EverydayKorea.com

A Country Study: South Korea

South Korea Foreword Acknowledgements Preface Country Profile Country Geography Society Economy Transportation and Telecommunications Government and Politics National Security Introduction Chapter 1 - Historical Setting (Chong-Sik Lee) Origins of the Korean Name The Three Kingdoms Period The Evolution of Korean Society Silla Koryo The Choson Dynasty Characteristics of Society Under Dynasties Korean Identity Political and Social Institutions Korea Under Japanese Rule World War II and Korea South Korean Under United States Occupation, 1945-48 Economy and Society Establishment of the Republic of Korea The Korean War, 1950-53 The Syngman Rhee Era, 1946-60 Society Under Rhee The Postwar Economy The Democratic Interlude South Korea Under Park Chung Hee, 1961-79 The Military in Politics Economic Development Society Under Park Foreign Relations Relations with North Korea Relations with Japan Relations with the United States The Transition The Democratic Republican Party The New Democratic Party Students in 1980 General Hun Doo Hwan Takes Over The Kwangju Uprising The Chun Regime The 1980 Constitution Purges Chun's "Cultural Revolution Economic Performance Foreign Policy United States Japan China and the Soviet Union The Demise of the Chun Regime Chapter 2 - The Society and Its Environment (Donald M. Seekins) Physical Environment Land Area and Borders Topography and Drainage Climate Population Population Trends Population Settlement Patterns Urbanization Koreans Living Overseas Social Structure and Values Traditional Social Structure The Emergence of a Modern Society Social Classes in Contemporary South Korea Traditional Family Life Family and Social Life in the Cities Changing Role of Women Cultural Identity Korea and Japan The Korean Language Education Primary and Secondary Schools Higher Education College Student Activism Religion Religious Traditions Shamanism Daoism and Buddhism Christianity New Religions Religion in Contemporary South Korea Public Health and Welfare Health Conditions Health Care and Social Welfare Chapter 3 - The Economy (Daniel Metraux) The Japanese Role in Korea's Economic Development The Government Role in Economic Development Industrial Policies Economic Plans Revenues and Expenditures The Government, and Public and Private Corporations The Origins and Development of Chaebol The Role of Public Enterprise Pohang Iron and Steel Company Korea Electric Power Corporation Financing Development Industry Steel Electronics Shipbuilding Automobiles and Automotive Parts Armaments Construction Textiles and Footwear Chemicals Energy Agriculture Major Crops Forestry and Fishing The Agricultural Crisis of the late 1980s Prospects Service Industries Money and Banking Small and Medium-Sized Businesses The Labor Force Wages and Living Conditions Industrial Safety Transportation and Telecommunications Roads Subways and Railroads Civil Aviation Telecommunications Foreign Economic Relations Aid, Loans, and Investment Foreign Trade Policy Exports and Imports Korea in the Year 2000 The Setting The Role of Science and Technology The Economic Future Chapter 4 - Government and Politics (William Shaw) The Constitutional Framework The Government The Legislature The Executive The State Council The Presidential Secretariat The Judiciary The Civil Service Local Administration Political Dynamics Compromise and Reform: July-December 1987 Events in 1988 Returning to the Politics of National Security, 1989 Parties and Leaders Interest Groups Political Extremism and Political Violence Human Rights The Media (Roy U.T. Kim Foreign Policy Organization and Operation Basic Goals and Accomplishments Relations with the United States Relations with the Soviet Union Relations with Japan Relations with China Relations with North Korea Relations with International Organizations and the Third World Future Prospects Chapter 5 - National Security (Rodney P. Katz Development of the Armed Forces Kogyro, Silla, and Koryo Kingdoms The Choson Dynasty and the Japanese Colonial Period The South Korean Army after World War II War on the Korean Peninsula South Korea Responds to the North Korean Military Buildup The Military's Role in Society Organization and Equipment of the Armed Forces Army Air Force Navy and Marine Corps Reserve and Civil Defense Forces Recruitment, Training, and Conditions of Service Officers and Noncommisioned Officers Enlisted Personnel Uniforms, Ranks, and Insignia Defense Spending and Military Production Defense Spending Military Production Strategic Planning for War United States Forces in Korea South Korean and United States Cooperation (Guy R. Arrigoni) Internal Security The Threat from the North Seoul's Responses Intelligence Agencies The Agency for National Security Planning The Defense Security Command Korean National Police Criminal Justice Crime Criminal Prodedure Appendix. Tables Bibliography

ECONOMY

General Character: Export oriented although domestic market increasing source of growth in late 1980s; real growth 12.5 percent 1986-88; 6.5 percent, 1989. Dominated by chaebol, or business conglomerates. Most industries, except mining, in urban areas of northwest and southeast. Heavy industry generally in south. World's tenth largest steel producer in 1989. Major electronics producer. Automobiles and automotive parts major domestic growth and export industry of 1980s. Armaments also manufactured for domestic use and export. Construction critical source of foreign currency and invisible export earnings. Textiles, clothing, and leather products important. Growing labor movement affects production and costs.

Gross National Product (GNP): In 1989 US$204 billion, US$4,830 per capita, 6.5 percent annual growth rate.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP): US$211.9 billion at market prices, 1989; real annual growth 6.1 percent. Average growth 6.1 percent 1986-90; high, 12.4 percent in 1986; low, 6.1 percent in 1989.

Industry: Main growth sector, produced 46 percent of GDP and employed 35 percent of work force in 1988.

Resources: Peninsula has minimal resources. Mineral deposits mostly small, except for tungsten. Anthracite coal most important mineral product by volume and value, but also imported. Most energy needs met by nuclear power, coal, and crude petroleum imports.

Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing: Employed approximately 21 percent of work force in 1989; generated 10.2 percent of GDP. Relative importance declining since mid-1960s; production grew 5.9 percent in first half of 1989. Major crops rice and barley, also millet, corn, sorghum, buckwheat, soybeans, and potatoes. Fishery products popular food and important export commodity. Inadequate forestry resources.

Foreign Trade: Annual trade in 1988 more than US$100 billion; first time world's tenth largest trading nation. Major trading partners United States and Japan. Main exports textiles, clothing, electronic and electrical equipment, footwear, machinery, steel, ships, automobiles and automotive parts, rubber tires and tubes, plywood, and fishery products. Main imports machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, petroleum and petroleum products, steel, grains, transport equipment, raw materials, chemicals, machinery, timber and pulp, raw cotton, and cereals. Balance of payments affected by oil imports and raw materials needs; surplus of US$4.6 billion in 1989, but deficit of US$1.9 billion, 1990.

Currency and Exchange Rate: January 1990, US$1=683.4 won (W).

Fiscal Year: January 1 through December 31.

Data as of June 1990

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