1/Today's @bopinion post is about one of the most amazing countries in the world: SOUTH KOREA!
bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
2/Parasite's big Oscar victory drove home the undeniable reality that South Korea is a global cultural superpower.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
3/But this was true long before Parasite, and the movie is only one small part of the Korean Wave. K-pop is a huge global phenomenon!
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
7/But behind this cultural wave is one of the most amazing economic development stories in history. Arguably THE most amazing.
8/Unlike Britain, Japan, France, or the U.S., Korea never had a colonial empire and never conquered territory.
It's not in Europe. It's very resource-poor. It was colonized by Japan for decades.
And then the whole peninsula was leveled in a horrific war.
It's not in Europe. It's very resource-poor. It was colonized by Japan for decades.
And then the whole peninsula was leveled in a horrific war.
9/In fact, for a decade after that war ended, it looked like North Korea might develop faster than the south.
When economist Joan Robinson wrote about the "Korean Miracle" in 1964, she was talking about NORTH Korea!!
When economist Joan Robinson wrote about the "Korean Miracle" in 1964, she was talking about NORTH Korea!!
10/But then, starting in the 1960s, things turned around.
The catalyst for the turnaround was a military dictator named Park Chung-hee.
amazon.com/Park-Chung-Hee…
The catalyst for the turnaround was a military dictator named Park Chung-hee.
amazon.com/Park-Chung-Hee…
11/Park didn't care whether his policies were communist or capitalist. He maintained a laser-like focus on growth. He embraced industrial policy to a degree never before seen.
piie.com/publications/c…
piie.com/publications/c…
12/He created a state-owned steel company. He established powerful bureaucracies to direct the economy. He threw corporate executives in jail if they didn't do what he wanted. He nationalized banks. He picked winners.
Amazingly, it WORKED.
Amazingly, it WORKED.
13/Park left plenty of role for the private sector, especially big conglomerates. But he insisted that they export, export, export. He encouraged exports with carrots and sticks. This forced companies to compete in hyper-competitive world markets and to absorb foreign technology.
14/Park was also a repressive autocrat, and eventually he was assassinated.
But South Korea didn't falter. It just kept charging ahead.
By the late 1990s, it was clearly a developed country.
But South Korea didn't falter. It just kept charging ahead.
By the late 1990s, it was clearly a developed country.
15/In 1987 South Korea became a democracy, after a massive uprising.
Some people think democracy is bad for growth, but that wasn't true for South Korea!!
nytimes.com/2017/09/14/opi…
Some people think democracy is bad for growth, but that wasn't true for South Korea!!
nytimes.com/2017/09/14/opi…
16/67 years after being a war-torn wreck and impoverished ex-colony, South Korea is just about as rich as Japan and the United Kingdom.
17/It is highly technologically advanced, boasting (among many other things) the world's top electronics company.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
18/South Korea is proof of an amazing fact: The dead hand of colonialism need not rule a modern nation's destiny.
19/Which is not to say, of course, that South Korea is free of problems. It definitely has its share.
20/But countries from Vietnam to Bangladesh to Ghana should aim to emulate South Korea's amazing success. The policies won't be quite the same, but the Korean example proves it's possible.
21/Thus, the Korean Wave signifies much more than fun entertainment products. It's a sign of things to come. A more equal, more prosperous world, a world that has escaped from the horrors of the past.
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bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
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bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
