For Want of a Bullet: A Darker Korea

For Want of a Bullet
A Darker Korea

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Park Chung-hee
President of the Republic of Korea, 1963-1996


The dinner had proceeded for some hours, but Kim had hardly spoken. He watched with quiet anticipation as the discussion progressed, first casual pleasantries, later—inevitably—a discussion of the situation the government found itself in. It was a situation that was difficult to ignore. Riots were spreading across the south, and Kim himself had visited the scene just days ago. Not merely students now, but ordinary people, everyday citizens had united in the protests against the President's regime. But they didn't believe him.

Least of all that bastard Cha. The security chief was busy casting another sour glance in Kim's direction as the President spoke.

"I wanted Kim Young Sam arrested, Directorthis won't do. What is the problem exactly? We are enforcing the law. Don't the Americans punish lawbreakers?"

Cha laughed. "I don't know what the KCIA is doing these days, Mr. President."

Park fixed the Director with a steely gaze, smiling mirthlessly. "The KCIA should be fearsome, Director. What are you doing? Always compiling reports. Arrest them."

Cha leaned forward in his chair, nodding. "I know all about these troublemakers, Mr. President..."

Kim had heard enough. The knot in his stomach was overpoweringhe barely listened to Cha's words.

He had prepared for this for weeks now.

Standing up, he pulled out a gun. The room fell silent. Park watched him steadily.

"Mr. President, how can your policy be correct when scum like this are advising you?" He pressed the trigger, and fired the gun

Or

Cha rose to his feet. "Come now, Director Kim. The Chief Secretary already informed me of your stupid plans. Mr. President, allow me"

Trembling, he pressed the trigger again, but heard only a click. The President still held him in his gazehis mouth curled faintly into a smirk. The beast would live...


Korean President Narrowly Avoids Death

Reports from Seoul suggest that President Park Chung Hee of South Korea narrowly avoided assassination Friday evening. Intelligence director Kim Chae Gyu, now deceased, is believed to have been behind the attempt...

Reuters report, 29 October 1979



… It is impossible to conjecture the consequences that [Park’s] untimely death would have had. Park of course was no democrat, not in the way that Americans might expect, but he was a capable leader, and there was no one who could replace him. If he had died in 1979, or even in 1974, South Korea would likely never have recovered. In all likelihood, Park’s assassination would have triggered a Northern invasion.

Gen. Wickham, J. A. (2000) Korea Redeemed: Looking Back at a Crisis. Potomac Books.



ANTI-CORRUPTION PURGE Panbup’e Segŏ 腐敗除去
Enacted by Pak Chŏnghŭi (Park Chung-hee) following the attempt on life on 26 October 1979 (see October 26 Incident). Dissuaded by Chief Secretary Kim Kyewŏn from outright dissolution of the KCIA, Pak appointed Defense Security Command chief Maj. Gen. Chŏn Tuhwan (Chun Doo-hwan) to the agency’s directorship, charging him with organising and executing a systematic purge of politically unreliable state officials. Twenty-three opposition lawmakers were simultaneously arrested as “opponents of the constitution”, a crime specified by the Emergency Decree of 13 May 1975. As the purge proceeded, protests in the south of the country intensified, and at the recommendation of Chŏn and Presidential Security Director Ch’a Chich’ŏl, Pak issued an order on November 1 authorising military action against the protestors in the south-east. This order led to the purge’s climax in the Pusan Massacre.


OCTOBER 26 INCIDENT
Sibiryuk sagŏn 十二六事件
The attempt by KCIA Director Kim Chaegyu to assassinate South Korean President Pak Chŏnghŭi (Park Chung-hee) on 26 October 1979. Though reports of the incident are obscure, it is understood that after attempting but failing to kill Pak, Kim was shot twice and killed by Presidential Security Director Ch’a Chich’ŏl. A posthumous trial adjudged Kim a traitor and symbolically sentenced him to death. Some activists believed that the incident was staged and that Kim was assassinated to remove a potential threat: in any case, the event caused a transformation in the regime’s policies, leading to the events that characterised the Anti-Corruption Purge.

See also
: Blue House Raid; August 15 Incident; Pusan Massacre

Pratt, K. (ed) (1999) Korea: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary. London: Routledge.



Park:
I think my father was very distraught by the incident. It showed him that there were few people that he could trust.

Interviewer:
But he already suspected the Director—his assassin—didn’t he?

Park:
Yes. But Kim did not act alone, we know that. He could not have acted alone.

Interviewer:
Does that justify your father’s later actions?

Park:
You must understand the pressure the government was under at the time, from the rebellions and the corrupt officials. My father did what was best for the time—this was always his great strength.

CNN interview with Park Geun-hye, 12 September 2002.


"They are no problem at all. The sons of bitches, NDP and students, I'll mow them down clean with tanks. In Cambodia, it was no big deal to kill millions. A trifling 100,000 or 200,000, mow them down with tanks." - Director of the Presidential Security Service Cha Jichul


KCIA: Korean Central Intelligence Agency, primary secret police and intelligence agency of South Korea.

NDP: New Democratic Party, the (mostly neutered) parliamentary opposition.
 
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OTL he gave a comment to Chief Secretary Kim which indicated he was going to get rid of Cha, ITL (and this assumes that Secretary Kim misinterpreted him rather than deliberately ignored him IOTL) Secretary Kim interprets the comment correctly, tells Cha and others which allows them to scramble a more solid defence, presumably mopping up Kim's assistants in the process (who would probably have assumed, to begin with, that Kim had succeeded when they hear the shots -- the dinner itself was private). Hence Cha's remark to Kim about the stupid plan.

And yep, the bullets jammed -- the TL title is a bit misleading, but "For Want of a Functional Gun" doesn't sound as good :p.
 
Interesting. Koreans usually view Park Chung-hee as a president who helped to spur industrial growth, although like most dictators, he also had his share of human rights issues. Going from the title and the preview, though, it seems like Korea will be heading in a different direction, at least politically.

Also, it's not really major, but Koreans use hangul much more frequently than hanja, although the latter are still used mostly to distinguish homophones in newspapers, and a mixed script is still partially in use for official documents. I could see how hanja might be used more widely with a POD before 1980 or so, but it's much easier for education to be conducted using an alphabet, as the alternative involves teaching at least 1500 characters or so for widespread use.
 
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