Miracle on the Han River

Miracle on the Han River
South Korea's GNI per capita from 1950 to 2016 (in blue)
Korean name
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationHangangui Gijeok
McCune–ReischauerHan'gangŭi Kijŏk
Economy of South Korea
History
Business culture
Industries
Regional
Related topics

The Miracle on the Han River (Korean: 한강의 기적) was the period of rapid economic growth in South Korea, following the Korean War (1950–1953), during which South Korea transformed from one of the least developed countries into a developed country.

The rapid reconstruction and development of the South Korean economy during the latter half of the 20th century was accompanied by events such as the country's hosting of the 1988 Summer Olympics[1] and its co-hosting of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, as well as the ascension of family-owned conglomerates known as chaebols, such as Samsung, LG, and Hyundai.[2][3][4] This growth also encompassed declines in child mortality and increases in life expectancy. From 1961 to 1979, child mortality declined by 59%,[5] the second fastest decrease in child mortality of any country with over 10 million inhabitants during the same period.[6] South Korea during this period has been described as "corporatist" or as practicing state capitalism. This period of growth was overseen by the Democratic Republican Party (DRP),[7][8] a conservative, broadly state capitalist[9] and nationalist party.

The growth has been attributed to the hard work of the labor force.[10] External factors include the enormous economic and technical assistance provided by foreign countries, particularly Japan (see: Treaty on Basic Relations Between Japan and the Republic of Korea) and the United States, access to Western and Japanese markets, and the acquisition of foreign currency by Korean migrant workers in the early stages of economic growth.

Following the Miracle on the Han River, South Korea has been held as an economic model for other developing countries,[11][12][13] and acceded to the G20 international forum of major economic powers in November 2010.[citation needed]

  1. ^ Bridges, Brian (2008-12-01). "The Seoul Olympics: Economic Miracle Meets the World". The International Journal of the History of Sport. 25 (14): 1939–52. doi:10.1080/09523360802438983. ISSN 0952-3367. S2CID 143356778.
  2. ^ Levick, Richard. "The Korean Miracle: The Challenge Ahead for the Chaebols". Forbes. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
  3. ^ Marguerite Powers, Charlotte (2010). "The Changing Role of Chaebol: Multi-Conglomerates in South Korea's National Economy" (PDF). Georgetown University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 December 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  4. ^ "The chaebols: The rise of South Korea's mighty conglomerates". CNET. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
  5. ^ "Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) - Korea, Rep". World Bank. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Child mortality rate". Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  7. ^ Kohli, A. (2004). State-Directed Development: Political Power and Industrialization in the Global Periphery. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 92.
  8. ^ Youngmi Kim, The Politics of Coalition in Korea (Taylor & Francis, 2011). p.22.
  9. ^ Kim, B. K. & Vogel, E. F. (eds.) (2011). The Park Chung Hee Era: The Transformation of South Korea. Harvard University Press. p. 125.
  10. ^ Cumings, Bruce (2005). Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History. New York: Norton. ISBN 9780393327021.
  11. ^ "S. Korea Is a Role Model for Africa: Obama". The Korea Times, 2009-11-07
  12. ^ "Korean miracle 70 years in the making". The Korea Herald. 2015-08-16. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
  13. ^ Koh, Jae Myong (2018) Green Infrastructure Financing: Institutional Investors, PPPs and Bankable Projects, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 37–40.