76-17-A8
- Main Page \ Reagan Radio Commentaries \ 1977
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Korea II[edit]
Transcript[edit]Last time, I talked about our ground forces in South Korea and why they are so important in maintaining the peace. But maybe we need to look at a few facts about Korea to counter the propaganda we're being subjected to. Those who gave us defeat in Southeast Asia are at it again, painting a picture of South Korea as a totalitarian dictatorship long on repression and short on human rights. I agree there are some restrictions on freedom in Korea that we, as Americans, would find pretty irksome. But wouldn't we think there might be a few restraints acceptable here if a totalitarian power of equal size and strength had the bulk of its military forces mobilized on a line 16 miles from Washington, D.C.? First, let's see how badly the South Koreans are faring under the authoritarian administration of President Park. Gross national product has, during his 14 years, nearly quadrupled. Unemployment has been cut from more than eight percent to less than 4 percent which, in our own country, is called full employment. At the same time, wages on an inflation-adjusted average have risen 8.1% a year. A World Bank study has concluded that distribution of income in South Korea is among the most equitable in the developing world. The Korean government adheres to a proposition that a low paying job is better than no job at all so first priority is expanding the economy to produce more jobs. You know, that does seem to make more sense than some of the ideas proposed by our own welfarists. Their economy grew by 15% last year and is expected to grow better than 9% a year for the next five. As one economist put it, "the government gave people an opportunity to be creative". We did that once. Now, about the widely heralded authoritarianism of President Park and his concern about the communist threat to his nation, let's have a little review of history. When the Soviets joined the war against Japan in the last five minutes of World War II, they took Manchuria and swept down on Korea, bringing Kim Il-Sung with them. The U.S., having freed Korea from Japanese rule, hung on to Korea south of the 38th parallel. The U.N. asked for an election by the Korean people to set up their own government. The communists in North Korea refused, so an election was held in the southern half of the country and the Republic of Korea was born. In 1949, in spite of the pleas of the new Republic of Korea, we started withdrawing our troops. In June of 1950, with no advance warning, the communists attacked and almost drove the remaining Americans into the sea. President Truman asked the U.N. security council for a resolution calling for the withdrawal of the Chinese from Korea. It was killed by a Soviet veto -- they and the Red Chinese were friends then. Remember the cease fire agreement in 1953 which brought a meaningless end to the fighting? It was our first no-win war. General MacArthur said at the time that not winning that war would commit us to fighting another war one day, probably in Vietnam. North Korea claims it is the master of all Korea and refuses to recognize the Republic duly elected by the people. No one in North Korea had a chance to elect anyone. I'll continue in my next broadcast. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening. |
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