This exhibit first traces Park Chung Hee’s early years, from his childhood in a poor farming village to his time as a teacher at Mungyeong Elementary School. Visitors can then learn about his activities as chairman of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction and how he set out to build a new nation as president.
- Son of a Poor Farmer
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The youngest of seven siblings, Park Chung Hee was born in Sangmo-ri, a typical poor Korean farming village, on November 14, 1917.
Despite his small physique, Park Chung Hee was a strong-willed boy with a solid sense of leadership, earning him the nickname “jujube tree bat.”
- Dreams of Ambition
- During his time at the Daegu School of Education, Park Chung Hee was well-known as a skilled trumpet player. While teaching at Mungyeong Elementary School, he even formed a band with other young men in the village to perform in nearby communities. To Park Chung Hee, the trumpet was a friend whose reverberating notes would reinforce his deep-rooted desire to become a military man.
- Setting Out to Build a New Nation
- Upon successfully launching the May 16 Revolution, the new military leadership established the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction. To carry out their pledge to “build a new nation,” they created the Economic Planning Board and implemented the first in a series of Five-Year Economic Development Plans, laying the foundation for economic development, industrialization, and export promotion.