South Korean Foreign Trade Patterns

After World War II, South Korea was largely agricultural and poor, while the North had most of the industry and mineral wealth, developed largely by Japan in the colonial era (Facts about Korea, 1993). This disparity continued until the 1960s, when the South Korean economy began to industrialize and expand, at the same time the North's began to stagnate. Today, the situation is the reverse of what it was in the 1940s and 1950s; the South is relatively rich and industrialized, and the North poverty-stricken and isolated, no longer subsidized by the former USSR.

The story of South Korea's economic development is a textbook case of how an underdeveloped country transforms itself into an economic powerhouse (Facts about Korea, 1993). Known as one of the 'Tiger' nations of East Asia (along with Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia), the country has ironically modeled itself largely after Japan, its previous colonizer -- like Japan, Korea now has relatively autarkic, neomercantilistic, and protectionist policies. By avid promotion of manufactured exports (mainly to the U.S.) and simultaneously minimizing imports, except for raw materials that are scarce in the country, South Korea has aimed at Maintaining a positive balance of trade and accumulating a cache of foreign reserves (such as currency like dollars, yen, and D-marks, and also gold). Like Japan, government plays a key role in the ec

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policies to promote exports included loan subsidies to exporters, tax and tariff exemptions, wastage allowances, and general government support through means including schools, roads, and utilities. Trade Patterns: 1970s The above policies turned out to be highly successful in the main. In addition, most importantly, exports and industry in general in South Korea began diversifying (Handbook of Korea, 1993). Electronics, autos, steel, and similar products became targets of development by the government, particularly for export. Also, the government's investment in education, particularly at the university level, began to pay off. Many university graduates from American schools became mangers in businesses and technocrats in the government. As the lower level, blue collar workers became highly skilled and productive as a result of their rigorous primary and secondary educations. In addition, the vaunted South Korean 'work ethic' took hold, with most people putting in fifty-to-sixty-hour work weeks. Curiously, export sales were not overly profitable, but the government used a combination of coercion and financial incentives to increase them (Handbook of Korea, 1993). Protective tariffs remained high, which allowed for high p
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Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)

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