The Korea Success Story

KOREA

I

t is often said that Korea did in 50 years what the developed nations of the West took 200 years to do. This is not that great an exaggeration. When

SUCCESS STORY

Korea was liberated from 35 years of colonial rule in 1945, it found itself a

From Aid Recipient to G20 Chair

Fast forward some 50 years, and what you behold is a nation that would

desperately poor and in many respects backward nation with little experience

THE KOREA SUCCESS STORY

THE

“South Korea’s hosting of the G20 next year is also a prime example of the economic success it has had in a relatively short period of time and its movement into the ranks

with capitalism, democracy, and the global economy.

of the world’s leading economies.

be virtually unrecognizable to observers from the 1950s. Seoul, once a

South Korea’s success serves as a

bombed-out city that more resembled a refugee camp than a national capital,

prime example for still developing

glistens with glass and steel, its night skies flickering with the lights and energy

economies and its hosting of the

of a city on the move. Thanks to wise policymaking, international help and a 5,000-year-old culture of hard work and education, Korea transformed into a developed nation almost overnight, with the world’s 15th largest economy and a per capita income of almost US$30,000 (PPP). In 2009, a country that once survived on foreign aid joined the OECD Development Assistance Committee, a club of some of the world’s biggest donor nations. In November 2010, Korea will become the first Asian nation and first non G8 nation to host the G20 Summit.

- From Prologue

THE

KOREA

SUCCESS STORY From Aid Recipient to G20 Chair

G20 next year is demonstrative of the global leadership role that it is undertaking.”

US President Barack Obama Interview with Yonhap News Agency

the Korea success story From Aid Recipient to G20 Chair Copyright Š 2010 by Seoul Selection All Rights Reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher.

Published by Seoul Selection B1 Korean Publishers Association Bldg., 105-2 Sagan-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-190, Korea Tel: 82-2-734-9567 Fax: 82-2-734-9562 E-mail: publisher@seoulselection.com Website: www.seoulselection.com ISBN: 978-89-91913-72-1 03910 Printed in the Republic of Korea

Contents Prologue

4

Part I

A Dynamic 60 Years

6

Part II

Korea’s Miraculous Development Vibrant and Cutting-Edge Koreans in the World Giving Back to the World Growing Green

14 16 26 30 36

Part III

G20 & Korea’s Future G20 Seoul Summit Korea’s Future after the G20

40 42 46

the Korea success story: From Aid Recipient to G20 Chair

Prologue

It is often said that Korea did in 50 years what the developed nations of the West took 200 years to do. This is not that great an exaggeration. When Korea was liberated from 35 years of colonial rule in 1945, it found itself a desperately poor and in many respects backward nation with little experience with capitalism, democracy, and the global economy. The US government, which provided the bulk of the aid that sustained Korea in its early years, thought Korea would never develop, and instead aimed simply to keep the country from collapsing. In 1960, Korea enjoyed a lower per capita income than most African states.

Fast forward some 50 years, and what you behold is a nation that would be virtually unrecognizable to observers from the 1950s. Seoul, once a bombed-out city that more resembled a refugee camp than a national capital, glistens with glass and steel, its night skies flickering with the lights and energy of a city on the move. Thanks to wise policymaking, international help and a 5,000-year-old culture of hard work and education, Korea transformed into a developed nation almost overnight, with the world’s 15th largest economy and a per capita income of almost US$30,000 (PPP). In 2009, a country that once survived on foreign aid joined the OECD Development Assistance Committee, a club of some of the world’s biggest donor nations. In November 2010, Korea will become the first Asian nation and first non-G8 nation to host the G20 Summit.

Things are only just beginning—experts predict that by 2050 Korea might

4

have the world's second highest per capita income behind the United States.

This booklet will examine the Korea success story, taking the reader from Korea’s difficult post-war roots to its radiant eco-friendly future. In addition to the economic side of the story, which is relatively well known, it will also look at how Korea—ever thankful for the international community’s early support—is now expressing that gratitude in the form of assistance to developing nations and active participation in peacekeeping and international security.

The 2010 G20 Summit in Seoul—a gathering of the world’s most influential leaders that will largely set the direction of the world’s future—will allow the countries of the world to experience the Korea success story for themselves.

