Korea Between 1980 and 2010

Korea between 1980 and 2010

The historical development of Korean politics and public administration between 1980 and 2010 involved two phases. The first phase was all about democratization (1980-1999) which involved enhancing civil and political society at the same time in order to express the citizen's voices and promote interaction with other countries across national borders. The second phase was advancement (2000-2010) towards superior levels in the political section. In both the phases, the Korean government has played a crucial role in a variety of ways. Today's Korean political society has become much more mature and democratic compared to how it was in the past decades. Decades of U.S. -backed authoritarian rule in South Korea, enlightened the citizens to turn against their former dictators and embrace cultural pride after which they realized North Koreans were also fellow Koreans. The South Korean elections of 1997 made long-time dissident Kim Dae-jung president, who later won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts at encouraging understanding with the North peninsula. The current South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun, who is in support of his predecessor's "Sunshine Policy" of rapprochement with the North, was presented with a unification puppy after taking office in 2003.

Korea is one of the success stories in development administration. It has actually become a major economic powerhouse and its growth is an example of late industrialization, a process which a nation follows the steps of earlier developed nations. During this period of rapid economic growth, the relationship between the government and business has been unusually close, with the government taking charge of most of the processes. Korea attained the economic growth through its own policy framework and systems. This was done through the principle of reciprocity whereby the government imposes strict performance standards on the particular industries and companies that benefit from government subsidy. Economic growth was also sparked and sustained by an intensive industrial export-promotion drive. The growth of Korean exports was accomplished by the expansion of highly entrepreneurial big business groups. The political leadership also mobilized the leadership of the private sector to work toward the desired goals.

Korean culture is very amusing and has many marvelous traditions. It is a magical place where you find serenity and peace of mind, but on the other hand, wars and tragedies also occur. Although the rate at which South Korea is modernizing is extremely fast, it still maintains its' many traditional values and the old practices of life. Where the population in the cities is not that high, there are rural area's which are still relatively poor, and still live according to traditional ways of life. In cities, you will find that millions of people live in apartments, while in the rural areas traditional housing are most common. Also, in the cities, some people still hold on to their traditional values despite the fact that modern times are at hand. Language is the main contributing point to this factor. The language has original traditional values of social status and respect connected directly into