South Korea is one of the world's wealthiest nations, and is a member of the
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and theG-20 major
economies. South Korea has a market economy that ranks 15thin the world by nominal
GDP and 12th by purchasing power parity (PPP). It is a developed country, with
a developed market and a high-income economy. South Korea is the only developed
country included in the group of Next Eleven countries. South Korea had one of the
world's fastest growing economies from the early 1960s to the late 1990s, and remains
one of the fastest growing developed countries in the 2000s. [11] South Koreans refer to
this growth as the Miracle on the Han River[12] of Heavy-Chemical Industry Drive, and top
four chaebol generate 90% of South Korean conglomerate profits.
By creating favorable policy directive for economic development as preceded by
Japanese economic recovery[15] as the logistic supplying bastion for American troops in
the Korean peninsula during and after the Korean War,[16]South Korea's
rigorous education system and the establishment of a highly motivated and educated
populace is largely responsible for spurring the country's high technology boom and
rapid economic development.[17] Having almost no natural resources and always
suffering from overpopulation in its small territory, which deterred continued population
growth and the formation of a large internal consumer market, South Korea adapted an
export-oriented economic strategy to fuel its economy, and in 2012, South Korea was
the seventh largest exporter and seventh largest importer in the world.
In the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the South Korean economy suffered a liquidity crisis[20] and relied
on the bailout by the IMF that restructured and modernized the South Korean economy with
successive DJnomics policy by President Kim Dae Jung,[21][22][23] including the resultant of the national
development of the ICT industry.[24] Despite the South Korean economy's high growth potential and
apparent structural stability, South Korea suffers perpetual damage to its credit rating in the stock
market due to the belligerence of North Korea in times of deep military crises, which has an adverse
effect on the financial markets of the South Korean economy.[25][26]However, renowned financial
organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund, also compliment the resilience of the South
Korean economy against various economic crises, citing low state debt, and high fiscal reserves that
can quickly be mobilized to address any expected financial emergencies. [27] Other financial
organizations like the World Bank describe Korea as one of the fastest-growing major economies of
the next generation along with BRIC and Indonesia.[28] South Korea was one of the few developed
countries that was able to avoid a recession during the global financial crisis,[29] and its economic
growth rate will reach 6.1% in 2010,[30] a sharp recovery from economic growth rates of 2.3% in 2008
and 0.2% in 2009 when the global financial crisis hit. The South Korean economy again recovered
with the record-surplus of US$70.7 billion mark of the currentaccount in the end of 2013, up 47
percent growth from 2012, amid uncertainties of the global economic turmoil, with major economic
output being the technology products exports.[31]
South Korea was a historical recipient of official development assistance (ODA) from OECD.
Throughout the 1980s until the mid-1990s, South Korea's economic prosperity as measured in GDP
by PPP per capita was still only a fraction of industrialized nations. [32] In 1980, the South Korean GDP
per capita was $2,300, about one-third of nearby developed Asian economies such as Singapore,
Hong Kong, and Japan. Since then, South Korea has advanced into a developed economy to
eventually attain a GDP per capita of $30,000 in 2010, almost thirteen times the figure thirty years
ago. The whole country's GDP increased from $88 billion to $1,460 billion in the same time frame.
[33]
In 2009, South Korea officially became the first major recipient of ODA to have ascended to the
status of a major donor of ODA.[7] Between 2008 and 2009, South Korea donated economic aid of
$1.7 billion to countries other than North Korea. South Korea's separate annual economic aid to
North Korea has historically been more than twice its ODA.[34] On June 23, 2012, South Korea is
landmarked to become the 7th member of the 20-50 club (with the population surpassing 50 million
and maintaining per capita income of US$20,000), chronologically, after Japan, United States of
America, France, Italy, Germany and United Kingdom.[35] A free trade agreement between the United
States of America and the Republic of Koreawas concluded on April 1, 2007. The European Union
South Korea Free Trade Agreement was signed on 15 October 2009. South Korean economy is
heavily dependent on the energy imports and the related refinery technologies
[36][37][38]
in association
with Ministry of Knowledge Economy [39]of Republic of Korea and in cooperation with the South Korea
- Australia FreeTrade Agreement.[40] The CanadaSouth Korea Free Trade Agreement was
concluded in 2014. ChinaSouth Korea Free Trade Agreement went official on November 10, 2014.
South Korea is known for having the largest indoorAmusement park in the world, Lotte World,
adding to the notable export-oriented music industry[41][42] guided by the Ministry of Culture, Sports
and Tourism of the Republic of Korea
