South Korea has a GDP per capita of $17,800 (2003 est.), meaning that it is now a fairly wealthy country. However, the 's (south Korea) economic growth over the past 30 years has been spectacular. Per capita GNP, only $100 in 1963, has now risen to $17,800. It is now the United States' sixth-largest trading partner and is the 12th-largest economy in the world. This shows that South Korea is now industrialising very quickly, as it now also has a GDP real growth rate of 5.8% (2002 est.), with a growth rate sometimes reaching as high as 10.8% in and 9.2% in .
South Korea’s industry is now made up of;
agriculture: 3.6% (primary)
industry: 36.4% (secondary)
services: 60% (2003 est.) (tertiary & quaternary)
This (along with the high GDP) shows that it is now classed as an MEDC, as the predominant industry is in the service sector.
The South Korean government has plans to privatize several large state-owned enterprises, including the power generation assets of the state electricity utility, Korean Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), and the natural gas monopoly Korea Gas Company (KOGAS). The privatization program has moved at a slower pace than originally planned, due in part to strong opposition from labour unions to some of the privatizations and delays in passing implementing legislation. Both privatizations are now officially scheduled for 2004. and this shows the governments overall outlook: In recent years Korea's economy has been moved away from the centrally planned, government-directed investment model toward a more market-oriented one.
To stimulate domestic demand, the South Korean government has also enacted a package of tax cuts directed at lower and middle-income workers.
However there has also been many problems associated with South Korea’s rapid industrialisation. The most predominant (economic) problem is that it now has massive debts to western countries – these reach $130 billion dollars of external debt
Environmentally, there have also been massive amounts of pollution created by the industrialisation. The total volume of pollutants from automobiles in South Korea is estimated to be approximately 1.6 million metric tons per year, over 80% of which are concentrated in urban areas. Large diesel buses and trucks, which account for under 10% of all vehicles, nonetheless are responsible for over 40% of total emissions.
This has also caused serious acid rain problems.
Trans-boundary pollution is also a major concern in the region, leading environmental ministers from South Korea, China and Japan to establish a joint commission to attempt to tackle the problem.
Rapid industrialisation has also caused the social problem of rural-urban migration, as young Koreans leave their home farms in order to look for a better job in urban areas. This has lead to the formation of many slum areas in the larger cities, along with deprivation of the rural land
The outlook for Korea is very good economically, as it has had a high growth rate for several years now, and will (probably) continue to do so. Environmentally, however, things are not so good, and despite government incentives to use busses and reduce shipping, emissions continue to rise
Bibliography
The following websites were used;
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/skorea.html
