Following the book concert for senior reporter Kim Yong-sam’s "The Fifth Republic: The Era of Chun Doo-hwan," held on the 23rd at the Seoul National University Alumni Hall. Pictured from left: Lee Seok-bok (second from left), advisor to the Association of Retired Generals; author Kim Gyu-na (third from left); Former First Lady Lee Soon-ja (center); Hur Hwa-pyeong (third from right), Chairman of the Future Korea Foundation; and Choi Jong-dae (far right), President of the Retired Military Officers Association, posing for a commemorative photo. [Kim Gyu-na's Facebook]

A meaningful event took place on the 23rd in Hyehwa-dong, Seoul, reflecting on President Chun Doo-hwan, who cultivated an "era of great completion" by upholding the values of a "free Republic of Korea" and the foundations of "a wealthy nation with a strong military" passed down by his predecessors.

At the book concert for senior reporter Kim Yong-sam's "The Fifth Republic: The Era of Chun Doo-hwan" held at the Seoul National University Alumni Hall, author Kim Gyu-na read a book review, stating, "The way the South Korean public consumes the Fifth Republic and the figure of Chun Doo-hwan today is polluted. Trapped in the snare of anger crafted by well-made films, the public is committing the contradiction of spitting on the era while enjoying the fruits of the great achievements it actually realized."

She stated, "What history should ultimately evaluate is not the trivial faults or peripheral 'shadows' of a figure, but the light—the 'final outcome'—of what that era left behind in the majestic flow of history. Senior reporter Kim Yong-sam’s 'The Fifth Republic: The Era of Chun Doo-hwan' clears away the fog of agitation and proves the great era of the 1980s with cool-headed facts and figures."

Furthermore, she conveyed, "It was Chun Doo-hwan who settled the crisis of the October 26 incident, when the nation's security and survival were completely shaken, and who stood as a bulwark against the collapsing constitutional order. Had Chun, then Commander of the Defense Security Command, not seized military power and led the army at that critical moment, the Republic of Korea would have perished in a whirlpool of extreme chaos."

She added, "Chun Doo-hwan had no involvement or interference in the conduct of suppression operations (Vol. 1, p. 435). Rather, he is the one who took office as president three months later, stabilized the era that was like a powder keg, and protected the lifeblood of a free Republic of Korea."

Kim Gyu-na also spoke about the May 18 Gwangju incident of 1980. Regarding the incident, she faced trial for violating the May 18 Special Act in 2024 because she "wrote in an article the common-sense and essential truth that without that suppression, the free Republic of Korea of today would not exist."

Regarding this, Kim Gyu-na firmly stated, "The situation that occurred in Gwangju at the time was a 'national emergency' on which the survival of the nation depended, which cannot be covered by the romantic rhetoric of a simple democratization movement. The solemn propositions of history do not change according to court rulings."

She further emphasized, "The Chun Doo-hwan era was never a break from the preceding era, nor was it a time of narrow-minded dictatorship. It was an 'era of great completion' that blossomed after inheriting the values of a 'free Republic of Korea' whose foundations were laid by President Syngman Rhee and the basis of 'a wealthy nation with a strong military' built through the blood and sweat of President Park Chung-hee."

Meanwhile, the event was attended by former First Lady Lee Soon-ja, her son Chun Jae-gook, and Future Korea Foundation Chairman Hur Hwa-pyeong, who shared their own recollections of President Chun Doo-hwan.

Published in two volumes, "The Fifth Republic: The Era of Chun Doo-hwan" is a report on modern Korean history accumulated through three years of research and investigation by senior reporter Kim Yong-sam, containing the "record of truth" regarding how President Chun Doo-hwan built up South Korea's science, technology, and economy.

Regarding the purpose of this publication, senior reporter Kim explained, "It is to strip away the nationwide misunderstanding of former President Chun Doo-hwan and invite readers to a scene of truth and intellectual liberation. This book is not a mere record of the past or a one-sided argument, but faces the vast reality of history based solely on unwavering 'facts'."

In particular, "The Fifth Republic: The Era of Chun Doo-hwan 1: The Birth of the Korean-style New Human" presents content that dramatically overturns existing views on the background of Chun Doo-hwan's birth, the military uprising, and the Seoul Spring.

"The Fifth Republic: The Era of Chun Doo-hwan 2: Completing the Miracle on the Han River" vividly records how former President Chun Doo-hwan advanced South Korea's science and technology to complete the "Miracle on the Han River" initiated by former President Park Chung-hee.

The following is the full text of author Kim Gyu-na’s book review.

[Book Review] Restoring the Era of Chun Doo-hwan, the Caesar Who Led a 'Great Completion' from the Abyss of Ruin

On reading Kim Yong-sam’s "The Fifth Republic: The Era of Chun Doo-hwan"

The public's view of history is often too easily polluted. This is precisely how the South Korean public consumes the Fifth Republic and the figure of Chun Doo-hwan today.

