W4 - The Korean Economy

Question 1

What was Korea’s GDP per capita like at the turn of the 20th century?

Answer 1

Korea was one of the poorest nations in the world, poorer than Afghanistan. Less than $50 a year in GDP per capita

Question 2

When was the ‘Great Korean Empire’?

Answer 2

1897-1910

Question 3

When did Japan annex Korea?

Answer 3

1910-1945

Question 4

What happened between 1945-1948 in Korea

Answer 4

US military administration

Question 5

When was the Korean War?

Answer 5

1950-1953

Question 6

When was the Park Chung Hee era?

Answer 6

1961-1979

Question 7

When was the accelerated growth era in Korea?

Answer 7

1980-1992

Question 8

When did Korea become a full democracy?

Answer 8

1987

Question 8

How much did Korea grow by nearly every year during the accelerated growth era?

Answer 8

10% every year

Question 9

What did Korea do between 1993-1996?

Answer 9

Financial liberalisation and joining the OECD

Question 10

What happened to Korean growth after the Asian financial crisis?

Answer 10

It continued to growth but at a rate not as strong as before

Question 11

When was the Joseon dynasty?

Answer 11

AD1392-1897

Question 12

What is the ideology during the Joseon dynasty?

Answer 12

Neo-Confucianism

Question 12

What was the trading environment of Korea like during the Joseon dynasty?

Answer 12

Inward and oppressive society and closed economy except for state controlled trades with China

Question 13

How did Japan extract resources from Korea?

Answer 13

Japan learnt from Great Britain and the Netherlands (Oriental Development Co) which did all the extraction.

Question 13

What are the 4 levels of the Korean caste system?

Answer 13

Yangban (scholar gentry)
Chugin (middle class)
Sangmin (commoners)
Cheomin (slaves)

Question 14

What types of institutions did the Japanese establish?

Answer 14

A system of property rights, banking and insurance, modern educational institutions, share-holding companies, judicial systems

Question 14

How did Korea change after Japanese annexation?

Answer 14

The Japanese brought technology and institutions.
Life expectancy increased too.
Japanese capitalists set up companies in Korea.
Koreans became second class citizens of Japan (90% labourers).

Question 14

When did Japan invade Manchuria and what was the impact on Korea?

Answer 14

1931, set up lots of industry in the North

Question 15

During the later part of Japanese colonialisation of Korea, which part was richer and why?

Answer 15

North Korea was richer than South Korea during the later part of the colonial period because the industrial plants were in the North. There were more schools in North Korea.

Question 15

How did Japanese rule effect social and political frameworks in Korea?

Answer 15

It failed to bring stability to them as it was largely extractive

Question 16

What percentage of Koreans were in absolute poverty in 1945?

Answer 16

75% with high child mortality and low literacy rates

Question 17

Who was the first leader of the Korean republic (1948)?

Answer 17

Syngman Rhee

Question 18

How many people were killed or wounded in the Korean War?

Answer 18

2.5 million

Question 18

What was the issue with the line of defence the Americans created?

Answer 18

It covered Japan but not Korea and started the Korean war

Question 18

Why did South Korea refuse to sign the Korean Armistice?

Answer 18

South Korea refused to sign the treaty so the US did instead. They refused because he thought that the Americans would withdraw the military if he signed it.

Question 19

Why could Syngman Rhee not puruse laissez-fraire economics?

Answer 19

Was initially in favour of Laissez-faire, but the US said he had to introduce land reform because of concern around Communist advances from the North

Question 19

What did the Syngman Rhee government do?

Answer 19

• Land reform
• Set up national constitution
• Obtained a US defence treaty
• Relied on foreign aids and overvalued exchange rate (for import substitutions)

Question 19

Why did Korea deliberately overvalue it’s exchange rate?

Answer 19

To make imports cheaper

Question 19

Who did the Korean’s take as the inspiration for their constitution?

Answer 19

Germany

Question 20

Why did communist ideas from the North begin getting support in the South?

Answer 20

Because of land disputes between landlords and tenant farmers

Question 21

What act laid the basic groundwork for economic development to take place in the 60s and 70s?

Answer 21

The Land reform bill in 1949 that transferred units of land to farmers

Question 22

Where was much of the army educated?

Answer 22

In Japanese military schools

Question 23

What was the main economic policy taken on by Park Chung-Hee?

Answer 23

Since 1965 he adopted a pragmatic export led growth strategy with benchmarking of Japan’s industrialisation

Question 24

Where did Park aim to break the vicious cycle of poverty?

Answer 24

Tried to break the link between low savings and low investment

Question 25

Why did Park model it’s industrialisation efforts off of Japan?

Answer 25

Because of Park’s experience in the Japanese army in Manchuko

Question 26

How did the ‘export led growth strategy work’?

Answer 26

By picking winners through competition and imposing export disciplines and then allocating resources through the government to the winners

Question 27

What were export disciplines?

Answer 27

Export disciplines meant that you would not receive assistance from the government unless you achieved export targets every year

Question 28

How did Park break the vicious cycle of poverty?

Answer 28

• Benchmarked Japan
• Export led growth strategy
• Savings and capital accumulation
• Developed Skilled Workers
• Chaebols
• 5 year incremental plans

Question 29

What was the line that the US security assurances did not cover that left SK vulnerable to the Korean war?

Answer 29

The Line of Acheson