HISTORY OF THE ECONOMIC RESURRECTION OF SOUTH KOREA

           Has it ever crossed your mind how could the State of South Korea be as big and famous as today? Of course, many factors support the South Korean State to become what it is now. Even though there is external assistance such as financial assistance from other countries, the rise of the Republic of South Korea is inseparable from the leader with a large vision and a determined nation.

Then after becoming a big country like now, how is the economy of South Korea? There is surprising fact that you need to know ; actually, a long time ago, South Korea has been a poor country.

Around 1950, South Korea was once one of the poorest countries in the world, even the problem of poverty continued for a decade afterward. During the difficult time at that time, the people of South Korea were mostly livelihood in the field of agriculture, very different from their 'allied brothers' namely North Korea, which carried out massive industrialization and was supported by the Uni Soviet.

South Korea itself, experienced a period of industrialization from 1910 to 1945, when Japan was aggressively expanding its influence in East Asia. The Japanese Colonial Government created many accesses to achieve economic targets, such as professional civil service and efficient development in collaboration with private businesses and banks. Unfortunately, it was all just exploratory development, which was designed to Japanese profits only.

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South Korea does have productive agricultural land, but that is still not enough to meet the needs of the densely populated population in the country. In addition, after the separation of the Korean Peninsula in 1945, North Korea inherited most of the industries inherited from Japan, so that North Korea had become superior at that time. South Korea also lost skilled human resources when the Japanese population left after losing in World War II.

However, during the reign of Park Chung-hee who came to power since the coup against the authoritarian regime of Syngman Rhee in May 1961, South Korea's economic growth began to increase under the direction of the local military. Nearly 3 decades of military rule, South Korea's economic conditions are expanding and changing rapidly. Steps taken in the development of the South Korean economy include; development of a five-year economic plan, transfer of import substitution to the development of export-oriented industries, and state control over credit.

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Finally, the target was exceeded with an average economic growth rate of 8.9 percent, which pushed South Korea on the path to rapid industrialization. Exports grew 29 percent per year and manufacturing capacity increased 15 percent per year. This rapid economic growth was dubbed the term 'Miracle on the Han River', referring to the Han River that flows through Seoul.

After going through a long history of its economy, today the South Korean economy belongs to the 12th largest economy according to the United Nations. Its economic growth is very fast and rapid, making this country also known as the 'Asian Tiger', so that South Korea is incorporated in several economic organizations such as APEC, WTO, OECD, and G-20 major economies.