The film "12.12: The Day" (Seoul Spring), which drew ten million viewers, and sentimental films dealing with the Gwangju incident have succeeded in demonizing and caricaturing an entire era, obscuring the vast truth behind the screen.

Trapped in the snare of anger crafted by well-made films, the public is committing the contradiction of spitting on the era while enjoying the fruits of the great achievements it actually realized.

However, history is not determined by the products of excessive emotion. What history should ultimately evaluate is not the trivial faults or peripheral 'shadows' of a figure, but the light—the 'final outcome'—of what that era left behind in the majestic flow of history.

《The Fifth Republic: The Era of Chun Doo-hwan》, authored by senior reporter Kim Yong-sam, is a historical masterpiece that has restored that immense 'sunny side.' This book clears away the fog of agitation and proves the great era of the 1980s with cool-headed facts and figures.

South Korea's modern history was a series of miracles, but on October 26, 1979, with the passing of President Park Chung-hee, the pillar of those miracles, the nation was at risk of rolling into the abyss of ruin in an instant.

North Korea was constantly watching for opportunities to invade, and domestic politics were reaching the peak of irresponsible agitation and chaos. It was Chun Doo-hwan who settled the crisis of the October 26 incident, when the nation's security and survival were completely shaken, and who stood as a bulwark against the collapsing constitutional order.

At the pinnacle of this was the May 18 Gwangju incident of 1980. In 2024, I had to stand trial for violating the May 18 Special Act because I wrote in an article the common-sense and essential truth that "without that suppression, the free Republic of Korea of today would not exist."

However, a court cannot adjudicate truth, and the solemn propositions of history do not change according to those rulings. The situation that occurred in Gwangju at the time was a 'national emergency' on which the survival of the nation depended, which cannot be covered by the romantic rhetoric of a simple democratization movement.

At that desperate moment of crisis, what would have happened if Chun Doo-hwan, then Commander of the Defense Security Command, had not seized military power and led the army? Amid the crisis of regime collapse, the Republic of Korea would have perished in a whirlpool of extreme chaos.

Chun Doo-hwan had no involvement or interference in the conduct of suppression operations (Vol. 1, p. 435), but he is undoubtedly the one who took office as president three months later, stabilized the era that was like a powder keg, and protected the lifeblood of a free Republic of Korea.

The author stated in the preface that "The true lesson of history does not come from denying the past, but begins with fully accepting the light and shadow of that era and inheriting the baton of its achievements." Indeed, through this book, the author clearly defines the true historical status of the eight years of the Fifth Republic.

The Chun Doo-hwan era was never a break from the preceding era, nor was it a time of narrow-minded dictatorship. It was an 'era of great completion' that blossomed after inheriting the values of a 'free Republic of Korea' whose foundations were laid by President Syngman Rhee and the basis of 'a wealthy nation with a strong military' built through the blood and sweat of President Park Chung-hee.

If Syngman Rhee built the skeleton of liberal democracy and a market economy, and Park Chung-hee added the flesh of heavy-chemical industry and self-reliant national defense, Chun Doo-hwan dressed that system with the solid muscle of national power and the abundance of economic development.

The 'Three Lows Boom' (low dollar, low oil prices, low interest rates), often called the greatest economic boom since Dangun, was not a lottery win that came by mere luck. It was a miracle made possible because there was the precise economic drive of the Chun Doo-hwan administration, which accurately identified the results of investments from the Park Chung-hee era and prioritized price stability as the number one national policy task while maximizing market autonomy.

It is no exaggeration to say that the roots of today's South Korean middle class were formed during this Fifth Republic era. The Miracle on the Han River began in the Park Chung-hee era and was finally completed during the Chun Doo-hwan era.

As a writer who deals with literature, I thought, while reading this book, that the trajectory of the figure Chun Doo-hwan is surprisingly similar to that of the ancient Roman hero, Julius Caesar. Therefore, I could not help but think of the immortal play 《Julius Caesar》 left behind by the world-renowned master William Shakespeare.

As a great man of letters, Shakespeare does not judge history from only one perspective in this work but shows both sides in a multidimensional way. In the first half of the play, it seems as if Shakespeare is viewing events from the side of Brutus, who assassinated Caesar to preserve the republic.

However, after Caesar dies, he achieves a twist through Antony’s famous great speech. Antony testifies with blood-spitting sincerity how deeply Caesar loved Rome and its citizens, and what legacy he left behind for them, persuading the public of how futile Brutus's justification was and stirring their anger.

