Customer Reviews

After Development: The Transformation of the Korean Presidency and Bureaucracy

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Choice magazine said about this book: The authors study South Korea's transition from the authoritarian to the postdevelopmental state through both institutions (the presidency and the bureaucracy) and policy (technology development and transfer). Hahm (Korea Univ.) and Plein (West Virginia Univ.) challenge the existing developmental model, which assumes the monolithic power of bureaucracy, and they focus on the Korean presidency, finding that broader social, historical, and economic effects are undermining the ability of the state (primarily the president) to formulate development policy and that the influences of the state vis-avis economic actors is in decline. A weakness is the limitation to technology policy: the applicability of the conclusions to other policy areas is uncertain. Paradoxically, while the authors criticize the developmental model as emphasizing the power of the bureaucracy, their conclusions indicate the declining power of the presidency (which must act as broker among competing private interests and public actors) and the growing influence of the bureaucracy. It remains to be seen whether these conclusions will hold in the post-Kim era. In sum, this book offers valuable insights into the dynamic changes in Korea in particular and to the transition of a developmental state in general.

Although being Korean, but having been brought up in the states, I was never interested nor aware of all the politics and the bureaucracy intertwined in Korea. However, the authors depth and insights were truly mind awakening. I now have a better understanding and historical overview of the transitonal changes undergoing in Korea. A must read for my third generation Korean-American children.

Excellent theoretical overview of the political situation and history of the South Korean economy. This book reveals that the true source of success of the Korean economy is the President, not the bureaucracy. Furthermore, this book did an in-depth analysis of foreign direct investment and technology licensing in Korea.

While this book provides some interesting statistics on foreign investments, I did not find anything in it that adds to what we know already know about the executive branch and bureaucracy in Korea. I ordered the book because of its interesting title. I am returning it because other than the title and perhaps the first two chapters, there is very little reason to keep it.