The residence of the President of the Republic of Korea is called the "Blue House." Actually, it is called "The House with a Blue Roof" because of the beautiful blue tiles that it has on its roof. However, as early as during Rhee Syngman era in the 1950s, it was popularly referred to as the "Blue House" so the name stuck.
It was at the "Blue House" during a private dinner party that was held with some government officials, including the Director of KCIA, that the President Park Chung Hee was assassinated on October 26, 1979. The Director of KCIA, a life long friend of Park's shot him from across the table, hitting him in the chest and head. Park was killed instantly, and in the process some of his body guards were killed as well. It was, a "mafia-like" assassination scenario at a presidential residence! Park Chung Hee's oldest daughter, Park Geun Hye was asleep in another part of the house. Except for servants, there were no other family members in the "Blue House." Park's other children, another daughter and son were married and living with their families outside of the presidential compound. His oldest daughter Geun Hye was unmarried and had taken over the role of the first lady since the death of her mother five years earlier in 1974. Her mother was shot by an assassin who was trying to kill her father. Her mother essentially got in the way of the assassin's bullet meant for her father.
So, the Park family was not new to violence, and now only four short years after her mother's death, Geun Hye was awakened to the sounds of gun fire. This time it was her father who was killed by the assassin, who happened to be his Director of KCIA and a childhood friend to boot!
Park Geun Hye was born in Taegu, South Korea during the Korean War, in 1952. In 1953 her father moved the family to Seoul where she grew up, attending elementary school and Sacred Heart Girl's Middle and High School. After high school she attended Sogang University and graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering. She continued her studies, went to France and enrolled in Grenoble University. However, her studies at Grenoble were cut short when her mother was killed in the assassination attempt on her father. She returned to Seoul and assumed the role of the First Lady, hosting state dinners and attending various functions that were normally her late mother's responsibility. In this way, she became very attuned to the political scene in Korea.
Shortly after the assassination of her father, Geun Hye entered politics by joining the Grand National Party, a conservative political party that her father had belonged to and quickly rose within the party ranks. She became the Chairman of the party and got a nick-name as "the Queen of Elections" because of her knack for getting elected into the National Assembly (Congress). However, she felt that the party was behind times and losing ground with the public.
Park Geun Hye was elected to the National Assembly for 4 terms, from 1998 until 2012. In 2011 the Grand National Party changed its name to Saenuri Party, the New Frontier Party. The old GNP was much like the ultra conservative wing of our GOP and many of its members felt that it was too conservative for the times and needed a change, so, the party reorganized and became Saenuri Party, the New Frontier Party. Concurrently, with the change in party name and its platform, she ran for the Presidency in the 2012 election. She had previously run and lost by a narrow margin in the 2007 elections, the only election that she ever lost! But this time she was not to be denied. She won by a large margin and was inaugurated in February of 2013 as the 11th President of the Republic of Korea.
Park Geun Hye became the first woman President of the Republic of Korea, although she is not the first Korean woman leader. That title belongs to Queen Myong Song or Queen Min as she is popularly called, who was assassinated by the Japanese in 1895, on the same grounds where the "Blue House" stands today! Actually, there was another queen, Queen Sondok who ruled the ancient Silla from 632 to 647 AD. But in more recent times, it was Queen Myong Song that is best known.
The "Blue House" as well as several other official buildings stand on the old Gyongbok Palace grounds that was originally built in 1395 at the start of the Chosun Dynasty. It had been burned to the ground by the Japanese during the Imjin Wars of 1592-1598, rebuilt painstakingly in the following couple of centuries, but again destroyed by the Japanese in 1911! However, Koreans have been rebuilding the 62 acre grounds since that time. Today the "Blue House" presidential residence as well as other administrative buildings stand on the original, beautiful grounds.
Upon taking office, Park Geun Hye immediately launched into various reforms within the government. She began to change laws and regulations that she felt were cumbersome and outdated, holding back progress. She has aggressively worked at the reunification of the two Koreas, and in fact, made more progress in the short time than any of her predecessors. On the economic front, in little over a year that she has been in the office, she managed to sign a free trade agreement with Australia and Canada, as well as other favorable trade deals with China, Russia, and the United States!
Some of the remarkable things that she managed to accomplish was to change the Korean Nationality Law. Prior to the changes, the Korean Nationality Law was very much like the Japanese and Chinese Nationality Laws, laws based on ancient practice of recording everything in family registers and using them as official records. Although the family registers are still maintained in Korea, there are now other avenues for securing Korean nationality. Naturalization requirements have changed considerably, making it easier for foreigners to naturalize in Korea. Business laws have changed as well, making foreign investments easier and more attractive to outsiders. South Korea has experienced a boom in foreign investments and foreign residents as well! It is easier for foreigners to get employment and to receive residency. Like all Asian countries, Korea is a country that is of homogeneous society. However, that is beginning to change. Park Geun Hye has stressed the fact that Korea cannot continue to be the "Hermit Kingdom," that it has to "internationalize," become more accepting of other cultures and people. Otherwise, she warns, the country will not survive in the new world order!
The list goes on and on. She has made remarkable changes. Not all of the changes that she made are popular with everyone. Some old time hard liners are displeased with the changes. She has systematically destroyed "old boy networks" within the government and now has launched into doing the same in the private sector. Three of the most important domestic policy agendas that she tackled immediately was sexual violence, domestic violence, and help for old and needy. Korean laws have become much stricter in regard to sexual and domestic violence, and enforcement of these new laws have become top priority. They say that her new policies have made a great impact already! Her popularity with the public is around 65%, highest of any previous South Korean President.
However, there are still those who say, "like father, like daughter," and don't trust her. There are those who think she is like her father, a strong arm ruler, a dictator interested only in gaining power.
Their mistrust and suspicions are misplaced. If she wanted to be a dictator, she would have shown her hand earlier. Instead, she seems genuinely interested only in improving South Korea's economic and political situation, and domestically improve living conditions for all citizens.
South Korea's economy is booming. For a country that is only the size of the state of Kentucky with a population of roughly 50 million, it is remarkable what it is producing and is capable of doing. Park Geun Hye is the right person to lead such a country, a country that is a world leader in ship building, and running neck and neck with Japan in electronics and automobile manufacturing. She has picked up what her father started during Vietnam War, and is moving Korea even further. It is indeed the New Age in Korea, and thanks to her leadership, it will advance even more.
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