📍Gumi, North Gyeongsang, South Korea
1917 – 1979“I was born Park Chung-hee on the 14th of November 1917 in Gumi, North Gyeongsang province, Korea, the son of a poor farmer. I was educated as a teacher, then as a Japanese military officer — Korea was under Japanese colonial rule — then as a Korean army officer, and in 1961 I led a military coup that brought me to power. I governed South Korea for eighteen years, during which time the economy grew at an average of ten percent per year and South Korea transformed from one of the world's poorest countries into an industrial power. The Han River Miracle was my achievement. I was assassinated by the director of the Korean CIA at a dinner in Seoul in October 1979. Gumi gave me the poverty that made development a personal as well as a national mission.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today
Sources: Oberdorfer, D. The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History (1997), Basic Books; Kim, H. The Park Chung Hee Era (2011), Harvard University Press