Dr. Jong-Sung You, University of California, “The Origin of the Developmental State in South Korea: A Reexamination of the Park Chung-hee Myth”

Jong-Sung YouJong-Sung You is the Assistant Professor and Co-Director of the Korea-Pacific Program at the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at the University of California. He makes a case against the typical academic credit given to Park Chung-Hee for his supposedly robust economic reforms, and challenges that the comparisons between the regimes of Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-Hee are unduly exaggerated. Jong-Sung You finally argues for the key role of land reforms in the rapid economic growth of Korea.

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