Dubbed the Miracle on the Han River, South Korea's ascension to the 11th largest economy on Earth can be largely attributed to centralized planning, the rise of the family-owned chaebols and the hard work of Korean citizens.
As an impoverished but population-dense nation lacking natural resources, 1960s Korea was bereft of a substantial domestic market and subsequently progressed toward heavy manufacturing. Korea rapidly industrialized during its shift to an export-driven economy until the mid-80s, specializing in ship and automobile manufacturing, two industries in which the state presently excels. However, the Asian financial crisis of 1997 dealt a severe blow to the nation, stunting its GDP and leading several of its largest and most debt-ridden chaebols, such as Daewoo, to come apart at the seams. Korea swiftly recovered from the crisis, accepting a US$57 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and loosening corporate loan policies to rejuvenate its GDP to acceptable levels by 1999.
In 2015, Korea's exportation of goods and services accounted for approximately 50 percent of its US$1.849 trillion GDP, with electronics exports, its largest sector, earning US$138.4 billion. Korea has also been the 5th largest automobile manufacturing country in the world for over a decade. However, Korea's commercial crutch is also its Achilles' heel, as heavy reliance on non-diverse exports leaves Korea especially susceptible to global market fluctuations. Thus, the Korean economy deteriorated as China, Korea's largest trading partner, economically stumbled in 2016.


南韓翻身 韓流再起

南韓躋身為全球第十一大經濟體被稱為「漢江奇蹟」，而這項成就主要可歸功於中央集權式規畫、家族財閥的崛起以及南韓人民的勤奮。
身為一個窮困但人口密集卻又缺乏自然資源的國家，1960 年代的南韓欠缺龐大的國內市場，因此朝重工業發展。直到 1980 年代中期，南韓在轉為出口導向經濟的過程中迅速工業化，專精於船舶與汽車製造，這兩項產業正是該國目前最傑出的。然而，1997 年的亞洲金融危機對南韓造成沉重打擊，阻礙其國內生產毛額的成長，並導致該國數家最大且負債累累的財閥——例如大宇集團——就此瓦解。南韓從這場危機中迅速恢復，接受國際貨幣基金提供的五百七十億美元紓困金，並放寬企業貸款政策，使國內生產毛額在 1999 年之前就恢復到可接受的水準。
2015 年，南韓出口的商品與服務在該國 1.849 兆美元的國內生產毛額當中占了約一半，其中最大的產業是電子產品出口，賺進了 1,384 億美元。十多年來，南韓也一直是全世界第五大的汽車製造國。然而，南韓的商業支柱也是其最大的弱點，因為高度依賴非多元的出口，使南韓特別容易受全球市場波動的影響。於是，當南韓最大的貿易夥伴中國 2016 年在經濟上跌了一跤時，南韓的經濟也因此惡化。