The South Korean Economic Miracle
South Korea is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita. With a GDP per capita of $35,000, it is the country with 13th highest GDP per capita and thus has earned the monicker of 'asian tiger economy', which is a group of East Asian economies that have shown expectional economic growth in the last few decades.
The story starts in Korea in the early 20th century. Korea was not divided into two nations of North Korea and South Korea, but was one nation. And it was under the rule of Japan. But this rule only lasted 35 years, from 1910 to 1945. As a result of the Japanese investment in Korea in the 1930s ans 1940s, Korea experienced moderate levels of economic growth and industrialisation.
It was only in the First Republic War from 1948 to 1960 that Korea was split into North Korea and South Korea. Over the next 33 years, from 1948 to 1981, South Korea underwent great political turmoil and changed republics four times.
Then, from 1981 to 1997, it underwent market restructuring which really gave rise to the large conglomerates named chaebols. These chaebols are companies that are family run and control massive parts of the South Korean economy. Some of these chaebols include Samsung, LG, Hyundai, etc.
South Korea's current economy is based on information technology, financial services and consumer discretionary sectors which make up a total of about 48% or about half the economy. It's economy stands at $1.62 trillion. And per capita GDP stands at $35,000.
The future of the economy in the current existing industries seems stable. One industry that is growing rapidly, however, is the entertainment industry. Sometimes called the K-pop, it spans music industry and the tv show industry and even youtube channels. These industries don't contribute a lot of money to the economy, but help to increase the soft power of the nation by spreading korean culture.
In conclusion, South Korea would grow substantially for the next few decades without hurdle considering no external factor interferes in the growth.
