3.3 Industry
Geography of Korea: III. Production and Consumer Space > 3. Industry: Electronics, IT, and Shipbuilding
3. Industry: Electronics, IT, and Shipbuilding
Korea’s pre-modern industry was centered on cottage industries that used indigenous raw materials, for instance, bamboo products from Damyang, hwamunseok products (woven from stems of a type of indigenous rush plant) from Ganghwa Island, and linen from Hansan. During the Japanese colonial period (1910–1945), the country’s industry was developed as part of a colonial-service economy, centered on consumer industries in the Seoul-Incheon area and on mining industries in what is today North Korea. At the end of Japan’s occupation of Korea in 1945, the country still faced a host of difficulties, including national division, a lack of raw materials, political turmoil, and social unrest. However, from the 1960s, South Korea embarked on rapid industrialization, moving from the promotion of import substitution industrialization to full-fledged export-oriented industrialization. Today, South Korea is a major exporter of semi-conductors, electronics, and refined petroleum products and a leader in ship-building. The country can boast a world-class competitiveness while its economy is a driving force in the world economy.
