Former President Park Chung-hee’s personal articles will be on display in an event marking the 30th anniversary of his death, the state archives agency said Sunday.
The National Archives of Korea said the exhibition will be held at the National Palace Museum in downtown Seoul from Tuesday, featuring more than 200 articles donated by his family members.
The possessions to be exhibited include personal gifts from foreign leaders, such as the “Painting of Mt. Geumgang Fairies” that North Korean President Kim Il-sung conveyed to Park on the occasion of his special envoy’s secret Pyongyang visit in 1972, along with a blue ceramic pot that came with the painting and Kim’s business card; a moon-rock from the Apollo 11 that was given by then U.S. President Richard Nixon; and a stone lion statue from Taiwan’s Chiang Kai-shek.
Letters and a sofa used by Park’s wife, Yook Young-su, will also be on display, the agency said.
“With this special exhibition, we hope to raise public recognition on the significance of presidential records and documentation, as well as expand the culture of donation,” Yonhap News agency quoted Park Sang-duck, president of the archives agency, as saying.
The general-turned-president became the head of state after staging a military coup in 1961. He was shot and killed by his chief intelligence aide, Kim Jae-gyu, on Oct. 26, 1979.