STUDENT DEMONSTRATIONS” IN SOUTH KOREA
Some 10, 000 unarmed students, demonstrating in Seoul June 3 for the resignation of President Chung Hee Park, were given a taste of clubs and tear gas..by the police, They replied with stones, Their aim was so effective that::the police admitted: ‘they suffered 409 wounded, The students. damaged two police sealed ‘in addition. with stones and wrecked four palice boxes, .
They then stormed capital building “compounds and captured a dozen army trucks and police-jeeps, They drove these through the streets chanting: "Park regime step down," "Strike down millionaire. profiteors" and "The country will be better off without the Park regime, .
Tens of thousands of Seoul residents, many applauding, followed the students,
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After the police fled, the students set up traffic control teams at major intersections,
The Park regime at once declared martial law. The puppet general was clearly reminded of the downfall of the Syngman Rhee regime which was brought about by similar demonstrations in 1960.
As Seoul continued to simmer, student demonstrations spread to eleven other cities in South Korea, On June 5 the General closed down the schools until next September,
"The unrest," said the United Press International, "appears to reflect resentment over economic difficulties, frustration over the lack of job opportunities, irritation over corruption: in the Govern= ment and dismay at the constantly changing educational policies,"
The New York Times added that prices have risen by fifty per cent in the past year and unemployment has reached twenty-five per cent of the labor force, In addition, "Doubts were cast on the regularity of last fall's elections, nw?
An obvious point that should have been mentioned is that the vaunted American Way of Life does not seem to appeal to the youth of . South Korea,