[KS] question on Yushin

[Ruediger Frank]

Dear Mr. Levkowitz and all,

on a side note, I was always struck by the similarities
between the Saemaeul Undong (New Village Movement), evolving
around the same time as the Yushin Constitution, and  Mao's
Cultural Revolution. If you read some of Park Chung-hee's
speeches from that time, he stops short of talking about
"the most beautiful characters" that could only be written
"on a blank sheet of paper", to paraphrase the Great
Helmsman who wanted to erase all traces of old thought to
make room for new thinking in the minds of his Chinese
subjects. Park, too, emphasizes the alleged "backwardness"
of Koreans and their attitudes and calls for a thorough
ideological modernization. Institutionalists such as
Clarence E. Ayres would say that he tried to fight
ceremonialism and supported technlogical dynamism. On a
smaller scale, this is a process that repeats itself quite
frequently in Korean politics until present time. The
renaming of political parties, for example, is one
expression of this continuous desire to "renew" or
"revitalize". The official slogan "Dynamic Korea" fits
perfectly into this way of looking at the issue.

Best,

Ruediger Frank

William Brown wrote:
> 
> For some reason I seem to remember they translated yushin into 
> "revitalizing reforms" in English.
> 
> Bill Brown
> 
> From: "Alon Levkowitz" <levko at smile.net.il>
> Reply-To: Korean Studies Discussion List <Koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws>
> To: <Koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws>
> Subject: [KS] question
> Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2006 22:24:21 +0200
> 
> Dear group.
> I would like to consult the group about a word - Yushin (Yusin). Was the 
> term Yushin for the yushin constitution under Park's regime was chosen 
> for a specific goal. Does the word, without the problematic applications 
> of the constitution by Park, means positive or negative?
> Thanks
> Alon
> Dr. Alon Levkowitz
> Email: levko at smile.net.il
> Tel/Fax: 972-3-6133045
> 
> 
> 
>