POLS 459 Politics of East Asia The Late Developers: South Korea and Taiwan October 24, 2007 Timothy...

POLS 459 Politics of East POLS 459 Politics of East AsiaAsia

The Late Developers: The Late Developers: South Korea and TaiwanSouth Korea and Taiwan

October 24, 2007October 24, 2007

Timothy C. Lim, Ph.D.Timothy C. Lim, Ph.D.California State University, Los AngelesCalifornia State University, Los Angeles

Contact: [email protected]: [email protected]

The Late Developers:South Korea and Taiwan


Getting Started …How should we answer the question, “Where Do High Growth Political Economies Come From?” • Which of the following statements best reflects Kohli’s basic argument?

A. In East Asia, they come solely from the actions of disciplined, highly competent bureaucrats

B. Most significantly, they come mostly from the actions of enterprising individuals seizing present opportunities

C. In an important sense, they come from

historical influences, practices and patterns



“We turn to history and only to history if what we are seeking are the actual causes, sources, and conditions of overt changes of patterns and structures in society”

~ Robert Nisbet



Understanding the Importance of HistoryHistory is important insofar as we can find meaningful and significant continuities that link the past to the present

In Korea, one of the most important of these continuities is the link between two historical periods, the ____________ and the ________________

Just knowing a link exists, of course, is not enough. We must also know, with as much precision as possible, its impact on concrete institu- tions, organizations, and practices

colonialpostcolonial



Understanding the Importance of History

A Caveat!History is not destiny

Continuities do not have inevitable results; in fact, continuities are often multiple, competing and contradictory

Historical legacies also may find “new expressions” in different political, social and economic contexts: consider the postcolonial development of North and South Korea …



Understanding the Importance of History Stalinist

dictatorship; weak, socialist economy; frequent famines; anemic civil society

Authoritarian system (up to 1987); strong, capitalist economy (after 1961); dynamic civil society



Historical Roots of Korean Historical Roots of Korean DevelopmentDevelopmentOne more caveat

before we proceed …

In thinking about the the importance of history, keep the metaphor of historical roots firmly in mind: Like roots, history

cannot be ignored

History is often

hidden, but is

always there



Historical Roots of Korean Development

Basic Argument

Japanese colonial influence on Korea, between 1905 and 1945, was decisive in shaping a political economy that later evolved into the high-growth South Korean

path to development

In this respect, it is crucial to understand that Japanese colonialism was very different from

the colonialism of European powers




Some Questions …

What was unique about Japanese colonialism?

What significant, long-lasting changes did Japanese colonialism bring to Korea?

Why are these changes relevant to under-standing postcolonial economic development?

DISCUSSDISCUSS



Historical Roots of Korean DevelopmentImportant Changes: Destruction of the old, “predatory” state

The Yi Dynasty ruled Koreafor 500 years; despitestability and centralization,dynasty was weak, corrupt,and unable to respond toserious challenges; it wasalso a “predatory” regime, taxing its poorest subjectsbut providing little in return

A portrait of the Yi Dynasty, early 20th century



Historical Roots of Korean DevelopmentImportant Changes: Destruction of the old, “predatory” state

A pervasive problem in many traditional societies is the power of the landed class, or the landed aristocracy: in 19th century Korea, this class was known as the Yangban

Japanese colonialism did not destroy theYangban, but it did redefine their relationship to the state and the rest of Korean society: in particular, the Japanese shifted the balance of powerfirmly to the side of the state




Question

Why does a powerful land owning class generally act as an obstacle to capitalist and industrial development, not just in Korea but in developing countries throughout the world?



Historical Roots of Korean DevelopmentImportant Changes: Creation of “Strong State”

In place of Korea’s weak and ineffective state, Japan created a highly centralized, highly bureaucratized, highly repressive, but also extraordinarily effective colonial state

Unlike European colonial states, moreover, the Japanese colonial state was focused not just on control and extraction (of resources), but on the economic transformation of colonies to help the “motherland” catch up with the West as quickly as possible

A key architect of the colonial transformation of Korea was Ito Hirobumi, a leader of the Meiji Revolution. He was later assassinated

by a Korean nationalist in 1909



Historical Roots of Korean DevelopmentImportant Changes: Creation of New State

“Ito and his successors set out to deliberately construct anew Japanese-controlled Korean state….Havingcaptured the heart of the state, the colonial rulerssought to systematically create a depersonalized“public arena,” to spread their power wide anddeep, and to coopt and/or repress nativeKorean political forces.”

They succeeded with a vengeance.



