G3-247 Report SOUTH KOREA
many campaigned to run for president during the void. In 1979 there was a Coup d’etat of December 12 by General Chun Doo-hwan and he forced the cabinet to expand martial law to the whole nation which closed universities, banned political activities and further cur- tailed the press. This triggered nationwide protests. However Chun and his party held Korea under a despot- ic rule until 1987 when a Seoul National University stu- dent was tortured to death.
Mass demonstrations began and eventually the 6:29 declaration was introduced which included the direct election of the president Roh Tae-Woo of the Democratic Justice Party who went on to win the elec- tion.
As civilian government replaced military rule in 1987 the country has become Asia’s most advanced democracy
In 1988 Seoul hosted the Olympic Games and the coun- try recovered and continued on its economic growth path. A conservative government was elected in 2007 led by President Lee Myung-bak and in 2012 Park Geun- hye won the election in 2012.
The South Korean economy has grown significantly over the last few years and the country was transformed into a G-20 major economy. It had the fastest growing econ- omy in the world from the early 1960s to the late 1990s and today is still one of the fastest growing economies along with Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. The South Koreans refer to this growth as the Miracle of the Han River.
The growth of its economy is however heavily depend-
01 Today, the country has the world’s 12th highest living standard and South Koreans are the highest paid in Asia. South Korea is Asia’s fourth largest economy and the country’s export economy is fuelled by multinationals such as Samsung, Hyundai-Kai and LG. The country is notable for its advanced technology and infrastructure. It was also one of the few countries able to avoid the global recession and unemployment rate is around 3.5 per cent (March 2014).
02 South Korea is the 20th most visited country in the world. In 2013 some 12.1 million foreign tourists visited South Korea up from 9.7 million in 2010. Most come from Asia (Japan, China, India and Singapore). Last year saw tourists spend some US$14.1bn, a growth of 5.8 per cent on the previous year.
The South Korean economy has grown significantly over the last few years and the country was transformed into a G-20 major economy. The South Koreans refer to this growth as the Miracle of the Han River.
political opponents and in 1950 the Korean War began when the north invaded the south and the war lasted three years and involved not only the US but China, the Soviet Union and other nations.
Over 1.2 million people died during the war and today the border remains the most heavily fortified in the world and the two halves continue to claim sovereign- ty over the entire peninsula and any outlying islands.
In 1960 a student uprising led to the resignation of the Syngman Rhee and political stability followed broken by General Park Chung-hee’s military coup the fol- lowing year. Park took over as president until 1979 when he was assassinated. Although Park was criti- cised as a corrupt leader the country developed signifi- cantly during his rule especially economically.
Political turmoil followed after the assassination and
ent on international trade and in 2010 it was the sixth largest exporter and 10th largest importer in the world.
Today, the country has the world’s 12th highest living standard and South Koreans are the highest paid in Asia. South Korea is Asia’s fourth largest economy and the country’s export economy is fuelled by multinationals such as Samsung, Hyundai-Kai and LG. The country is notable for its advanced technology and infrastructure. It was also one of the few countries able to avoid the global recession and unemployment rate is around 3.5 per cent (March 2014).
Meanwhile it is the 20th most visited country in the world. In 2013 some 12.1 million foreign tourists visited South Korea up from 9.7 million in 2010. Most come from Asia (Japan, China, India and Singapore). Last year saw tourists spend some US$14.1bn, a growth of 5.8 per cent on the previous year.
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