[Opinion] Marking 13th Anniversary of Yushin

Late Park Jung-hee was the only president who gave birth and then brought sudden end to two republics during his time - the Third Republic and the Fourth Republic. To be more precise, here “building” means suspension of constitutional rights that some refer to as a revolution and others call a coup. The second suspension was better known as “October Yushin (meaning great reform).” It was thirty years ago on October 17 1972 that a martial law was declared and the National Assembly disbanded with the ban on all kinds of political activities. The unprecedented attempt to perpetuate ruling was then named “October Yushin” 9 days later on October 26. And exactly seven years later the president was assassinated in the secrete hall located in the National Intelligence Agency. History, indeed, works in an odd way.

▷The first year of the Yushin rule was marked by the so-called “Gymnasium Election.” That year Park became the 8th president of the country after 2357 out of 2359, or 99.9% of congress members, rubber-stamped his election victory at a national congress. The practice of gymnasium election continued for another 15 years until 1987 even after Park was gone. Now another 15 years have passed and we are about to see the end of the three Kims era. It can be said then that it took two 15 years to farewell to the traces of the Yushin rule.

▷An operation coded “Harvest” was launched in May 1972 under instructions of then head of intelligence agency Lee Hu-rak in preparation for the October constitutional challenge. It was about two months before the historic Sept. 4 Joint Declaration by leaders of the two Koreas. Kim Il-sung at that time was also laying the foundation for his dictatorship in the North. The declaration, in fact, served as a tool for the two dictators who sought to perpetuate their rulings. Buoyed by the thawing inter-Korean relationship, people even said that Kim Il-sung would have his 60th birthday party in Seoul. The mood, however, was short-lived. We are now having the sun shining on the Korean peninsula again, but it remains to be seen how the relationship will develop given differences in position.

▷Throughout the Yushin rule, the government was eager to promote its image emphasizing such achievements as $10 billion exports, $1,000 income level and the opening of my car era. Promotional materials filled with happy faces abounded, while middle and high school students having hard times understanding Korean democracy. President of Seoul Nat’l University Yu Gi-cheon, who warned of the Park government’s attempt to perpetuate the ruling before the October Yushin, was forced to leave the country. In the pop culture area, “Birth of Stars,” a novel by Choi In-ho and folk songs were popular. Those Yushin years passed as time went by, but they are still remembered by most of people in their 40s and 50s. Because they went through the dark years, being young, restless and confused.

Im Chae-jung, Editorial Writer cclim@donga.com