Chaebol played a key role in developing new industries, markets, and export production, helping make South Korea one of the Four Asian Tigers. Although South Korea's major industrial programs did not begin until the early 1960s, the origins of the country's entrepreneurial elite were found in the political economy of the 1950s. Very few Koreans had owned or managed larger corporations during the Japanese colonial period. After the departure of the Japanese in 1945, some Korean businessmen obtained the assets of some of the Japanese firms, a number of which grew into the chaebol of the 1990s. The companies, as well
Economy of South Korea Economy of South Korea The economy of South Korea is the 4th largest in Asia and the 11th largest in the world. It is a mixed economy dominated by family-owned conglomerates called chaebols, however, the dominance of the chaebol is unlikely to last and at engenders risk of slowing down the transformation of Korean economy for the benefit of future generations. South Korea is known for its spectacular rise from one of the poorest countries in the world to a developed, high-income country in just a few generations. This economic growth is called by some a miracle, and described as