The Korean Miracle (1962-1980) Revisited: Myths and Realities in Strategy and Development

Among all the newly industrializing countries, South Korea’s development strategies, as implemented during the period of export-driven industrialization (1962-80), stand out as a model case in which rapid industrialization has been achieved by means of articulate trade and industrial policies. This paper, taking the historical perspective, critically examines the country’s industrial policies and their consequences in development. The analysis focuses on the framework of strategies, the methods and policy instruments, and the implementation aspects of policies formulated. The discussions relate to sector-targeted policy measures as well as macroeconomic policies in the fields of foreign trade, foreign investment, financing and credit, public and private sectors, and technological development. The paper concludes with an overall evaluation of the efficacy and limitations of Korea’s industrialization strategies; in particular it addresses the issue of replicability to other countries by placing their lessons in a proper historical, sociocultural perspective.