflected in his diary entries. In particular, it is analyzed that he, who was regarded as a master of personnel management, began to show different patterns in appointments, such as placing individuals like Cha Ji-chul and Kim Jae-gyu in key positions. This suggests that the bereavement also affected state administration.

At the time of the Moon Se-gwang assassination attempt, the Japanese government refused the South Korean government's request for investigative cooperation. This was due to the previous incident where Central Intelligence Agency Director Lee Hu-rak abducted Kim Dae-jung from Tokyo. The Japanese government regarded this incident as an infringement on its sovereignty, and this distrust led to the refusal of investigative cooperation regarding the Moon Se-gwang incident.

Just before his execution, Moon Se-gwang showed remorse, admitting that he had been deceived by communists. He asked that his sincere apologies be conveyed to President Park Chung-hee. He also left his wife the final wish to visit First Lady Yuk Young-soo's grave. This shows that he realized the true nature of the incident and deeply regretted his actions.

While looking at past history, Japan was an irreconcilable enemy, but the only funds immediately available for economic revival were the claims funds against Japan. He desperately sought to secure these funds as a critical choice to save his starving people.

The word 'dictatorship' originally derived from the concept of a 'dictator' in Roman times, where all authority was concentrated in one person during a national emergency. Kim Yong-sam attempts to reinterpret Park Chung-hee's dictatorship in light of this positive Roman concept of dictatorship. He argues that 'good dictatorships' can exist for overcoming national crises and enlightening the populace, aiming to correct the negatively distorted meaning of dictatorship.

Park Geun-hye heard about the difficulties faced by bus conductresses in winter and suggested to her father that they be given warm clothes. President Park listened to this and personally selected a hooded winter coat design, then commissioned its production. As a result, all ten thousand bus conductresses in Seoul were provided with winter wear.

He emphasized that if citizens considered conductresses as their own daughters or sisters, they would not use harsh words even if they felt inconvenience or irritation. This message urged civic consciousness to understand the arduous labor of conductresses and to show consideration for the socially vulnerable.

It is speculated that if President Park Chung-hee had retired, political retaliation, similar to the case of former President Chun Doo-hwan, would have followed. Given his fiery personality, if President Park had been forced to stand in front of a photo line, it is highly likely that he would not have meekly accepted it. Therefore, there is a possibility that a revolutionary response against retaliatory politics might have occurred upon his retirement. This scenario considers President Park's personality and the political situation at the time. Some also suggest that he would have refused to stand for photos and strongly resisted.