S. Korea’s Exponential Economic Rise

How much has the Korean economy developed during the past 61 years since national liberation?

According to “Statistics on Economic and Social Changes in Korea since National Liberation” released yesterday by the National Statistical Office, Korea’s per capita gross national income (GNI) grew 243-fold from $67 in 1953 to $16,291 last year.

The monthly income earned by urban working households increased by 542.5 times from 5,990 won in 1963 to 3.25 million won in 2005.

Although these figures have not been adjusted for inflation, they are good indicators of Korea’s magnificent growth since liberation.

Korea’s gross domestic product (GDP) skyrocketed from $1.3 billion in 1953 to $787.5 billion last year, showing a 605.8-fold rise in 52 years. Meanwhile, per capita income soared by 243 times.

When the Korean economy was underdeveloped, people spent more than they earned. In 1963, urban working households made 5,990 won a month but spent 6,330 won monthly. Out of total household expenditure, spending on food accounted for two-thirds or 61.3 percent.

However, the share plummeted to 26.6 percent as of last year.

Instead, people are now spending more on transportation, communication, education, and entertainment. Out of total household expenditure, spending on transportation and communication accounted for only 2.6 percent in 1963 but rose to 17.4 percent last year, while the share of education and entertainment spending rose from 0.7 percent to 5.0 percent.

Moreover, Koreans are increasingly eating out, spending 48.5 percent of their total expenditure on food at restaurants last year. The percentage was a mere 7.5 percent in 1953.

Looking at the number of outbound travelers, only 8,000 people traveled overseas in 1960 compared to 9.5 million last year. At the same time, the amount of money each traveler spent overseas rose from $582 to $1,612.

The prices in Korea have risen dramatically as well.

The price level has jumped 28.5 times since 1965, which means 10,000 won in 1965 was worth 351 won last year.

Meanwhile, the country’s total population increased 2.4-fold from 20.189 million in 1949 to 48.294 million as of last year.

Land size is now slightly bigger, too. Korea was 93,634 km² in 1949, but various land reclamation projects expanded the land size by 6.4 percent to 99,646 km² as of 2005.

There are also things that have gotten smaller over time.

The number of students per teacher fell by more than half from 1952 to 2005; from 60.2 to 25.1 at elementary schools, from 41.8 to 19.4 at middle schools, and from 37.9 to 15.1 at high schools.

The number of people per doctor decreased dramatically, too, from 3,347 in 1953 to 468 in 2004.

The number of casualties per 100 car accidents stood at 77.4 in 1951 but declined to 3.0 last year.

Nevertheless, the number of road traffic casualties rose by seven times during the same period, due to an increase in car accidents.

The most severe natural disaster since national liberation was in 1959 when typhoon “Sarah” swept across Yeongdong, Yeongnam, and Honam areas. Then, 849 people were killed or went missing while 370,000 people were displaced.

The “worst” fire occurred on December 25, 1971, when a fire at Daeyeongak Hotel in Seoul killed 163 and injured 63.

sublime@donga.com