Historical Roots of Korean DevelopmentImportant Changes: The New Civil Service

A critical, but often overlooked aspect of colonial rule is the imposition of a new civil service. This happened in all colonies, but in Korea’s case, “the Japanese colonial project was qualitatively distinct, both the extent and the intensity of bureaucratic penetration was unique”



Historical Roots of Korean DevelopmentImportant Changes: The New Civil Service

One area in which the uniqueness of Japan’s colonialpolicies, especially regarding the civil service, was differentcan be found in the sheer number of officials hired torun the Korean colony

In 1910, there were 10,000 officials (not including police or soldiers) in the Japanese-Korean government …

But, by 1937, there were at least 87,552!

Significantly, of this number, at least 40,000Koreans qualified as government officials before WWIIWWII

10,000

87,55287,552



Historical Roots of Korean DevelopmentImportant Changes: The New Civil ServiceThe New Civil ServiceThe sheer numbers of bureaucratsallowed the state to have a presencein much of the country: from the center, to the outlying regions,much like an octopus …

The colonial government, move-over, buttressed these numbers with other effective means of control,including a large, very extensive policepresence (which grew from 6,222 in 1910to over 60,000 by 1941)

6,222 60,000



Historical Roots of Korean DevelopmentSumming Up Thus Far …

“In sum, the personalized and factionalized Yi state with a limited reach in society came to be replaced by a colonial state with a considerable capacity to penetrate and control the

society; this state was simultaneously oppressive and efficacious. A highly centralized apex with near absolute powers of legislation and execution--and

thus of setting and implementing ‘national’ goals-- and a pervasive, disciplined civil and police bureaucracies constituted the cores of the new state.”



Historical Roots of Korean DevelopmentOther Critical Changes

Colonial state forged new alliances with indigenous economic classes in Korea: these were unbalanced, but still mutually beneficial alliances

Japanese exploited, but also invested in Korea, especially in infrastructure (e.g., railways, communications) and in education

The colonial state reorganized agricultural production, promoted industrialization in “strategic industries,” and also encouraged a heavy export orientation

1

23



Historical Roots of Korean DevelopmentState-Business Relations

One particularly salient aspect of Japanese rule was the unique nature of state-business relations, which had many lasting implications …

Emergence of large-scale business enterprises: largely a product of (1) an industrial policy that provided subsidies and protection to a select group of entrepreneurs, and (2) the nature of the Japanese industrial project

Deep integration of Korean and Japanese economies

Instituted rigid framework in which the state and capital worked together to control labor for the purpose of rapid economic transformation



Historical Continuities

“If Korea at the turn of the 20th century was a mini-China, by mid-century, Japanese colonialism had transformed it into a mini-Japan.”

Korea“mini-Japan”

“Japan”

One way to picture the overall legacy of Japanese colonialism to consider Korea at c. 1940 to be a

“mini-version” of Japan. What does this suggest

about Korea’s subsequent development?

One way to picture the overall legacy of Japanese colonialism to consider Korea at c. 1940 to be a

“mini-version” of Japan. What does this suggest

about Korea’s subsequent development?



Historical Continuities

The historical legacies of Japanese rule, to repeat an earlier warning, did The historical legacies of Japanese rule, to repeat an earlier warning, did not necessarily or inevitably lead to an era of high speed economic growth. not necessarily or inevitably lead to an era of high speed economic growth. But even in a comparison of North and South Korea, the importance of these But even in a comparison of North and South Korea, the importance of these legacies is clear …legacies is clear …

Consider the path taken by North Korea. Consider the path taken by North Korea. What made it possible to build a What made it possible to build a tightly disciplined, rigid Stalinist regime so quickly following liberation?tightly disciplined, rigid Stalinist regime so quickly following liberation?



Historical ContinuitiesIn South Korea, the ultimate direction of the country was not set until ___________________ took power

Not coincidentally, Park was a product of the Japanese colonial army: he was trained by the Japanese in a military academy in Manchuria

In addition, we was a self-avowed “Japanophile” and fascinated by the “Meiji Model”

Park Chung-Hee



Historical ContinuitiesWhile the personal background and skills of Park were no doubt important, it is more important to remember that Park emerged and acted within an institutional, historical and social context already clearly defined by the Japanese

In this sense, we can argue that Park’s choices were limited: he had three basic roads to follow …

Revolutionary Communism

Corrupt Autocracy

Developmental State



Historical ContinuitiesOnce the road toward the developmental state was chosen, Park had all the tools, all the relationships, the entire framework he needed to achieve rapid economic growth

In this regard, South Korea was far, far ahead of many other poor countries of the time: the country may have had the same per capita income as Ghana or the Philippines, but it had a foundation for capitalist development that those, and other poor countries, utterly lacked

Developmental State

POLS 459 Politics of East Asia The Late Developers: South Korea and Taiwan October 24, 2007 Timothy...

Documents

Transcript of POLS 459 Politics of East Asia The Late Developers: South Korea and Taiwan October 24, 2007 Timothy...