| I just want to throw in some perspective. From the 1900s to the 1960s, it’s fair to say that Korea’s economy (that is, the few decades it was independent) was worse off economically than what you’d think of, say, Haiti today. 1895: The one Korean ruler trying to modernize the nation was assassinated (Queen Min).
1910: Japan “annexed” Korea (a 400 year old goal finally realized), and it tried to strip away the native language and culture.
1945: Japan lost.
1950: Proxy war between China and the United States, razing the entire peninsula.
1953: Now, Korea is finally ready to rebuild. Divided,
but at least it’s quiet. The 1960s to the 1970s were remarkable in that it transformed the country into a very productive and industrialized nation. It just took a bootstrap of reparation payments, loans, some export treaties, and a dictator who meant well but was fortunately assassinated (my personal view) at the right moment. Even in the 1970s, North Korea had a more productive economy than South Korea. It’s not until the 1980s where Korea came into its own. If I recall correctly, South Korean nurses often were sent to countries such as West Germany en masse during the 1960s and 1970s, in order to get more cash flowing into the economy. In that context, prostitution was yet another way to get money flowing. Definitely seedy (looked down upon, absolutely) but Korea’s recovery and rise was a drawn out hard-scrabble. My family was a former “0.1%” before losing most of it in the Korean War, but even what was left over was enough to live reasonably (my parents graduated from top colleges, for example), then eventually leave. I joke with my wife that my life would’ve been more comfortable in South Korea if they’d just stuck it out, but I don’t blame them for never wanting to go back to
live there. |