More importantly, however, it is an opportunity for Korea—a newly developed state that knows both the responsibilities of wealth and the challenges of poverty—to play its natural role as a bridge between the developed and developing worlds. By promoting the needs of developing nations in a way that benefits all, Korea seeks to make the G20 Summit the launching pad for coordinated efforts to rebalance the global economy. Korea will also share its experience and expertise in confronting and overcoming adversity to seek creative and practical solutions to problems faced by many economies since the 2008 global financial crisis and to promote stable and sustainable growth through the creation of financial safety nets.

5

the Korea success story: From Aid Recipient to G20 Chair

The Han River, the heart of the Korean capital of Seoul. It is for the waterway that the "Miracle on the Han River"—Korea's extraordinary post- war economic growth—was named.

8

“South Korea's hosting of the G20 next year is also a prime example of the economic success it has had in a relatively short period of time and its movement into the ranks of the world's leading economies. South Korea's success serves as a prime example for still developing economies and its hosting of the G20 next year is demonstrative of the global leadership role that it is undertaking.”

US President Barack Obama, Interview with Yonhap News Agency, Nov 3, 2009

“Economically, Korea of the late 1950s was almost universally seen as a basket case, as a typical example of an aid-dependent economy. Few people had any hope for the future of the country, which had one of Asia’s lowest per capita incomes—lagging well behind Papua New Guinea.”

Andrei Lankov, “Korea Was Exception in World History,” Korea Times, Jan 3, 2010

K

orea is the world’s 15th largest economy, and enjoys purchasing power parityadjusted per capita GDP of US$27,310. It is the world’s largest builder of ships,

a major auto manufacturer, and producer of some of the world’s best consumer electronics. The capital, Seoul, entrances visitors with its enchanting harmony of the ancient and cutting-edge. Korean corporations are admired the world over for their innovation and high-quality products.

What makes this all the more remarkable, however, is where today’s Korea started.

From 1910 to 1945, the nation languished under brutal Japanese colonial rule, suffering economic exploitation, political repression, and cultural destruction. Japan’s defeat in the Pacific War led to Korea’s liberation from the occupation, but Cold War tensions resulted in the division of Korea and the tragic Korean War (1950-1953). When the guns finally fell silent, millions of Koreans were dead, maimed, or displaced, and much of the nation lay in ruin. In 1960, Korea was poorer than most sub-Saharan African states.

Post-War Recovery and High-Speed Growth Koreans boast of 5,000 years of history, most of it glorious and proud. The first half of the 20th century, however, was not particularly kind to Korea. The dual disasters of 9

the Korea success story: From Aid Recipient to G20 Chair

income in 1988 was US$3,720, but just five years later in 1993 it was US$8,190. In 2009, it reached US$19,830. The games also promoted a sense of pride in Korean culture and tradition.

In 2002, Korea co-hosted the FIFA World Cup with Japan. Like the Olympic Games in 1988, this marked a major “coming out” moment for Korea. Through the World Cup, the world was able to see Korea’s passion and unity in the waves of Korean fans cheering for their team on the streets of Seoul. Korea also showed off its first-class football infrastructure, including beautiful state-of-the-art stadiums, an advanced transportation system, and first-class information and communication technology.

Beginning in the 1990s, the Korean economy began a shift away from manufacturing to become a “knowledge-based economy,” with a particular focus on information technologies. What visitors in 2002 found was the world’s most “wired” nation, where high-speed Internet access was almost universal. The unexpectedly strong performance of the Korean football team, which made the quarterfinals of the tournament, also inspired a sense of nationalism and pride, both of which had been hurt greatly just five years earlier when Korea experienced an economic crisis so serious it required an IMF bailout.

12

Korean fans gathered in front of Seoul City Hall during the 2002 World Cup.

A Dynamic 60 Years

Top 15 Economy and the G20 Summit The Korea of the 21st century is well on its way to becoming one of the leading nations of the world. In 1996, it became a member of the Organization for Economic CoOperation and Development (OECD), an organization composed of the world’s leading high-income economies. Korea is also a member of the Group of Twenty—or G20— a collection of the world’s largest and most influential economies, whose finance ministers and heads of state meet annually. In fact, the 2010 G20 summit will be held in the Korean capital of Seoul.

