The Park Chung Hee Era: The Transformation of South Korea covers diverse topics concerning a period marked by the most important changes in modern Korean history. It is divided into five parts. Part 1 is entitled “Born in Crisis” and deals with the coup d'état and Park's military junta. Part 2, “Politics,” focuses on the ideas of Park Chung Hee and his political foundation as represented by military and economic bureaucrats. Part 3, “Economy and Society,” analyzes economic growth, rural society, and the Chaeya, otherwise known as the dissident intelligentsia. Part 4, “International Relations,” discusses U.S.-ROK relations within the context of the Vietnam War, “Koreagate,” the nuclear program, and Korea-Japan Normalization. Finally, part 5, “Comparative Perspective,” compares Park Chung Hee and his legacy with that of other leaders and regions within the same period.
This book is significant because it is the first to comprehensively cover the whole of...
