Portrait of Park Won-soon

Birthday profile

Park Won-soon

Park Won-soon, South Korean lawyer and politician, 35th Mayor of Seoul (died 2020)

Born
March 26, 1956
Died
July 9, 2020
Zodiac sign
Aries
Birth year
1956

About Park Won-soon

Park Won-soon (Korean: 박원순; February 11, 1955 or March 26, 1956 – July 9, 2020) was a South Korean politician, lawyer and activist who served as the mayor of Seoul from 2011 until his death in 2020. A member of the Democratic Party of Korea, he was the longest-serving mayor of Seoul. He died by suicide in July 2020 following allegations of sexual harassment. Prior to being elected as mayor, Park was a community and social justice activist, serving as a member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He wrote many books on transitional justice as international human rights lawyer and worked as the chief prosecutor for both North and South Korea for the first time in The Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan's Military Sexual Slavery accusing the Showa Emperor. A noted political donor in Seoul, Park contributed to political organizations and think tanks that advocated for grassroots solutions towards social, educational, environmental, and political issues. As a mayor of Seoul, he was awarded for the first time in South Korea, Gothenburg Award for Sustainable Development for 'sharing city' and Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize, Singapore for changing the city into an inclusive, socially stable and innovative city. In July 2020, Park's former secretary accused him of four years of sexual harassment; Park died the next day, in an apparent suicide. Park Won-soon (Korean: 박원순; February 11, 1955 or March 26, 1956 – July 9, 2020) was a South Korean politician, activist, and lawyer. Park Won-soon was born on February 11, 1955 or March 26, 1956, in Changnyeong, South Korea. At first, Park went to earn his Bachelor of Arts at Seoul National University, but was expelled and detained for four months over a protest he held over the military dictatorship of President Park Chung Hee. A member of the Democratic Party of Korea, he was first elected in 2011 and won re-election in 2014 and 2018.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Park Won-soon timeline

  1. Park Won-soon (Korean: 박원순; February 11, 1955 or March 26, 1956 – July 9, 2020) was a South Korean politician, activist, and lawyer.
  2. Park Won-soon was born on February 11, 1955 or March 26, 1956, in Changnyeong, South Korea.
  3. A member of the Democratic Party of Korea, he was first elected in 2011 and won re-election in 2014 and 2018.

The world when Park Won-soon was born

Park Won-soon was born in 1956. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1956

  • #1 song"Heartbreak Hotel" – Elvis Presley
  • Top movieAround the World in 80 Days
  • Top TV showI Love Lucy
  • Best-selling bookPeyton Place – Grace Metalious

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentDon Larsen pitches a perfect game in the World Series
  • Top headlineElvis Presley takes America by storm
  • Technology milestoneFirst transatlantic telephone cable (TAT-1)
  • Defining fadElvis Presley mania
  • Notable inventionHard disk drive (IBM)
  • World population2.82 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonPhiladelphia Warriors (NBA)
  • U.S. population168.1M

1956 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Park Won-soon's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19562026
Gas$0.30$3.45/gal
Average home$11,700$435,000
Average income$6,500$67,500
Minimum wage$1.00$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.50$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population168.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Library of Congress, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.