With a nominal GDP of US$832.5 billion (2009), the Korean economy currently stands as the 15th largest in the world, or 13th if adjusted for purchasing power parity.

The Korean manufacturing base is still strong, with Korean shipbuilding in particular the world’s most dominant with a 50.6% share of the global shipbuilding market as of 2008. Korea was also the fifth largest producer of automobiles, with the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group becoming the world’s fourth largest automobile manufacturer and the second largest in Asia, after Toyota. The Korean IT sector has gotten much of the recent spotlight, with technology giant Samsung Electronics becoming the world’s largest technology firm in 2009 on the strength of its leading cell phone, display, and semiconductor businesses.

Korean construction firms, m e anw h i l e , are m a k i ng a n a m e f or t h e m s e l v e s , participating in some of the most dramatic construction projects of our age, including the Petronas Towers, Taipei 101, and Burj Khalifa.

The 828m, 160-floor Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE, built by Samsung C&T. Korean construction companies have been involved in some of the world’s biggest engineering projects.

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the Korea success story: From Aid Recipient to G20 Chair

Korean world-leading IT firms like Samsung and LG show off their products at Korea Electronics Grand Fair (KEGF).

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Vibrant and Cutting-Edge The Korean Economic Miracle and Beyond As of 2009, the Korean economy was the 15th largest in the world by nominal GDP and 13th largest by purchasing power parity-adjusted GDP. It was also the ninth largest exporter and tenth largest importer in the world, with exports worth US$364 billion and imports worth US$323 billion in 2009. Korean shipbuilders, automakers and technology firms were among the largest in the world. Korea’s rise—called the “Miracle on the Han River,” and not without reason—is considered one of the most dramatic examples of economic development in human history and is widely studied as a growth model for developing economies.

Starting from Scratch The Dark Age of Colonialism Korea’s ascent up the economic ladder was neither an easy one nor a forgone one.

Decades of Japanese imperial rule bequeathed onto Korea a typically colonial economy, one specialized for the export of agricultural goods (particularly rice) and raw materials to Japan. The end of the Japanese empire severed this relationship, and cut off trade links with other parts of the former Japanese empire like Manchuria. The post-liberation division of Korea, too, had a crippling effect on the Korean economy.

Japanese colonial policy had concentrated its industrialization efforts in the northern regions of the Korean peninsula; accordingly, the division and subsequent communist takeover of the North robbed Korea of most of its industrial output. Most of Korea’s power-generating capacity, too, was concentrated in the North, meaning that even in terms of electricity South Korea faced serious barriers to its development. What little South Korea inherited would soon be largely destroyed in the Korean War, which left Korea with most of its industrial plant ruined, its cities flattened, countless killed and wounded, and a large percentage of the population left homeless as refugees in their own country.

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the Korea success story: From Aid Recipient to G20 Chair

Kia’s “POP” electric concept car at the Paris Motor Show. It is a “zero emissions” vehicle that produces no exhaust.

launched the 6,000-passenger MS Oasis of the Seas, the world’s largest passenger ship.

Displacing about 100,000 tons, it weighs as much as an American nuclear aircraft carrier.

Automobiles The Korean automobile industry became one of Korea’s major growth engines in the 1980s, when Korean auto production grew fivefold from 1984 to 1988. Today, Korea is the world’s fifth largest automobile manufacturer—behind China, Japan, the United States and Germany—producing 3,512,916 units in 2009. The massive Hyundai Kia Automotive Group is the world’s fourth largest auto manufacturer and the second largest in Asia, behind Japan’s Toyota.

One interesting aspect of the Korean auto industry has been the gradual shift from producing low-cost but low-quality vehicles to vehicles now renowned for their outstanding quality. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Hyundai was known for producing low-cost cars. In 2004, the same company was ranked second in “initial quality” in a poll by J.D. Power and Associates. In 2009, the Hyundai Genesis luxury sedan was named North American Car of the Year by North American automotive journalists.

Construction The Korean construction industry has long been a backbone of the Korean economy— a quickly developing economy means plenty to build, and fast. In fact, the construction sector allowed Korea to weather the oil shocks of the 1970s as Korean construction 24

Korea’s Miraculous Development

firms went to the petrodollar-flush Middle East to earn foreign exchange. Korean construction companies are still busy at work overseas, although Korean firms now participate in high value-added construction projects such as the 160-story, 828m tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai, constructed by Samsung C&T. Other Korean-built landmarks overseas include the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Taiwan’s Taipei 101.

