1987 - Start of the Korean full democracy
After the Korean War, President Lee kept on his presidency from 1st to 3rd president of the Republic of Korea. However, by the March 15 South Korean presidential election fraud in 1960, the April 19th revolution occurred in the same year. This led to the resignation of President Lee, and president Yoon had his place as the 4th president of ROK. However, a military coup happened by general Park in 1961, which made Park the 5th president. Park wanted to be a dictator, but by Korean law, the president was only able to be elected twice. To solve this problem, Park restored the Korean law and changed the citizen election to institution election. This meant that Park would be the president until he would die, which is a dictatorship. Park becomes the 5th to 9th president. The regime of Park ended with the assassination of Park in 1979. It was the end of the 18 years of dictatorship. However, democracy didn’t come into Korea yet. President Choi became the 10th president as the president’s spot was empty. However, 2 months later the assassination, general Chun occurred another military coup, which led him to become the president with a new military-based government. Citizens started to protest against this new dictatorship, like the May 18th Gwangju Uprising. The government arrested these people with force, and changed them into criminals, and tortured them. President Chun remained on his spot since 1987, when the death of young democratic activists, and the declaration of extension of his dictatorship by president Chun. Wrath of anger by the citizens exploded, which led to June Democratic struggle around the country. This led to the June 29th Declaration, which consisted of information that the next election will be a full-citizen election. It was the start of the full democracy in South Korea.
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President Park Chung hee’s Sedan for Official Duties
This car is the sedan that President Park used for his official duties. This car was manufactured in 1960 by General Motors in the U.S. This car has a great historical value as the symbolic relic of the national reconstruction movement, which enhanced the economy of Korea. It is currently located in the War Memorial of Korea.
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Kim Jae-Gyu showing the assassination of president Park
This picture shows Kim Jae-Gyu, who assassinated president Park on October 26th, 1979. He was the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) Director. After he was caught, he claimed that he assassinated president Park for the democracy of Korea. After this assassination, martial law was declared, and president Choi took the president place. However, he didn’t stay that long, as the December 12th military coup happened by general Chun, who later becomes the next president of Korea. For more detail of the assassination, visit the article below.
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Postcard in memory of the late Lee Han-yeol
This postcard shows a college student named “Lee Han-yeol.” He was a democracy activist, who protested against the military government for democracy. However, he died by the tear gas that the military shot at his head. His death leads to the explosion of the anger of citizens, as previously, another college student by the torture of the government. More than a million people participated in the June democratic struggle, which led to the full democracy of Korea. This postcard is placed in the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History.
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Campaign poster for presidential candidate
This poster is the campaign poster for the 13th presidential election. The reason why this presidential election was special was since it was the first presidential election after the 3rd presidential election in 1956, that all of the adult citizens were able to vote. After the June democratic struggle, the government declared that the laws will be changed for full democracy. It was held on December 16th, 1987, with an outstanding voting percentage of 89.2% of the people who were able to vote. The presidential election still follows the same progress as this election. For more information, visit the site below.
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