Factors Influencing Development in South Korea

The end of Second World War has marked the beginning of an era of renovation and development for many countries in the world and European and Asian countries have utilized several development strategies based on their situation. South Korea is one of those countries. Having an ancient history, South Korea is one of the most integrated and stable countries in the world. Its development which starts right after the end of the second world war and Japanese colonization is an outstanding example of fast and extraordinary development in a short time span. Despite having the bitter experience of being colonized, what happened as a consequence of the second world war, the division of the peninsula into two parts (North and South) and the civil war following that, and the severe poverty and dependence on international aid, it is one of the Asian Tigers, together with Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Having an authoritarian but developmentalist government, a strong sense of nationalism against foreigners, Confucian culture, a focus on export expansion strategies, and the development of an education system based on economic needs and changes are among the influential factors that are discussed in line with the main question of the paper. Finally, the development model of South Korea is presented.