This article sets out to tackle three main questions: 1) How did South Korea lift itself out of utter destruction and destitution to affluence?; 2) How could a ruthlessly authoritarian regime be transformed with relative ease into a stable democratic polity?; and 3) What institutions and governance enabled the authoritarian and democratic governments of South Korea to reduce poverty and inequality?
About the Authors
Taekyoon Kim
Taekyoon Kim is professor of public policy at Ewha Womans University, Seoul.
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Huck-Ju Kwon
Huck-Ju Kwon is professor at the Graduate School of Public Administration, Seoul National University.
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Jooha Lee
Jooha Lee is professor of public administration at Dongguk University, Seoul.
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Ilcheong Yi
Ilcheong Yi is research coordinator at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), Geneva. Together with Stein Ringen, they are the authors of The Korean State and Social Policy: How South Korea Lifted Itself from Poverty and Dictatorship to Affluence and Democracy (2011), from which this article is drawn.
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