Description
Book SynopsisIn 1961 South Korea was mired in poverty. By 1979, it had a powerful industrial economy and a vibrant civil society that led to democracy eight years later. This volume examines the transformation as a study in the politics of modernization, contextualizing many historical ambiguities in South Korea’s trajectory toward sustainable economic growth.
Trade ReviewThis remarkable book will establish itself as the most significant work on the Park period. -- Stephan Haggard, Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California San Diego
Park emerges in these essays as a remarkably skillful politician, and the political dimensions of almost all economic policies were foremost in his calculations...This excellent collection of essays convincingly argues that any examination of South Korea as a model of how a poor country can climb out of poverty needs to factor in the personality of Park Chung Hee and the domestic and international politics of the time. -- Michael J. Seth * The Historian *
This significant work on the Park Chung Hee era is composed of 21 chapters by as many Korean specialists...The work provides an enhanced understanding of the political and economic goals of Park Chung Hee (i.e., rich country and strong military) and the forceful means he was willing to use to achieve these goals. The scope and insightfulness of this collection of essays on this critical period in South Korean history make it a must for undergraduate and graduate library collections on Korea. It is strongly recommended for private collections on Korea as well. -- J. M. Peek * Choice *
Somehow [this] escaped the notice of much of the broader world...This [collection] is superb, as it offers a very detailed and also fairly comprehensive look at the seminal years for South Korean economic growth…Not everyone will want 650 pp. on economic (and other) policy under South Korean autocracy, but if you do this is the book for you. -- Tyler Cowen * Marginal Revolution *
