A fascinating look at South Korea’s miraculous path from postwar rubble to affluence and influence. Once an impoverished nation destroyed by war, South Korea has emerged as a major technology innovator and manufacturing powerhouse, with the world’s 15th largest economy. Once an insular “Hermit...
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A fascinating look at South Korea’s miraculous path from postwar rubble to affluence and influence. Once an impoverished nation destroyed by war, South Korea has emerged as a major technology innovator and manufacturing powerhouse, with the world’s 15th largest economy. Once an insular “Hermit Nation,” it has opened itself to capitalism, democracy, and an emergent multiculturalism—all forces that have driven its growth and prosperity. Yet the nation maintains a distinctly Korean perspective, including unique work habits, cultural obsessions, and tangled relationships—with its oppressive northern half, its competitors China and Japan, and its former protector, the United States—that make it difficult to navigate for outsiders. The New Korea provides probing insights into the diverse historical, political, cultural, and industrial forces that have helped define Korea in the past half century, and looks at the challenges ahead, as Korea faces new competitors and obstacles to growth. Can Korea compete with low-wage countries like China and India? Will it mimic Japan’s safe, zero-growth economy? Will its closed social structures and government involvement in every step of technological development prevent it from continuing on a path of dynamic growth? And what should Westerners pay attention to in terms of investments, markets, and partnerships? The New Korea answers these and many other questions, as it explores Korea’s remarkable evolution, its complex challenges, and its potential impact on international business.
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