An economy that in the 1960s had a per capita income on a par with sub-Saharan Africa is now snapping at the heels of Britain and France.Forty-plus years, and a poor country is now, for all purposes, a rich one. And that country is ....
South Korea.
Its economy is practically as big as India’s even with a population less than one-twentieth the size. It exports more goods than the UK, a statistic admittedly more surprising to those who are aware that Britain still makes things. Samsung, not long ago considered a poor-man’s Sony, overhauled Hewlett-Packard last year to become the world’s biggest technology company by sales.I had a whole bunch of classmates from South Korea when I was in grad school. My dissertation guide, Harry, refers to them as the Korean mafia--no, they are not into illegal activities. All those guys are doing really well as academics and policy wonks, and remain well networked. Good for them, I say. One guy took me to a Korean BBQ restaurant, which was quite an experience. With another guy I remember going to the Chart House--this one was by Malibu. One guy went to Vegas one weekend and came back about 3,000 dollars richer!!! All those guys seemed to have quite some loose change in their pockets, while I was always scrambling for money :)
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