Tower 2 of Kuala Lumpur’s landmark Petronas Towers was built by Samsung Engineering & Construction and Kukdong Engineering & Construction.

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the Korea success story: From Aid Recipient to G20 Chair

Yuna Kim (figure skating) Just 20 years old, figure skater Yuna Kim might be Korea’s most recognized international sports star. The gold medal winner in the ladies' singles event at the 2010 Winter Olympics, she is currently the world’s highest ranked figure skater and holder of several records.

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Koreans in the World Koreans a Major Presence on Global Stage Korea has long prided itself on being a “nation of culture”; for centuries, its artists and artisans have produced ceramics, paintings and other works of art famous throughout Asia. Korea’s post-war development, however, has allowed Korean culture to bloom as the nation experiences a cultural renaissance. Adding to this renaissance has been the introduction of cultures from overseas—while Korea is an ancient culture, Koreans have also been quick to learn from others. The result is a culture that is both sophisticated and pulsating with energy.

As Korea’s place in the international community grows, so does the visibility of Koreans active on the world stage. Korea has produced countless cultural and sports figures who have received the international spotlight. This has especially been the case in recent years, as the Korean Wave—the phenomenal growth in the popularity of Korean pop culture overseas, especially in Asia—has turned many Korean celebrities into household names.

Ban Ki-moon Prior to becoming UN Secretary-General, Ban Kimoon established himself as one of Korea’s finest diplomats over a long and distinguished career that saw him rise to the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs. As UN Secretary-General, Ban has received praise for his hard work and professional even-handedness in dealing with difficult international situations such as the Darfur crisis.

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the Korea success story: From Aid Recipient to G20 Chair

Park Ji-sung (football) One of the greatest footballers Korea has ever produced, Park Ji-sung has played for football legends Manchester United since 2005. The 29-year-old midfielder is known for his fitness, discipline, and work ethic, traits that have also earned him the captaincy of the Korean football team.

Pak Se Ri (golf) In 2008, Eric Adelson of “Golf World” magazine called golfer Pak Se Ri “a pioneer...who changed the face of golf even more than Tiger Woods.” When Pak joined the LPGA in 1998, she was the only Korean. A decade later, Korea was a dominant presence, with no fewer than 45 Koreans on the tour.

Jo Sumi (opera) Grammy Award-winner Jo Sumi is one of Korea’s most recognized names.

The Grammy Award-winning soprano has garnered a string of honors, including a Grammy and first prize in the Carlo Alberto Cappelli International Competition in Verona in 1986.

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Kim Duk-soo (Korean traditional music) Any discussion of Korean music must include Kim Duk-soo, a former child prodigy who has worked to bring Korean traditional music to the world for over 30 years. Founding the group SamulNori in 1978, Kim took Korean traditional rural music and turned it into a cultural phenomenon.

Korea’s Miraculous Development

Lie Sang-bong (fashion design) One of the rising stars of the fashion world, Lie Sang-bong has made his name by harmonizing Parisian fashion with the beauty of the East. Particularly striking is his use of Korea’s indigenous writing system, Hangeul, in his designs.

The many celebrities he has dressed include no less fashionistas than Beyonce and Lady Gaga.

Kang Sue-jin (ballet) Kang Sue-jin is the principal dancer of the Stuttgart Ballet, where she was the first Asian to join that prestigious troupe.

Both technically brilliant and artistically gifted, she has mesmerized audiences with her emotional and dramatic performances.

Paik Kun-woo (piano) Since giving his first concert at age 10, pianist Paik Kun-woo has performed recitals at the world’s top concert halls, as well as with the world’s top orchestras and conductors. He is also a regular performer at Europe’s major classical music festivals.

Nam June Paik (modern art) Next time you see the term “information superhighway,” thank Nam June Paik, who coined the term “Electronic Super Highway” decades prior to the invention of the Internet. The father of “video art,” Paik—who passed away in 2006— brought the moving image into modern art with his mesmerizing works that blend sculpture and TV screens.

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the Korea success story: From Aid Recipient to G20 Chair

Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) volunteers in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

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Giving Back to the World Contributions to International Development & Security In addition to Korea’s stunning economic and political development, its growth as a responsible member of the international community has also been nothing less than astounding.

