Economic growth, low income and housing in S. Korea

When S.Korea was liberated from Japan and soon partitioned between the South and the North in 1945, she was one of the world's poorest countries. The Korean War (1950-1953) had a profound impact on S.Korean society. Hunger became even more routine and famine very common. After the military revolution in 1960 onwards the S.Korean government consistently continued a "growth-first approach" to promote rapid economic development which could then generate resources to raise the living standards of those on low incomes, rather than a selective and targeted approach which involved extensive public action to improve the circumstances of destitute people. Since this time S.Korea began to be counted as a rapidly industrialising country. In 1960, about 65.9 per cent of the labour force in S.Korea was engaged in agriculture and a mere 9.2 per cent in the mining, manufacturing and construction sectors. In 1990, only 19.5 per cent of the labour force was engaged in agriculture and 34.7 per cent in the mining, manufacturing and construction sectors. Even in industry, the structure of the industry has changed from labour-intensive industry, such as textiles and shoes, to capital and skill-intensive industry, such as shipbuilding, automobiles and electronics. In 1960, the urban share of total population was 28.0 per cent. This figure grew to 74.4 per cent in 1990. All these were accompanied by changes in occupation, social class, even the way of life. Even within the house itself, the change in the use of fuel from timber to gas and electricity was accompanied by a dramatic change in the design and structure of housing.

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

PhD

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Glasgow

Year dc:date.issued

1995

Author dc:creator

• Kim, Woo-Jin

• HM Sociology
• HC Economic History and Conditions
• DS Asia

Language dc:language

en