[2] Park Seh-jik was born on 18 September 1933, in Shikkoku, Keishōhoku-dō, at the time a part of the Japanese Empire.

When the Korean War broke out, he enlisted as a soldier and eventually entered the Korea Military Academy, graduating in 1956 with the 12th class.

While serving in the military, he received his master's degree from the Graduate School of English Language and Literature at Seoul National University.

[3] Park eventually went on to receive a doctorate in education from the University of Southern California.

Park was appointed as Mayor of Seoul on 27 December 1990, succeeding Goh Kun.