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Lecturer(s)
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Course content
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Week 1. From War to Growth: The Korean Economic Puzzle Week 2. How to Read an Economic Argument: Explaining Korea's Export Take-off Week 3. Liberalisation and the Changing Rules of the Game, 1980s-1990s Week 4. The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis: When the Model Broke Week 5. The Developmental State Goes Digital: Who Built Korea's Broadband Miracle? Week 6. Innovation, R&D and the Productivity Puzzle Week 7. Trade, Global Value Chains and Economic Security Week 8. Hallyu as an Economy: What Are We Actually Measuring? Week 9. Labour Market Dualism: Who Gets a Good Job? Week 10. Finance, Housing and Household Debt Week 11. Low Fertility and the Limits of the Korean Economic Model Week 12-13. Research Project Defence Course Organization and Student Work. Before each class, all students are expected to read a short text introducing the main question or argument of the week. In addition, one student will read a more academic or critical text and briefly present its research question, main argument, evidence, and possible limitations to the group. The aim is not simply to summarize readings, but to learn how to identify an author's question, understand how evidence is used, and evaluate alternative explanations. At the first class, students will receive access to a shared Korea Semester Dataset, which will be used throughout the course. The dataset contains selected indicators on economic growth, investment, trade, digitalisation, innovation, labour markets, household debt, and demographic change. Students will return to the same dataset in different classes and learn how the same indicators can be used to address different research questions. The dataset is a living resource and may be expanded during the semester as new topics, readings, or research questions require additional evidence. Each student will also develop a small individual research project during the semester. The project should formulate a clear question about the South Korean economy, engage with relevant literature, use appropriate data, and present an evidence-based conclusion. The project will develop gradually through several milestones: Week 3: submission of a preliminary topic and research question. Week 6: submission of a short list of relevant academic literature (2-3 papers). Week 9: brief presentation of the selected data, preliminary findings, or problems encountered in finding or interpreting evidence. Week 12-13: final presentation and defence of the research project. The final project is therefore not intended as a large independent research paper, but as a structured exercise in moving from a research question to literature, evidence, interpretation, and a defensible conclusion.
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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unspecified
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Learning outcomes
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This course examines the contemporary economy of South Korea through the interaction of institutions, firms, markets, and public policy. Rather than providing a chronological survey of Korean economic history, it focuses on the rules and incentives that shape economic behaviour and outcomes. The course begins with the post-war transformation of South Korea and the emergence of the developmental state, but uses this historical background primarily to explain the institutional foundations of the contemporary economy. Particular attention is paid to the changing relationship between the state and business, the role of chaebols, financial liberalisation, and the restructuring that followed the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The course then turns to major features and challenges of the present-day Korean economy, including digitalisation, innovation, labour-market dualism, household debt, global value chains, and demographic decline. Students will examine how institutions that once supported rapid industrialisation operate in a mature, high-income economy. Throughout the course, competing explanations of Korean economic performance will be discussed rather than treating economic development as the outcome of a single model or policy. Academic readings will be combined with statistical data from Korean and international sources. Students will learn to distinguish description from explanation, evaluate authors' arguments, and assess what economic indicators can and cannot demonstrate. The course concludes with student research projects in which they formulate a question about the Korean economy and defend an evidence-based answer.
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Prerequisites
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unspecified
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Assessment methods and criteria
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unspecified
Presentation of academic article - 30%; attendance (more than two absences = writing an essay) - 20%; defence of a research project (50 %).
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Recommended literature
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Amsden, Alice. Asia's Next Giant: South Korea and Late Industrialization. 1989.
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Eichengreen, Barry, Wonhyuk Lim, Yung Chul Park & Dwight H. Perkins. The Korean Economy: From a Miraculous Past to a Sustainable Future. 2015.
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Kim, Nak Nyeon. Korean Economic Growth, 1876?2022: Openness, Institutional Change, and Learning. 2025.
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Kim, Sunil & Jonson Porteux. The South Korean Economy. 2022.
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Lee, You-il & Richard Lee. The Korean Economy: From Growth to Maturity. 2019.
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Sakong, Il & Youngsun Koh, eds. The Korean Economy: Six Decades of Growth and Development. 2010.
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