INDUSTRIALIZATION IN SOUTH KOREA UNDER THE ERA OF PARK CHUNG HEE (1961-1979)

Abstract

In 1961, taking advantage of the unstable socio-political situation, Park Chung Hee carried out a military coup d’etat, established the South Korean dictatorship, and started his era. During his 18 years in power, Park Chung Hee carried out many reconstructions of the nation through many effective socio-economic development policies with the aim of reinforcing absolute power and building the economy modernization for a “rich nation, strong army” of South Korea. After nearly two decades of construction and development, South Korea has achieved very important initial results that created a premise for the country's first economic take-off, bringing South Korea into one of the “Newly industrialized countries” (NICs)