ABSTRACT
South Korea has experienced rapid economic growth and successful democratization (Heo et al., 2008; Hahm et al., 2013). Its case is exceptional because its extraordinary social economic growth since the 1960s came despite the Korean War (1950–1953) and its status as one of the poorest countries in the world in the 1950s. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of South Korea in 1954 was approximately $1.5 billion and per capita GDP only $70 (Heo et al., 2008). Its GDP per capita reached US $23,061 in 2007 and US $27,811 in 2014 (source: World Bank database).
