Political Economy of Korean Development after Liberation: A Critical Reflection

초록

Since liberation, the Korean economy has undergone a remarkablestructural transformation, tantamount to a revolution. In the past, dueto national division and the Korean War, Korea could not escape beingan underdeveloped and peripherial country. However, as a latecomer,Korea successfully accomplished a condensed industrialization within ashort span of time, followed by democratization. Now, social and eco-nomic advancement has been set as a policy goal. This dual revolutionbears significance not only for modern Korean history but for worldeconomic history during the post-war era. However, it is misleading to focus only on the positive aspects ofKorean development. A balanced and reflexive viewpoint encompassingboth the bright and dark sides of Korean development is required. Thispaper pays attention to the specific characteristics of Korean develop-ment as a form of cold war, anticommunist capitalism, and thenemphasizes the importance of power relations, interests, and events. Bydoing so, this paper aims to transcend linear evolutionism as well asthe free market-state dichotomy, and offers a coherent analysis of boththe successes and structural contradictions inherent to Korean develop-ment following liberation.

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