In Reply to: Exactly. And that's one reason I designated myself … posted by blindness on March 23, 2026 at 12:01:54
but I was politically precocious, so I paid more attention.
In many ways, I can say I've seen this movie before. The fear tactics bring back memories. Keep in mind that a North Korea invasion was always imminent, so the regime used that to suppress political dissent. Seoul is only 30 miles from the border.
There were three ways the Korean regime was better than MAGA though.
- No cult of personality. There were no posters or statues bearing the image of Park Chung Hee. On the other hand, it was illegal to lampoon and mock him. He just was not an attention whore like Trump. Given the North Korean cult of personality, I think the regime did that to set itself apart.
- No rabid supporters. This is related to the first point. When people criticized the president in private conversations, there was little to no pushback. I knew of no supporters of Park.
- The regime actually did useful things for the people. Look up The Miracle on the Han River. The Korean GDP lagged behind most of African countries when he took over.