The Korean Economic Miracle. How South Korea Became a Tech Giant in 30 Years

South Korea became a model of “late industrialization”: lacking experience in innovation, it turned learning from innovative countries into a national idea. The government deliberately limited the use of foreign aid to the purchase of foreign technologies, the latest equipment and entire turnkey factories. To maintain state support, Korean companies had to enter the fields of mechanical engineering, shipbuilding, electronics and metallurgy, although they had previously been engaged in sewing clothes and cleaning rice. The efforts paid off, and Korea itself became an innovator, showing the way for other countries.