Thirdly , teaching the South Korea ’ s development story in school is necessary in order to restore the pride of American Korean War veterans , many of whom are frustrated because the war has been widely deemed a “ forgotten war ” in the United States .
3-5 . Secrets of Korea ’ s Successful Development
Now you may ask how South Korea achieved both economic development and political democratization while most other developing countries did not , especially given that South Korea was completely destroyed after the Korean War . Unlike some other developing countries , South Korea has an unfavorable environment for development , such as a small territory with scarce natural resources and the constant threat from North Korea even after the war . How did South Korea overcome all these difficulties and become the only country to achieve such remarkable developments ? What are the secrets ?
3.5.1 Education
Most Koreans are future-oriented . They are willing to invest in the education of their children , believing that good education is the key to both individual success and national development .
During the Japanese colonial period in the early 20 th century , visionary community leaders and Christian missionaries built many schools for the enlightenment movement and the independence movement . Even during the Korean War , South Koreans kept a strong belief that even when skipping meals , we cannot skip school . Classes for hungry children continued to be held outdoors or tents . In the 1960 ’ s colleges and universities were called “ Cow Bones Towers ” instead of Ivory Towers because farmers raised tuition for their children by selling their cows , their most valuable assets .
This strong educational zeal of South Koreans has enabled them to provide better education for their children . South Korea ’ s enrollment rate in tertiary education was recorded at 98 % in 2012 .
Education in South Korea has played an important role in Korea ’ s economic development and democratization . The stress on education produced high quality manpower with strong motivation and contributed to economic development . Education made the Korean people more interested in politics and determined to resist dictatorships . The very high ratio of highly educated citizens also contributed to the democratization of South Korea . In addition , many South Koreans who studied in the U . S . and European countries disseminated the western values of freedom and democracy in South Korea after they returned home .
3.5.2 Diligence , Creativity and Open-mindedness
Diligence of Korean people is widely acknowledged all over the world . Korean people have worked harder and with longer hours than most nations . Speed of task performance is considered by many to be the world ’ s best . Diligence of Korean people stems from future-oriented value , their strong sense of responsibility , a can-do spirit , and a perception that in a country with scarce natural resources , diligence and hard-work are the only way to better life .
It goes without saying that diligence of the Korean people has been one of the most important factors to their success . However , with the development of Korean society , more people , especially young generations , tend to believe that individual happiness through leisure or self-development is more important than hard-work .
Creativity of Korean people has also played an important role for the development of Korea . Their out-of-the-box thinking has enabled outstanding achievements to produce world top class IT products .
3.5.3 Leadership
The role of Korean leaders was very important in the initial period of nation building , when institutions were still fragile . The former President Park Chung-hee ’ s strong leadership with the foresight and vision to the future has been regarded as indispensable to the economic development of South Korea . He pursued a strong heavy industry and export driven policy to the world market ,