South Korea: After the Shadow

SOUTH KOREA

Marking the third anniversary of his military takeover in South Korea, General Chung Hee Park confessed last month that he was sorry about how things had worked out thus far. He admitted that the coup's objectives—prosperity, solving the food shortage, arresting inflation, halting corruption—had not yet been achieved, added mournfully, "I sorely regret this." Last week, after two months of .growing unrest, Park was joined in his regret by thousands of rioting students.

Park's list of failures was accurate enough. Corruption and speculation are rampant, the price of rice has skyrocketed 150% in the past 15 months, and mounting unemployment...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!