Introduction
Emerging markets, also known as developing countries, are emerging economies that are investing in further productive capacity. (Amadeo, 2014) South Korea is one of the Asian Tigers along with Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore which have free and highly developed economies in the world. It is ranked 2nd in the emerging markets list by 2014 based on average GDP growth, inflation rate, government debt, foreign direct investment, etc. (Bloomberg, 2014)
Country Profile
Geography
South Korea occupies the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula, which is a country located at the northeastern edge of the Asian continent, shares its northern border with China and Russia, and juts toward Japan to the southeast. It is officially known as the Republic of Korea and its capital and largest city is Seoul. Korea is roughly 1,000 kilometers long and encompasses around 222,154 square kilometers in total. South Korea's terrain is mostly mountainous. (Government, Geography and Climate, 2012)
Demographics
South Korea is one of the most densely populated countries in the world; the population density of the country is about 1,271 people per square mile. The current population of the Republic of Korea is about 50.004 million people in 2013, which is an approximate 0.45% increase from the population taken in the last census. The capital city is Seoul; it is also the country's largest city and chief industrial center. According to the 2013 census, Seoul had a population of 10.1 million inhabitants. The population has been increased by the country's rapid economic expansion and international migration. (South Korea Population 2013, 2013)
Culture
Korea is one of the most homogeneous countries in the world. It has its own culture, language, d...
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Conclusion
The South Korean economy is characterized by moderate inflation, low unemployment, an export surplus, and fairly equal distribution of income. South Korea continues to strive to maintain global competitiveness. South Korea has been open to various employment opportunities in various industries. It has a free market economy, which makes it easier to trade with South Korea. Based on expectations of improvement in export growth and higher government spending along with higher corporate investment, the Korean economy is expected to expand by 3.5% to 4.0% in 2014 and by 4.0% in 2015. (Corporation, 2014) . Moreover, there are also investor’s benefits for foreign investments, such as no restriction on capital inflows, tax exemptions, free trade agreements etc.
All of these factors make South Korea an attractive country for foreign investors to invest in.
Korea, North (2012). In U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. World Factbook [online]. Retrieved on 20 May 2012 from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kn.html
North and South Korea have apparent differences geographically, demographically, economically, and politically. Quite recently, North Korea tested a missile that landed in the sea between North Korea and Japan. The leaders of North Korea claim that they have nuclear weapons
The land of the morning calm, this was what Korea was called many years ago. Unfortunately, circumstances have changed. Korea is now no longer a single country but has been split into two parts; North Korea and South Korea.
Korea is considered one of very few homogenous cultures within the world. With the exception of a population of about 20,000 Chinese immigrants located mostly in the city of Seoul, people of both North and South Korea identify as ethnically Korean, all sharing a common language and culture, with a slight sense of regionalism between different parts of the peninsula. (Soh, 2006) The people of the Korean peninsula either call themselves Korean or Choson. The names used to identify themselves come from the two longest lasting dynasties in their history, the Koryo dynasty, which ran from 935 to 1392, and the Choson dynasty, which lasted from 1392 to 1910. (Seth, 2011)
(b) Number of Japanese in the Republic of Korea: 15,217 persons (as of October 1 1999; 14,648 long-term residents, 569 permanent residents)
South Korea has a strong $1-trillion economy; it is the third largest market in Asia, behind Japan and China. It also has the 13th largest economy in the world. It is expected that the economy’s current upward trajectory will continue for some time to come. This makes South Korea an attractive market for foreign investment, especially as the world economy, as a whole, continues to improve.
