A Case Study of South Korea

Although South Korea is technically a Less Economically developed country it is now classed as a newly industrialised country (NIC). This is due to the economic growth that it has seen since the start of World War 2. The term NIC is applied to those countries that have not quite reached the status of a developed country but have in an economic sense outpaced other developing countries.

At the end of World War 2, South Korea remained largely dependent on U.S aid, however an internal revolution occurred in South Korea in 1961. The new rulers decided the country should become self-reliant by utilizing five-year plans. They were designed to increase wealth within South Korea, and make it more politically stable. A change in policy from import substitution (replace imported goods with locally produced goods. Usually finished manufactured goods), to export orientated (Selling goods abroad to increase industrialisation).

The five-year plans

➢ 1962 –1966 – focus on textiles and make south Korea self-sufficient

➢ 1967- 1971 – begin to shift the state in to producing heavy industry

➢ 1971 – 1976 – Continue to shift the state in to heavy industry (including iron and steel

➢ 1977 – 1981 – development of industries designed to compete on world markets (electronics and cars)

➢ 1982 –1986 – More attention was to be given to creating high-technology products

➢ 1987 –91 – continued to emphasise the goals of previous plans

➢ 1992 – 1996 – Look in to developing aerospace, micro engineering.

Through the implementation of the five-year plans South Korea has changed from an underdeveloped country after World War 2 to become the 14th largest economy in the world. It is a high-tech and rich manufacturing economy.

The country has focused upon high quality, skill intensive industries such as electronics (LG) and cars (Hyundai). In order to develop they invested 14% of their GDP in to education to create a skilled workforce. They have...