The Growth of Economics Profession in Korea

Abstract

Since the introduction of economics in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the economics profession in Korea has survived incessant political ordeals. One of the most severe hardships was the subjugation of Korea to Japan in 1910. Even after independence from Japan in 1945, the growth of the community was not smooth at all. The Korean War, which broke out in 1950 after the attack of the North Korean communist regime, in 1950, demolished the entire basis of academic activities, and cost the South Koreans a decade for recovery. The rapid growth of the economics profession was made possible, along with fast economic development, in the 1960s as seen in Table 1. As what Samuelson calls the Neo-c1assical synthesis has dominated worldwide economic thinking in this period, most Korean economists have favored mainstream economics. It should be noted, however, that Korea's initial condition before the rapid importation of the Neo-classical synthesis differed from that of other Western countries.