{{Short description|Park in Seoul, South Korea}} {{Infobox park | name = Mullae Park | image = Mullae Park 02.jpg | image_caption = The park, viewed from the north. Sports courts are visible. In the background, the rear of the fenced-off bust of [[Park Chung Hee]] is visible. (2023) | location = [[Mullae-dong]], [[Yeongdeungpo District]], [[Seoul]], South Korea | coordinates = {{coord|37|30|58|N|126|53|38|E|display=inline,title}} | mapframe-zoom = 15 | established = 1986 }}
'''Mullae Park''' ({{Korean|hangul=문래공원|hanja=文來公園}}) is a park in [[Mullae-dong]], [[Yeongdeungpo District]], [[Seoul]], South Korea. The park was established in 1986 and is widely used for leisure and exercise by nearby residents.<ref>{{Cite web |script-title=ko:기후위기 극복 도시숲, 서울 영등포 문래공원에서 만나요 |trans-title=A City Forest to Overcome Climate Change; Let's Meet in Mullae Park, in the Yeongdeungpo District of Seoul |url=http://forest.or.kr/activity_stories/2251 |access-date=2024-01-09 |website=생명의숲 |archive-date=2024-01-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240109153303/https://forest.or.kr/activity_stories/2251 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Before it was a park, it hosted several military facilities. Now, a large number of civilian amenities fill the area, including walkways, exercise equipment, playgrounds, and air purifiers.<ref name=":0" />
== Relationship to Park Chung Hee == [[File:Mullae Park 01.jpg|thumb|The bunker door, next to a playground. The door is unlabeled; the sign to the right describes it only as a "preserved area", and warns parents to keep their children away from it. (2023)]] The park was once host to the South Korean Army's 6th District Headquarters: the birthplace of the [[May 16 coup|May 16 Coup]] of 1961. It was during this coup that [[Park Chung Hee]] seized power.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |script-title=ko:철공소 골목의 변신! 문래근린공원·문래창작촌 |trans-title=The Transformation of an Ironworking Alley! Mullae Neighborhood Park, Mullae Creative Village |url=https://mediahub.seoul.go.kr/archives/1281139 |access-date=2024-01-09 |website=mediahub.seoul.go.kr |language=ko |archive-date=2024-01-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240109152914/https://mediahub.seoul.go.kr/archives/1281139 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |script-title=ko:고（故） 박정희 대통령 흉상 |trans-title=Past President Park Chung Hee Bust |url=https://www.ydp.go.kr/tour/viewTnTursmResrceU.do?resrceNo=58&sc1=%ED%96%A5%ED%86%A0%EB%AC%B8%ED%99%94%EC%9C%A0%EC%A0%81&rcpp=9&cpn=2&key=4006 |access-date=2024-01-09 |website=www.ydp.go.kr |archive-date=2024-01-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240109152915/https://www.ydp.go.kr/tour/viewTnTursmResrceU.do?resrceNo=58&sc1=%ED%96%A5%ED%86%A0%EB%AC%B8%ED%99%94%EC%9C%A0%EC%A0%81&rcpp=9&cpn=2&key=4006 |url-status=live }}</ref> All that remains of the former bases is an underground bunker, the entrance to which is now behind a locked and unmarked door, near a children's playground.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=손 |first=호철 |date=2021-07-23 |script-title=ko:철거냐 존치냐, 서울 복판 박정희 흉상을 보며 |trans-title=Remove or Respect, Examining the Bust of Park Chung Hee in the Heart of Seoul |url=https://www.pressian.com/pages/articles/2021072218363873101 |access-date=2024-01-09 |website=[[Pressian]] |language=ko |archive-date=2024-01-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240109154314/https://www.pressian.com/pages/articles/2021072218363873101 |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Bust of Park === To commemorate this part of history, a bust depicting Park during his military years has been in the park since 1985.<ref name=":1" /> In 2000, after the [[Center for Historical Truth and Justice]] unveiled research on [[Park Chung Hee#Applying for military school and blood oath|Park's blood oath of loyalty to Japan]], the bust had a Japanese [[Rising Sun Flag]] tied to it, was knocked over, and dragged to the campus of [[Hongik University]].<ref name=":2" /> The bust's nose was damaged in the process. The statue was reinstalled, and the nose was repaired by a memorial foundation to Park in 2006.<ref name=":2" /> In December 2016, during protests for the [[impeachment of Park Geun-hye|impeachment of Park's daughter President Park Geun-hye]], Choe Hwang ({{Korean|hangul=최황|labels=no}}) wrote "remove" ("{{Korean|hangul=철거하라|labels=no}}") in red spray paint on the statue.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2016-12-06 |title=Bust idolizing President's father vandalized |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2024/05/113_219634.html |access-date=2024-01-17 |website=[[The Korea Times]] |language=en |archive-date=2024-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117002710/https://m.koreatimes.co.kr/pages/article.asp?newsIdx=219634 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":2" /> Choe wrote angrily on Facebook about Park Chung Hee's role as a pro-Japanese collaborator ("[[chinilpa]]") and military dictator. For this, he was fined one million [[South Korean won|won]].<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />
The bust is now protected behind an iron fence. A nearby sign, prepared by the memorial foundation to Park, warns people of consequences for vandalism towards either the bust or the bunker.<ref name=":2" />
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == {{Commons category|Mullae Park}}
* {{YouTube|id=rFyw0AIDnOg|title=박정희 전 대통령 흉상 페인트로 훼손 / YTN (Yes! Top News)}} – News report on the spray paint incident. The 2000 incident is also mentioned. (in Korean) {{Seoul parks}}{{Park Chung Hee}}
[[Category:Yeongdeungpo District]] [[Category:Park Chung Hee]] [[Category:Parks in Seoul]] [[Category:1986 establishments in South Korea]]