Comparing the Economic Performance of South and North Korea

North Korea’s economy is very different then the United States’ economy. Even though one dollar in American money doesn’t seem much to us Americans, it is worth nine-hundred dollars in their currency. North Korea’s main sources of income are military products, machine building, electrical power, chemicals, mining, metallurgy, textiles, food processing and tourism. North Korea’s overall condition of the economy is not good.

This paper is an analysis of the country of South Korea. Using the operational variables of PMESII-PT this paper will identify the current situation in South Korea and the countries current issues. The overall objective is to understand the motives of South Korea.

The term capitalism is an economic system where the people in the capitalistic economy own and operate the majority of businesses. A capitalistic economy uses the method of laissez-faire, which derives from Adam Smith, and means that there is a limited role of the government in the economy (Pride 14).

In North Korea, the government strictly controls the economy. The economy is driven by its major natural resources, agricultural, and industrial products. Natural resources, such as minerals, graphite, and coal, are found, but not abundantly. Agricultural products that are production are grains, rice, and beans. Industrial products include weapons and steel. North Korea has little

The economic system is a transitional economy which is a centrally planned economy to a market economy.

Economic systems are organized way in which a state or nation allocates its resources and apportions goods and services in the national community. An economic system is slackly defined as country’s plan for its services, goods produced, and the exact way in which its economic plan is carried out. There are three types of economic systems exist, they are command economy, market economy, and mixed economy. Command economy is also sometimes called planned economy. The expectations of this type of economy is that all major decisions that related to the construction or production, distribution, commodity and service prices are all made by the government. However, in market economy, national and state governments play a

In our society today, there are many distinct types of economies. The three leading economies are Market economies, Traditional Economies, and Command Economies. Each Economy is very diverse and unique from the next. An example of a market economy is in the US, and in a market economy there is a great deal of individual freedom and less government involvement. A market economy is based on Capitalism. A Traditional economy is a small group of people who are their own government. Not many societies today use a traditional economy. In a command economy the government controls all economic decisions. Examples of command economies are communist countries such as China and North Korea. Each type of economy has its own advantages and disadvantages as well as its differences about resources and government involvement.

With the risk of generalizing, I will give a brief overview of the major economic systems. Capitalism applies a method based on selfishness; it operates under the assumption that if there is no incentive than nothing will be done. Communism’s basis is equality;

of Japan. Some of them like Park had been educated in Japanese schools, some had

The Republic of Korea or as commonly called South Korea was a vassal state to Japan until 1945. After World War II South Korea became a democratic state. North Korea became a communist republic. After the armistice, North and South Korea were split along the 38th parallel. Since that time South Korea has become one of the fastest growing economies. It has gone from being a third world Gross

South Korea is one of the strongest economies in the Asia. Economic growth is mainly driven by manufacturing and exports. Exports include automobile, semiconductors, computers, steel and petrochemicals. Imports include heavy machinery, steel and oil. According to Economy Watch, South Korea is the world 's 5th largest importer of oil, with 3 million barrels per day (4).

This is because of the external effects from foreign powers on the economy of Korea. The Soviet Union took power over North Korea making the country communist, while the United States and United Nations took charge of South Korea making it democratic. These two powerful countries not only affected the political ideologies as mentioned before, but also greatly impacted the economy of Korea. According to the National Bureau of Economic

The republic of South Korea is located in East Asia, according to the World Bank it is a high-income developed country with a developed market, with a GDP of $1.449 trillion(US) and GDP per capita (ppp) of 25,977(US), averaging an annual growth rate of 2.9%. Over the past four decades the country has shown incredible growth and global integration to become a high-tech industrialized economy. South Korea is the world’s 4th largest car producers being home to Hyundai Motors, the largest ship builder and also has many successful corporations such as Samsung. During the GFC South Korea was one of the Asian economies hardest hit although its protective monetary put into effect by the Bank of Korea (BOK) lessened the impact of the crisis dramatically between the years of 2008-2009. Today it is the 12th largest economy in the world and global leader in digital displays and steel production.

At the end of World War II, Korea was a poor former agricultural colony of Japan. But the rapid growth of Korea’s industrial economy has been remarkable. The economy of South Korea is now the third-largest in Asia and the 13th largest in the world by GDP as of 2007. To trace back the economic development of South Korea, the former president Park Chung-Hee played a pivotal role, and was credited for shifting its focus to export-oriented favoring a few large conglomerates. Unlike his predecessors, Park showed a strong commitment to economic development, believing good economic performance as a primary means for enhancing his political legitimacy. Under the President Park Chung-Hee’s era, the government played a dominating role in a

Known as one of the Four Asian Tigers, South Korea, officially known as the Republic of South Korea has become a major force in today’s globalized economy. With a population of just around fifty million people, South Korea has a thriving economy, which is Asia’s fourth largest economy with a GDP (nominal) of $1.151 trillion (ranked 15th) (CIA, 2009). South Korea’s rapidly growing economy is evident when observing how its real GDP has expanded by 8 percent annually, from $2.7 Billion in 1962 to $230 Billion in 1989. Most of South Korea’s early economic