Chapter 17: Growth

Many Koreans believe that Park was a small-town hood, who wrecked South Korea's emerging democracy and who initiated South Korea's false façade of economic prosperity. Park was assassinated on October 26, 1979 while enjoying a Japanese-style geisha party with two young women at a KCIA safe house in Namsan. He was assassinated by the head of his own intelligence agency, his life-long friend General Kim Jae Kyu (1926-1980) a fellow pro-Japanese who was a volunteer kamikaze pilot for Hirohito (1901-1989) in the name of "democracy." Park's Prime Minister, Choi Kyu Ha, succeeded Park. A few months later, a pro-Park general Chun Doo Hwan, mounted a coup and ousted Choi.

Koreans think that Park betrayed Korea twice; first, when he volunteered to serve the Japanese emperor and second, when he hocked the future of Korea for Japanese yen. Park had reigned as a dictator over South Korea for eighteen years, and his military background had an enormous impact upon Taekwondo's development.