The Miracle on the Han River
South Korea's transformation after the war is one of the most astonishing economic miracles in history — from the poorest country in Asia to the 12th largest economy in the world in just 50 years. Koreans call it the "Miracle on the Han River" (Hangang-ui Gijeok).
In the 1960s, South Korea's per capita income was lower than that of Ghana and Ethiopia. Under President Park Chung-hee (1961–1979, military dictator), a rapid, state-led industrialization began: The Chaebol conglomerates — Samsung, Hyundai, LG, SK — were built into global corporations. Steel, shipbuilding, electronics, automobiles — Korea became an export powerhouse.
The price was high: authoritarian government, suppression of workers' rights, the Gwangju Uprising of 1980 (hundreds killed in a democracy movement), and extreme work pressure. It was not until 1987 that mass protests won free elections — South Korea became a democracy.
Today, South Korea is a high-tech wonderland: 5G network nationwide, Samsung and LG dominate the global market for smartphones and displays, Hyundai and Kia are global car brands, and the Hallyu wave (Korean Wave) — K-Pop, K-Drama, K-Beauty, K-Food — has made Korea the coolest cultural power in Asia.
