Innovative South Korea tops economy, hi-tech and pop culture rankings

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South Korea has developed into one of Asia’s most affluent countries since partition in 1948. Roughly half of the country’s 51 million people reside in the Seoul Capital area, the second largest in the world with over 25 million residents.

Inhabited half a million years ago, the Korean civilization began with Gojoseon, with the earliest Korean pottery dating to 8000 BC.

Between 1962 and 1994, South Korea’s tiger economy soared at an average of 10% annually, fueled by annual export growth of 20%, in a period called the Miracle on the Han River that rapidly and successfully transformed it into a high-income advanced economy and the world’s 11th largest economy by 1995, providing valuable development patterns.

South Korea is presently the world’s fifth largest exporter and the seventh largest importer, according the latest data provided by Wikipedia.

Koreans are among the richest in the world, enjoying Asia’s highest average income and average wage. The country is also a top global performer in education, quality of healthcare and as a business friendly country.

Driven by high-tech chaebols such as Samsung, the world’s largest technology company, Hyundai-Kia and LG, South Korea was named the world’s most innovative country in the Bloomberg Innovation Index, ranking first in research and development spent per GDP and patents filed per GDP. It is notable for being the world’s largest shipbuilder and having the world’s fastest Internet speed ranking first in e-Government, 4G LTE coverage and second in ICT Development Index and smartphone usage.

South Korea is actually at the leading edge of the digital revolution. It is a trailblazer for high-speed and wireless Internet. Around 45 million South Koreans – out of a population of almost 49 million – were online by 2014 (InternetWorldStats).

In terms as politics, South Korea elected its first female president, Park Geun-hye, in a close-run contest in December 2012. Park was sworn in as president in February 2013.

Korean pop culture has considerable influence in Asia, and is expanding globally as a phenomenon often called the Korean Wave. South Korean TV soaps are popular across the world, as part of the “Korean Wave”.

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