Lyndon B. Johnson on South Korea

“Finally, I want him to record the astonishing economic and social progress that you have made working together in unity here in Korea: record harvests in the last 3 years, and rapid industrialization have given Korea a growth rate of 8 percent a year-one of the highest in the world; commodity exports have grown from $41 million in 1961 to an estimated $250 million this year; foreign exchange earnings are almost five times greater now than in 1961; serious inflation has been controlled; the rate of population growth has been brought down and thus you have dealt with one of Korea's--and the world's--most pressing problems; thousands of acres of new land have been reclaimed and terraced, where farm families can settle and thrive; your forests, devastated by war, have been replenished by conservation and new planting; you have launched a new institute of science and technology, of great promise for your future growth; you have encouraged, through your 90 percent literacy rate, and through the passion of your people for education, a new generation of highly trained young men and women to take their place in industry, in government, in schools, and in your armed forces. I have seen in Korea how real and how realistic are four goals of freedom adopted in Manila. You have fought--and you are fighting now--so that Asia can be free from aggression. You are moving rapidly in Korea to conquer hunger, illiteracy, and disease.”

“This was the cost--the terrible cost--of protecting the Republic of Korea from Communist aggression. And as I meet with President Park and see your countryside and your people, and then I look out into the faces of this Assembly, I know that these men did not die in vain. For here is one of the truly dramatic stories of our time--a nation transformed within a generation. I hope that a great historian will soon record the story: of how an ancient nation has emerged from the shadows of its colonial past and from the tragedy of war to become one of the youngest and the most vigorous constitutional democracies in the world. I want him to tell how this nation-through no fault of its own--was divided, and invaded, and almost destroyed. I want him to record that, when the fighting stopped, Korea faced every conceivable difficulty: its cities in ashes, millions of refugees, transportation in ruins, factories idle, inflation rampant, and unemployment high. I want him to tell of the men and women who guided this nation through those terrible years; of their greatness and their shortcomings; of their foresight and their errors. I want him to describe the student uprising, the military revolt, and then the achievement of constitutional government in the fall of 1963. I want him to recall the sense of triumph and accomplishment--when the votes were cast and counted, and the people had made their choice of who would govern. I want him to record how you have taken your stand with other nations that are helping South Vietnam to resist a new Communist tactic, one that combines external aggression with internal terror. I want him to record that your contribution, in terms of population, matches the United States of America.”