From its liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945 to the beginning of its rapid economic growth in the 1960s, Korea was highly dependent on foreign aid from the international community. More dramatically, the international community came to Korea’s rescue in the Korean War, when 16 nations sent troops to Korea to repel North Korea’s invasion and save the country from communist takeover. UN forces suffered over 150,000 casualties in that war, including over 40,000 killed.

Today, however, Korea is an active player on the international scene and a generous provider of international assistance. The Korean military has participated in many United Nations peacekeeping operations and has been a major player in the US-led War on Terror, dispatching troops to Iraq and Afghanistan and deploying warships off the Somali coast. In 2009, Korea provided developing nations with US$816 million in Official Development Assistance (ODA); in November of that year, it joined the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee, becoming the first former aid recipient to join the body.

Growth as a Member of the International Community Korea’s development as a member of the international community is all the more impressive considering Korea’s past. It would be wrong to say Korea spent much of its history isolated from the world—in fact, it has a long history of cultural and economic exchange with its Asian neighbors, as well as further afield through the Silk Road. That said, by the second half of the 19th century Korea had instituted a policy of isolation so thorough that Western visitors dubbed the country the “Hermit Kingdom.”

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The KoReA SuCCeSS SToRy: From Aid Recipient to G20 Chair

Participants listen to the welcoming address of “Green Korea 2009” at Seoul’s Lotte Hotel. “Green Korea” is an international meeting to discuss plans to promote green growth strategies and build social agreement for sustainable development.

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Growing Green Sustainable Development in an Eco-Friendly Future One of the Korea’s key areas of interest in development policy is the promotion of green growth strategies through the sharing of knowledge and experience. In an interview with the Korea Times, Young Soo-gil, chairman of the Presidential Committee on Green Growth, said: “Korea is also willing to take leadership in the international efforts to help build physical infrastructures in the developing countries in climate change-resilient ways. For these purposes, Korea is to make green growth partnership a leading component of its increased ODA (official development assistance) commitment as a new member of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC).”

Again, Korea finds itself perfectly placed to assist developing nations with ecofriendly development. In the 1960s, as Korea was beginning its rapid economic growth, it also instituted a reforestation campaign widely praised as the world’s most successful: 65% of Korea is covered in forests, a miracle if one remembers that colonization and the Korean War left Korea’s hillsides virtually treeless. It also finds itself placed perfectly in another way. In the current struggle to bring about a global effort to combat climate change, the battle line is drawn between the developed world and developing nations.

As a newly developed nation that knows both the pain of poverty and the importance of environmental issues, Korea can play the role of bridge, bringing together rich and poor nations and promoting international agreement.

Key to the extension of Green Growth into Seoul’s ODA policy is the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), a government-funded global think tank launched in July 2010. The institute was created to study and develop green growth strategies and policies, to build a systematic green growth theory as a new global growth paradigm, and to provide support for developing nations to develop green growth plans of their own. Seoul hopes that by 2012 the GGGI can be developed into an international treaty-based institution to promote and share knowledge and experience regarding international growth.

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the Korea success story: From Aid Recipient to G20 Chair

Korean President Lee Myung-bak gives a welcoming address at the G20 Sherpa Meeting in Seoul on July 21, 2010.

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G20 Seoul Summit Strengthening Economic Recovery and Promoting Sustainable Development The Korean capital of Seoul will host the 2010 G20 summit from Nov 11 to 12. For Korea, this is a double honor, as it is the first Asian nation and first non-G8 member to host the prestigious gathering of leaders from the wealthiest nations in the world. The 2010 summit is particularly meaningful in that it comes not long after the tumultuous global economic crisis of 2008, and it will provide a valuable opportunity for world leaders to formulate strategies to ensure a continued economic recovery and promote sustainable development.

Korea’s role in the summit promises to be pivotal. It is a wealthy, developed nation, but one with a recent experience of poverty and development, making it uniquely able to understand the needs and aspirations of both the developed and developing world.