North Korea is very mysterious and isolated from the rest of the world. Very little is known about what actually happens in the state. This isolation began in 1945 when Kim Il-Sung came to power of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (also known as North Korea). He started a reign of rule that was based on self-reliance. It began the Kim dynasty, a period of extreme authoritarian rule. Although it is called the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, citizens have very little rights and no choice in their leader. Ironically, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea comes in last of 167 countries in the democracy index. (“Liberty and Justice for Some”) Under the rule of Kim Il-Sung, Korea entered the Korea War, which strained relations with other countries. North Korea then grew more into isolationism and more into poverty. Under the rule of Kim Jong-Il, North Korea became very involved in nuclear weapons that resulted in strained relations with the United Nations and its member states. When Kim Jong-Un came into power, the citizens have suffered from lack of rights and crimes against humanity. The Kim dynasty has harmed North Korea’s citizens and its chances of becoming a world power.
From Korean Pop stars to dramas, South Korea has it going on. It seems that there is not one Asian country that has not had the Korean Wave, a Chinese term given to South Korea referring to the exportation of their culture, completely wash over it. What started as an Asian sensation, the Korean Wave is now beginning to spread globally, ranking South Korea as one of the top countries known for its exportation of culture. Between music, television, and video games, South Korea’s economy is rapidly increasing as the world continues to fall in love with its entertainment industry.
South Korea is a country that has rapidly developed. But the country also experienced military dictatorship in the 1980s
Communist North Korea continues to be an underdeveloped country while South Korea continues to prosper in all areas such as technology, and agriculture. These two countries have vast differences with their political and government views. North Korea at one point was influenced by the Soviet Union but no longer. However, North Korea continues to be influenced by and receive aid from China. South Korea continues to be influenced by the United States of America. North Korea is governed and controlled by a dictatorship, which has complete control over media and social
South Korea, once a broken country filled with broken families, has transformed itself into a fine example of perseverance in a tough situation. South Korea and its neighbor to the north have developed past where they were before the Korean War, but in different ways. The two countries, while certainly dependent on each other, are vastly different. Their conflicting styles of government and their differing cultures speak for themselves in this case. South Korea has, over the years, changed dramatically from the crippled country of the Korean War into a blossoming beacon of Asian cultural and economic changes. The combination of its recent economic importance, its heavy cultural influence, and its constant danger of participating in a war makes South Korea one of the most influential countries in the world.
South Korea is officially called the republic of Korea. It accompanies the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its location is between the Yellow Sea and the East Sea. An artificial boundary called the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separates South Korea from its neighboring country, North Korea. South Korea has a total area of 38,502 square miles. A little known fact is that South Korea is slightly larger than the state of Indiana.
The international business development has heightened the importance of international market selection (IMS) of companies, especially for their exporting strategy. However, not many companies really comprehend the geographical, social, economic characteristics of foreign countries in comparison with their home countries (Cavusgil, 1985). This fact has challenged many studies to create the optimal approach for IMS. The major question is: Which foreign market should a company enter? Thus, this report focuses on providing a practical consultancy to evaluate and determine its most appropriate foreign markets.
South Korea’s scarcity of natural resources has motivated it to look at its human capital as its biggest endowment, leading it to invest heavily in education, science and technology to create a knowledge-based economy. In doing so, it has achieved a literacy rate close to 98%, with 65% of the population under 35 having completed a university education, the highest among OECD countries.
Due to the harsh differences between the peoples of Korea, and especially due to the onset of Communism, the Korean War erupted and the nation split in half, with the Communist-supported Democratic People’s Republic in the north and those who favored democracy in the Korean Republic of the south (Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2000). The two separate countries of North Korea and South Korea have gone their opposite ways, and each has experienced different fortunes in the past half-century. The South Koreans managed to recover from the turmoil of the 1950s and 1960s to become an economic power and a democracy supporter. On the other hand, North Korea can be viewed as a retro country, based first on a Communist ideology, laid down by leader Kim Il Sung and inherited by his son, the current dictator Kim Jong Il, then evolving into a totalitarian state (Pacific Rim: East Asia at the Dawn of a New Century). Today, North Korea holds the distinction of being one of the very few remaining countries to be truly cut off from the rest of the world.