Nationalism, religion and economic development in Korea

South Korea has been held up as an example of excellence in economic development. Very few nations have managed to raise themselves out of deep poverty and into a world economic power. While a great deal of scholarship has been carried out on South Korea's economy, it is their unique history, culture, and national identity that is responsible for their ascendance from war-torn, post-colonial developing country to OECD nation and Group of 20 member. Although undoubtedly impressive, South Korea did not develop itself in isolation. From foreign influences ranging from ancient religions to trillions of dollars in aid from the United States, many factors have contributed to shaping Korea's path to greatness. No single agent or national movement can be said to be responsible for Korea's astonishing modernization in the 20th century. Instead, it is necessary to consider the culture and hard-working character of the Korean people as a whole and their leaders in particular in order to understand how South Korea had succeeded where other developing countries have not. The development of powerful religious institutions, national identity and ethnic and racial nationalism are analyzed in this dissertation within the context of the four presidents responsible for the intensive developmental period, and the role of nationalism in their political and economic policies is explained. This dissertation concludes that nationalism played a crucial role in the economic development of South Korea. A broad selection of literature from English, Korean, and Turkish sources were studied in order to develop a circumspect understanding of Korean nationalism and economic development and to expand upon the knowledge of the effect of nationalism on economic development in Turkish scholarship.