Korea’s capacity as a “bridge” is tremendously important to the G20’s future, which depends on addressing issues of importance to the developing world. Speaking at a forum in Seoul in September, SaKong Il, president of the Presidential Committee for the G20 Summit, said, “We feel that (South) Korea is well positioned to play the role

Agenda of the G20 Seoul Summit 1. Ensuring Ongoing Global Economic Recovery: The world economy has bounced back considerably since 2008, but the recovery is fragile. In the Toronto summit in 2010, G20 leaders agreed on the need to safeguard and strengthen the recovery and lay the foundation for strong, sustainable growth. This work will continue in Seoul.

2. Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth: G20 leaders will discuss and agree on a comprehensive plan of action aimed at building strong, sustainable and balanced growth, including policy commitments from member states.

3. Strengthening the International Financial Regulatory System: Restoring the financial industry’s integrity, transparency, and accountability is a major task facing the post-2008 global economy.

4. Modernizing International Financial Institutions: The 2008 crisis called into question the effectiveness of existing international financial institutions, such as the IMF and World Bank; accordingly, reform of these institutions is a pressing agenda item.

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the Korea success story: From Aid Recipient to G20 Chair

Members of Young Astronauts Korea run as the KSLV-1, Korea's first launch vehicle, looms in the background at Naro Space Center in Goheung, Jeollanam-do. The center was established to turn Korea into a space power.

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Korea’s Future after the G20 A Smarter, Greener, More Multicultural Nation In many ways, the future is already happening in Korea. With its focus on ubiquitous information technology, the knowledge economy, and Green Growth, Korea has been an “early adopter,” if you will, of the policy and social trends that will shape our world in the coming decades.

Developed Nation to Economic Giant Korea weathered the global financial crisis of 2007 fairly strongly and is expected to enjoy healthy growth in the decades ahead. The investment bank Goldman Sachs has predicted that by 2025 the Korean economy would surpass those of G7 nations, and that by 2050 Korea would enjoy a per capita income of over US$90,000, making it the second richest nation per capita behind the United States. The bank has also designated Korea one of the so-called “Next 11”—eleven economies that could be among the largest of the 21st century. It even went as far as to say that in the event of Korean reunification, the size of the Korean economy could surpass even that of Japan, the world’s current number two economy.

Growing Multiculturalism As Korea goes to the world, the world is coming to Korea. The transformation of Korea from a poor, isolated Asian backwater into a dynamic global trader and economic powerhouse has radically changed Korean society. Korea’s foreign population currently stands at around 1 million; by 2050, this is expected to quadruple to 4.09 million, or almost 10% of the population. This trend is already being felt, with Korea’s cities becoming increasingly cosmopolitan as they grow into international business centers.

Growing Greener Koreans have long held the environment in an almost reverential regard. This culture of environmentalism, put somewhat on the back burner during Korea’s development run, is coming back strong and will be a prominent feature of Korean life in the coming

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KOREA

I

t is often said that Korea did in 50 years what the developed nations of the West took 200 years to do. This is not that great an exaggeration. When

SUCCESS STORY

Korea was liberated from 35 years of colonial rule in 1945, it found itself a

From Aid Recipient to G20 Chair

Fast forward some 50 years, and what you behold is a nation that would

desperately poor and in many respects backward nation with little experience

THE KOREA SUCCESS STORY

THE

“South Korea’s hosting of the G20 next year is also a prime example of the economic success it has had in a relatively short period of time and its movement into the ranks

with capitalism, democracy, and the global economy.

of the world’s leading economies.

be virtually unrecognizable to observers from the 1950s. Seoul, once a

South Korea’s success serves as a

bombed-out city that more resembled a refugee camp than a national capital,

prime example for still developing

glistens with glass and steel, its night skies flickering with the lights and energy

economies and its hosting of the

of a city on the move. Thanks to wise policymaking, international help and a 5,000-year-old culture of hard work and education, Korea transformed into a developed nation almost overnight, with the world’s 15th largest economy and a per capita income of almost US$30,000 (PPP). In 2009, a country that once survived on foreign aid joined the OECD Development Assistance Committee, a club of some of the world’s biggest donor nations. In November 2010, Korea will become the first Asian nation and first non G8 nation to host the G20 Summit.

- From Prologue

THE

KOREA

SUCCESS STORY From Aid Recipient to G20 Chair

G20 next year is demonstrative of the global leadership role that it is undertaking.”

US President Barack Obama Interview with Yonhap News Agency