Great historical figures like Caesar are destined to be portrayed in various ways in countless literary works, films, dramas, and performing arts. A thousand works have different interpretations, and it is normal for ten thousand people who see them to have ten thousand thoughts. In the result of that multidimensional reasoning, Caesar remains a giant of history, both loved and hated at the same time.

But what about today's South Korean society? Our society shows only one side of history's dynamic cross-section and explicitly forces only one conclusion upon the public. A specific person must unconditionally be a 'dictator,' a specific event must be called only a 'democratization movement,' and anyone who expresses even the slightest dissenting opinion or attempts a different interpretation is condemned and socially buried.

The leftists, who have already become the mainstream in the cultural and historical academic circles, are wielding an ideological totalitarianism that does not tolerate any objective evaluation that differs from their dogma.

A representative example of this leftist view of history and the corruption of literature is Han Kang’s novel, 《Human Acts》. I once pointed out intensely through literary criticism that this novel seriously distorts the historical truth of the May 18 incident, which became a major social topic.

The sin commonly committed by narrative works planned from a leftist perspective, including 《Human Acts》 and films dealing with the Gwangju incident such as 《May 18》, 《A Taxi Driver》, and 《12.12: The Day》, is the 'blocking of truth using sentimentalism as a weapon.'

They paralyze the public's reason by maximizing fabricated victim narratives and emotional stimulation. In that process, the undeniable 'historical fact' of the crisis of national subversion in May 1980, which made the deployment of martial law troops inevitable, is completely excised.

The truth of history never exists in novels or on screens designed according to leftist guidelines. The true duty of literature is not to become a tool of agitation that covers the eyes of the public and spreads the propaganda of a specific camp.

True literature and art should allow one to view history objectively and make the reader deeply agonize and reflect on the inevitability of that era and the limits of humanity. However, the mainstream literature of our society has devolved into a hitman that distorts history to cultivate anger.

For every giant of history, a deep shadow exists as strong as the light. Behind Caesar's wars of conquest were numerous sacrifices, and his seizure of power was an act that shattered the traditions of the Roman Republic.

However, later history remembers Caesar as a great politician who caused Rome to leap forward as an empire, not merely dismissing him as a 'dictator who destroyed the republic.' That is the natural perspective on history and the standard for true historical evaluation.

Chun Doo-hwan was also the 'Caesar' of South Korea. He stepped to the forefront of power in the midst of extreme chaos, stabilized the nation with powerful leadership, and laid the foundations for great prosperity, including the hosting of the Olympics and economic revitalization. But what returned to him after retirement was character and historical 'assassination' wielded by leftist historical distortion and opportunistic politicians.

They shouted as if a true spring of democracy would come if they condemned Chun Doo-hwan, but the reality we face as a result is another form of spiritual civil war: the politicization of the judiciary, the rise of populism, and the dissolution of national identity.

The Republic of Korea must now calm the heated passion toward the Fifth Republic and face the cold results. When facing the power vacuum of October 26 and the Gwangju incident of May 18, if there had been a weak and indecisive leader in that position, this country might have already disappeared into the shadows of history.

The outcome left by the figure Chun Doo-hwan is clear. The defense of national security, price stability, the completion of the Miracle on the Han River, and the leap to the global stage with the 88 Seoul Olympics. How could one bury the entire era in darkness, relying on a few political narratives and cinematic distortions, in the face of this massive 'sunny side'?

Here, we witness another sad parallel theory of history. Julius Caesar, who paved the way for the greatness of the Roman Empire, did not have a proper grave after his death.

The altar in the Roman Forum where he was cremated was plundered and washed away by the elements over a long period, leaving only traces today. It is too desolate and lonely an ending for the final resting place of a hero who opened up a great empire.

And today, President Chun Doo-hwan, who saved South Korea from the crisis of ruin and gifted it prosperity, also still does not have a proper grave. Amidst the persistent rejection and political retaliation of the left, the remains of the former president have not even found a burial site despite a long time passing since his death, unable to rest as if wandering in limbo.

This heartless reality, which does not even allow a grave for a leader who protected the country and completed national strength, can be said to be exactly like the fate of Caesar, who fell under the blade of a crazed Brutus.

Historical truth can never be trapped inside screens or distorted literature. The book 《The Fifth Republic: The Era of Chun Doo-hwan》, completed by senior reporter Kim Yong-sam with all his heart, invites us to walk out of the darkness of the movie theater and the agitation of novels and step into the plaza of history.

Just as the Roman citizens realized too late the sincerity of Caesar, who fell to Brutus's blade, we too must fully evaluate the great legacy left by the Fifth Republic in the space where the noise of frenzied agitation has cleared.

That is the reason why I, having spoken the truth even under the threat of accusations and trials, strongly recommend this book to the intellectuals and awakened citizens of our time.