Park Chung-Hee Quotes

“Many scholars and pundits have already analyzed Park Chung-Hee’s role in South Korea’s economic development. But attention should be paid to an obvious but nonetheless very startling fact: South Korea’s per capita income expanded from $100 to $20,000 within the lifetime of most of the adults now living. This was the result of their sweat and blood, to be sure, but it could not have been accomplished without the leadership of a man who emphasized the need for the “can-do” spirit.”
― Chong-Sik Lee, Park Chung-Hee: From Poverty to Power

“Why did Park Chung-Hee launch his political career in 1961 by lambasting Korean history? Why did he follow up two years later by saying, “Our five thousand years of history was a continuation of degeneration, crudity, and stagnation” and “We should set ablaze all our history that was more like a storehouse of evil”?”
― Chong-Sik Lee, Park Chung-Hee: From Poverty to Power