Yuk Young-soo | |
|---|---|
| 육영수 | |
 Official portrait Yuk Young-soo | |
| First Lady of South Korea | |
| In role 24 March 1962 – 15 August 1974 Acting until 17 December 1963 | |
| President | Park Chung Hee |
| Preceded by | Gong Deok-gwi |
| Succeeded by | Park Geun-hye(acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1925-11-29)29 November 1925 Okcheon County,Chūseihoku-dō (North Chungcheong Province), Korea, Empire of Japan |
| Died | 15 August 1974(1974-08-15) (aged 48) Seoul, South Korea |
| Manner of death | Assassination by gunshot |
| Resting place | Seoul National Cemetery |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Park Geun-hye Park Geun-ryoung Park Ji-man |
| Education | Baehwa Women's High School |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 육영수 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Yuk Yeong-su |
| McCune–Reischauer | Yuk Yŏngsu |
Yuk Young-soo (Korean: 육영수;Korean pronunciation:[juɡjʌŋsʰu]; 29 November 1925 – 15 August 1974) was the wife of the 3rd South Korean presidentPark Chung Hee and the mother of the 11th South Korean presidentPark Geun-hye. She was thefirst lady when Park was in office, from 1962 until she was killed in 1974 during an attempted assassination of her husband.
Yuk was born inOkcheon County,North Chungcheong Province,Korea in 1925, the second of three daughters of a prosperous self-made landlord. She graduated from Baehwa High School for Girls (presently known as Paihwa Girls' High School). In August 1950 she met Park Chung Hee through a relative who was serving under Park.[1] On 12 December 1950 she married Park Chung Hee. While her mother supported her choice of husband, Yuk's father was against the match, so she married without his blessing.[2]
When Park Chung Hee was in the mission as the chairman of theSupreme Council for National Reconstruction, Yuk Young-soo's main interest was handling civil complaints. Jeong Jae-hoon, a disciple and secretary of the First Lady's Office for six years, recalled:[3]
"We have conversations with as many people as possible to collect public opinion on the streets, and dozens of complaints a day are left with instructions. I made them run."
Yuk Young-soo always made a simple impression on people regardingHanbok andelegance, and was a sincere wife to her husband at home. She also took great interest in children and health, and often visitedorphanages andnurseries several times to develop policies for children's health. During her husband's tenure, she mainly took care of receiving guests and dealing with complaints, although she wanted to do her part as "a revolutionary's wife". She was also involved with theRed Cross and with children withautism. In 1970, the construction ofChildren's Grand Park started and opened the following year.[4]
She was also close to the people, and visited patients suffering fromleprosy. She helped to start several self-support projects, and visited the families ofSouth Korean soldiers deployed to Vietnam, to comfort and console them. In 1973, she undertook projects which saw the development ofvocational training institutes for poor and disadvantaged youth. Because of the efforts of Yuk Young-soo, a vigorous social services are professional because the social welfare-oriented vocational training that have had to know glim of poverty.[5]
She also did not hesitate to try to influence her husband, especially in 1963, when, to resolve tensions with theAmerican ambassadorSamuel D. Berger, she invited him to theBlue House. Park Chung Hee then joked about it, going so far as to consider her "the first opposition party". In 1969, she created a private foundation with the aim of improving the well-being of South Korean children. In 1974, a mother was invited to the Blue House revealed that her child was suffering fromfacial paralysis. Yuk Young-soo found the bestacupuncture center and hospitalized him.[6]
At 10:23 a.m., 15 August 1974,[7]South Korean Independence Day, Yuk was gunned down byMun Se-gwang, aZainichi Korean andNorth Korean sympathizer, during an attempt by Mun to assassinate President Park Chung Hee.[8]
The assassination occurred at the SeoulNational Theater of Korea during anIndependence Day ceremony. Mun intended to shoot Park in the theater lobby. However, his view was obstructed, and he was forced to enter and be seated near the back of the theater. During Park's address, he attempted to get closer to the President but inadvertently fired hisSmith & Wesson Model 36 revolver prematurely, injuring himself. Having alerted security, he then ran down the theater aisle firing wildly.[9] His second bullet hit the left side of the podium from which Park was delivering his speech. The third bullet was a misfire. His fourth bullet struck Yuk Young-soo in the head, seriously wounding her. His last bullet went through aflag decorating the rear of the stage. A bullet fired by Park Jong-gyu, a member of the President'ssecurity detail, in response to Mun's attack, ricocheted off a wall and killed a high school student, Jang Bong-hwa. Immediately following the capture of Mun, Park resumed his scheduled speech despite his wife being wounded and carried from the stage. Following its completion he picked up his wife's handbag and shoes and left.[10]
Yuk was rushed to theSeoul National University Hospital in Wonnam-dong, central Seoul. Dr. Shim Bo-seong, who was chief of the hospital'sneurosurgery department, began operating on Yuk at 11 a.m., which lasted for over five hours. The bullet damaged the largest vein on theright side of her brain and remained lodged within the brain. The surgery was unable to save her life and she died at 7:00 p.m. that same day.[11]
Yuk was buried in astate funeral on 19 August 1974 atSeoul National Cemetery.[12] After theassassination of Park Chung Hee, he was buried next to her.Park composed the following poem the day after Yuk's state funeral.[13]
Like a Long Magnolia Blossom Bending to the Wind
Under heavy silence
Of a house in mourning
Only the cry of cicadas
Ma'am, ma'am, ma'am
Seem to long for you who is now gone
Under the August sun
The Indian Lilacs turn crimson
As if trying to heal the wounds of the mind
My wife has departed alone
Only I am left
Like a lone magnolia blossom bending to the wind
Where can I appeal
The sadness of a broken heart
Park Geun-hye then became the First Lady of South Korea, after returning urgently from her studies inFrance at theJoseph Fourier University. She held this position for five years, until herfather's assassination in 1979.[14][15] On her 42nd death anniversary, a concert was organized in her memory inSeoul.[16][17]
South Korea:_-_ribbon_bar.svg)
Honorary Recipient of theGrand Order of Mugunghwa (1967)
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Honorary Recipient of the Most ExaltedOrder of the Crown of the Realm (1965)
Yuk Young-soo and Park Chung Hee had three children: daughtersPark Geun-hye, the 11th president of South Korea, as well as Park Geun-ryoung and a son Park Ji-man.
Yuk Young-soo was a devout Buddhist and a devotee ofDoseonsa in Seoul.[18]
| Honorary titles | ||
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| Preceded by | First Lady of South Korea 17 December 1963-15 August 1974 | Succeeded by |
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