In 1969. eight years after his armed usurpation. President Park Chung Hee of South Korea had his country's constitution amended so that he could seek a third term. Three years ago, in October, 1972. as he was serving his last term under the new rules. Park declared martial law, dissolved the National Assembly, and suspended the constitution. He did all this, as we were told then, in order to cope better with the “stark realities of a rapidly changing international situation.” Park was referring to East-West détente, which he viewed as a deadly threat to one of the twin pillars of his legitimacy; anticommunism and economic modernization.