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

THE GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AND PRIVATE CORPORATIONS

Fresh produce at the market, Seoul. Courtesy Oren Hadar

It'aewon shopping district and entertainment center, Seoul. Courtesy Oren Hadar

Following the Korean War, foreign aid became the most important source of funds for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the economy. What was left of the Japanesebuilt industrial plant, most of which by the 1950s either was obsolete or had been destroyed by warfare), generally was turned over to private owners, who were chosen more often for their political loyalty than for their economic acumen. Moreover, Rhee favored certain businessmen and companies with government contracts in exchange for financial support of his political endeavors. It was during this period that a group of entrepreneurs began companies that later became the chaebol, or business conglomerates. The chaebol were groups of specialized companies with interrelated management. These groupings of affiliated companies dominated South Korea's economy in the late 1980s and often included businesses involved in heavy and consumer industries and electric and electronic goods, as well as trading companies and real estate and insurance concerns.

The chaebol were responsible for the successful expansion of South Korea's export capacity. According to Steinberg, in 1987 the revenues of the four largest chaebol were US$80.7 billion, a figure equivalent to twothirds of Seoul's total GNP. In that year, the Samsung Group had revenues of US$24 billion; Hyundai, US$22.7 billion; Daewoo, US$16 billion; and Lucky-Goldstar, US$18 billion. The revenues of the next largest chaebol, Sunkyong, totaled US$7.3 billion in 1987. The top ten chaebol represented 40 percent of all bank credit in South Korea, 30 percent of value added in manufacturing, and approximately 66 percent of the value of all South Korean exports in 1987. The five largest chaebol employed 8.5 percent of the manufacturing work force and produced 22.3 percent of all manufacturing shipments. Despite a rash of strikes against the chaebol beginning in 1987, the chaebol generally had higher compensation and better working conditions than their lesser South Korean competitors.

Data as of June 1990

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