For one of the classes we learned about the corrupt political situation in Korea in 1987. My dad had told me when he was in college he had gone to protests and demonstrations against the corrupt political climate in that era, but I didn't really understand the full scope of this historical event. We learned how Korean citizens basically had no power in electing a president that they desired and this was what caused the spark in protests. Many young generations were fighting the corrupt system and one college student was taken in by the government. He was interrogated and tortured severely enough that he had died. This caused even more outrage and thousands more decided to fight back. The government spread propaganda and stated that the cause of the young student's death was due to shock from one of the officials who was interrogating the student slamming on a desk. This was a ridiculous statement and the Korean public knew that it was all lies and continued pressuring the government to give them their freedom. Eventually, the government gave in and agreed to let the people choose who became president.
I thought this was a crazy part of Korea's history and I had no idea how corrupt the political system was. When it was recently announced that the Korean president was just a puppet for a powerful cult leader's daughter, I remember being so shocked just as many people were in America. However, what shocked me more was my mom's reaction when I talked to her about this. She wasn't even disturbed and replied that the Korean government has always been corrupt and shrugged it off. By learning about what happened in 1987, I can see how her reaction was rational from her experience of living in Korea for most of her life.
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