Developmental Dictatorship and the Park Chung-hee Era: the Shaping of Modernity in the Republic of Korea

By examining the most controversial Park Chung-hee period (1961-1979), Developmental Dictatorship and the Park Chung-hee Era helps the reader rediscover the socioeconomic origins of modern Korea. The essays in this book written by twelve noted Korean social scientists discuss the relationship between South Korea¡¦s economic development and totalitarianism in the form of the Park dictatorship. At the core of discussion is the question: To what extent did the economic miracle of Korea evolve because of political oppression? The book contests those who refuse to acknowledge the economic achievements made possible by Park¡¦s policies on the one hand and challenges those who glorify Park with blind admiration on the other. The authors maintain that it is necessary to comprehensively explore the meanings of development and dictatorship as they coexisted during the Park¡¦s tenure.