Hi, this is more of a current events issue but I felt like I could get a more in-depth answer here judging by some of the posters, particular on the historical view of the subject. A few months back, there was a domestic textbook controversy in South Korea where the current president Park Gunhye wanted to centralize textbooks and to rewrite her father's (the military dictator Park Chunghee) legacy in a more positive light.
My question here is, what are the two versions of history that are being contested here? I am somewhat confused on what the nature of objectivity is when concerning this issue. I was wondering if anyone had a more in-depth understanding of the historical aspect of the textbooks themselves and her father's legacy. Thanks!
The controversial aspects of Park Chung-hee include his volunteering for the Japanese Imperial Army and possibly participating in operations targeting Korean resistance fighters prior to WWII. Then, after 1945, he was involved in a communist plot in the Republic of Korea's military and arrested (his brother was a communist soldier, executed). The outbreak of the Korean War meant a demand for qualified officers and Park had also supplied information on other communist members. He was rehabilitated into the ROK army.
Of course he then went on to lead a military coup against the democratic Chang Myong government in 1961. He instituted an authoritarian government, particularly after the 1972 Yushin Constitution. While the economy grew rapidly during this time, there was a suppression of political freedoms and human rights. For example, Park's intelligence service kidnapped the future president Kim Dae-jung in Japan after he criticized the Yushin Constitution and prepared to kill him, before the U.S. interceded and prevented it.
Between the issue of 'collaboration' with Japan, communist ties, and later suppression of democratic and political freedom, there are quite a few contentious issues surrounding his legacy.