Jang Tae-wan
| Jang Tae-wan | |
| Hangul | 장태완 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 張泰玩 |
| Revised Romanization | Jang Taewon |
| McCune–Reischauer | Chang Taewan |
Jang Tae-wan (Korean: 장태완; Hanja: 張泰玩, 13 September 1931 – 26 July 2010) was an army general and politician of South Korea.
Military career
[edit]Jang was the commander of the Capital Garrison Command (now Capital Defense Command) during the Coup d'état of December Twelfth. The Hanahoe, the group of South Korean military officers who were the instigators of the coup d'état, tried to appease Jang. However, the staunch Jang rejected it. Instead, Jang cursed and swore at them strongly, "You god damn rebels! Do not move and stay there! I will drive a tank right now and blow your heads away!"(Korean: 야, 이 반란군 놈의 새끼들아. 너희들 거기 꼼짝말고 있어. 내가 지금 전차를 몰고가서 네 놈들의 머리통을 다날려버리겠어!), and fought against the rebel troops. However he was defeated, being betrayed by his subordinates.[1]
Jang was imprisoned under de facto house arrest and tortured for the next six months.[2] While his son, a student of Korea's Top Ranked Seoul National University, died in January 1982 under suspicious circumstances and was reputedly murdered by government agents; Jang's father starved himself to death.[3]
In 1982, he served as the President of Korea Securities & Computer Corporation (Koscom), and in 1994, he was elected as President of Korean Veterans Association in a free election and led the veterans' association for six years.
Political career
[edit]He entered politics in March 2000 by joining the Democratic Party, and in the same year, he served as a member of the 16th National Assembly for Proportional Representation constituency as a Standing Advisor and Party Affairs Committee member. Later, he served as a member of the ruling party's leadership, and in 2002, he served as a special adviser to presidential candidate Roh Moo-hyun.
Jang Tae-Wan died of lung cancer on July 26, 2010 at the age of 78 and was buried with full honors in the Generals' section of Daejeon National Cemetery.[4] Many Korean people value him as a symbol of a true soldier, who had stood against coup d´état.[5]
In popular culture
[edit]The 2023 South Korean movie 12.12: The Day has a fictional commander modeled after him named Lee Tae-shin, who fights against the coup attempt in 1979.[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "7월 26일은 비운의 진짜 군인 장태완(張泰玩) 장군 사망일 - 개미뉴스". www.antnews.co.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 2022-01-14.
- ^ "[어떻게 지내십니까?] 張泰玩 전 수도경비사령관". 월간조선. 2010-01-10.
- ^ '12·12 쿠데타' 맞선 참군인, Seoul Newspaper
- ^ "Ex-General Chang Tae-wan dies at 79". The Korea Times. 2010-07-27. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
- ^ '형님'은 잊어도 '장포스'는 못 잊는다 Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, SisaIN
- ^ "12:12: The Day (Seoul Spring)". AMC Theatres. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
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