South Korea adopted color TV 6 years later (1980) than North Korea, only after the dictator Park Chung-hee’s death. Park was concerned that the sense of wealth gap would be widened by color TV. However, some say that color TV just did not suit Park’s stoic and militaristic aesthetic taste.

South Korea adopted color TV 6 years later (1980) than North Korea

* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_television#Asia_and_the_Pacific](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_television#Asia_and_the_Pacific)

It is well-known in Korea that the former dictator Park Chung-hee banned color television broadcast. It was only in 1980, after Park’s assassination, when color television broadcast was permitted in South Korea.

Most English articles I found say that Park was concerned about the social incongruity between the rich (who will own the color TVs) and poor would exacerbate.

[https://www.kurdo.org/2021/11/23/%EC%A0%84%EB%91%90%ED%99%98-%EC%82%AC%EB%A7%9D-opening-the-era-of-color-tv-with-dingjeon-news-paradox-of-the-growth-of-the-electronics-industry/](https://www.kurdo.org/2021/11/23/%EC%A0%84%EB%91%90%ED%99%98-%EC%82%AC%EB%A7%9D-opening-the-era-of-color-tv-with-dingjeon-news-paradox-of-the-growth-of-the-electronics-industry/)

[https://www.kurdo.org/2022/02/16/%EA%B3%BC%ED%95%99%EA%B8%B0%EC%88%A0%EC%9D%B4-%EB%AF%B8%EB%9E%98%EB%8B%A4-korea-electronics-industry-godfather-dr-kim-wan-hee/](https://www.kurdo.org/2022/02/16/%EA%B3%BC%ED%95%99%EA%B8%B0%EC%88%A0%EC%9D%B4-%EB%AF%B8%EB%9E%98%EB%8B%A4-korea-electronics-industry-godfather-dr-kim-wan-hee/)

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However, some Koreans say that color TV just did not suit the aesthetic sense of Park – his stoic, militaristic taste (he’s a guy who grew up with Japanese imperialist militaristic value). He preferred the aesthetics of black-and-white.

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This reminds me of Apple’s 1984 commercial where things are black-and-white under dictatorship, while freedom is symbolized by color

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtvjbmoDx-I](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtvjbmoDx-I)

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Are there any other powerful men or dictators who had similar tastes?

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