The economic history of the Republic of Korea

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Labor Complaints Could Prompt International Strife for Korea
From the Wall Street Journal, 20 July 1996. Korean bosses, the world over, aquiring a notoriety for poor employee relations, which may hinder Korean investments abroad.
Winds of Corporate Downsizing, Wage Freeze Sweeping Nation
By Choi Sung-jin, in The Korea Herald, 14 September 1996.
Labor Battle Shows Failure Of 'S. Korean Miracle'
By Brian Taylor, in the Militant, 10 February 1997. The recent series of general strikes in context of South Korea’s economic history since World War II.
Economic Crisis in Korea Pushes Many Into Farming
By Michael Baker, Christian Science Monitor, 5 October 1998. The end of rapid industrialization leads to a boom in new farms. This back-to-the-land movement has roots in nation’s Buddhism. Farming has emerged as an alternative for those disillusioned with industrial society and as an opportunity for legions of newly unemployed.
IMF praises South Korea
BBC World Service, Thursday 10 December 1998. The managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Michel Camdessus, welcomed a decision by South Korea to start repaying its debt to the IMF. South Korea had built up its foreign currency reserves and the currency had strengthened against the dollar. Share prices on the Seoul stock market have doubled in the last few months.
A remarkable year for Kim Dae-jung
Editorial, Asia Times, 26 February 1999. In November of 1997 when the former Korean government of President Kim Young-sam went hat-in-hand to the International Monetary Fund, the country for all intents and purposes was bankrupt. It is remarkable what the government achieved in the year since he took office.
Employers conditionally accept five-day workweek
Korea Herald, 23 June 2000. The Korea Employers Federation, the nation’s largest employer association, said it will conditionally accept labor’s demand for a five-day workweek, shortening the legal working hours from the current 44 hours a week to 40 hours.
Militant S Korean unions disturb foreign investors
Reuters, Taipei Times, Friday 12 September 2003. [Article offers a capitalist perspective] The image of a country of cheap, reliable, educated workers has been damaged by long-running and often quite violent worker unrest. The main concern of foreign chief executives and investors is the labor union problem in South Korea.