Korean Globalization

Korean internationalization or globalization has its history in the early 1980s but did not come of age until 1994 when President Kim Young-sam (pictured) formally outlined his vision during the APEC summit held in Sydney, Australia.

Samuel S Kim described the Sydney declaration as "more than a flash in the pan" as it led to the major reorganization of the executive branch making it more suited "for an all-out globalization drive."

"From early 1995 to late 1996, a globalization fever swept the country: no other buzzword has been more commonly used - and misused - among politicians, policymakers, business entrepreneurs, academics and journalists," Kim wrote (Globalization Helps Korea Create New Identity, in Insight Into Korea, Herald Media 2007).

Globalization meant different things to different people - a strategic principle, a mobilizing slogan, and for Korean conglomerates, "to be free of state monitoring and supervision without giving up politically connected loans or state control of labor unions, while at the same time going global to escape rising wages and political demands from labor unions at home."

Even after Kim stepped down, the globalization drive was carried on by Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun.

Roh called on Koreans to embrace growing Northeast Asia regionalism. His willingness to open Korea to the global economy is said to be most visible in his pursuit of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), even though the Korea-US FTA is said to be a nervous move by Korea in response to China's rapid economic growth.

Kim noted, "the underlying logic and recurring theme in all the presidential vision and policy announcements from Kim Young-sam to Roh Moo-hyun remains unchanged - that globalization is the most expeditious way of overcoming Korea's historical identity as a helpless shrimp among whales."

"There is no illusion that Korea will ever become a great power. Nonetheless, thanks to the end of the Cold War, globalization and democratization, South Korea is no longer the marginal shrimp but now a pivotal player in Northeast Asia economics, security and culture."