This article was contributed by Rahimullah Yusufzai for 'The News' after his brief trip to South Korea.
The original article can be read here.
The story of South Korea having learned and benefited from Pakistan’s experience in economic planning in the 1960s is often told and retold.
Anyone telling this story invariably adds that Pakistan faltered on the way after showing promise at the time while South Korea surged ahead by learning from others. There is now no comparison between Pakistan and South Korea. Pakistan’s economic problems are well-known while South Korea has become the world’s 11th largest economy. Its economy is the strongest among the four original Asian Tigers, the others being Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
This writer heard this story on quite a few occasions during a recent visit to South Korea, but one of the narrators, Jay Hee Oh, was particularly of interest as he had first-hand knowledge about the official Korean delegation sent to Pakistan to find out more about its five-year plan and learn from the Pakistani experience. He served as South Korea’s consul general in Islamabad in 1982 and became the first Korean ambassador to Pakistan in December 1984 when the diplomatic mission was upgraded. Leading a retired life in Seoul, the 79-year old Oh is presently the chairman of the Korean-Pakistan Friendship Association.
According to Oh, the World Bank officials in the early 1960s advised the South Korean government to send a delegation to Pakistan to study its five-year economic plan as they felt it could serve as a model for Korea. Mentally alert with a sharp memory, this is how he recalled that memorable visit: “I was at the time serving in the Korean embassy in Washington. A military coup had taken place in South Korea on May 16, 1961, and the new government of General Park Chung-hee was keen to undertake economic development by launching our country’s first five-year plan. The head of the Korean delegation that visited Pakistan was my friend and he and Dr Mahboobul Haq, who was also a friend of mine, narrated this story to me.”
Jay Hee Oh remembered that Korea had, for the first time, set up an economic planning board in its ministry of planning and economy and its director planning led the delegation to Pakistan. “We were very poor," he said. "Korea had no resources, but we were determined to change our lot. We learned from Pakistan’s experience and also of other countries, but we did things in our own way as we embarked on the mission of industrialising and developing our country.”
Oh said that Dr Mahboobul Haq was one of those Pakistani economists the South Korean delegation met. “You know Dr Haq was a top economist. He was always recommended by the World Bank and others as someone who needed to be heard. At the World Bank, he later became the right-hand man of President Robert McNamara,” he pointed out. “Korea learned some lessons from Pakistan. It is time Pakistan learned from Korea,” he remarked with a chuckle.
Recalling a meeting with Pakistan's military ruler General Ziaul Haq, Oh said the first question he asked was the secret of Korea's success as an economic power. "My answer was why don't you ask Dr Mahboobul Haq!" he said.
Times indeed have changed. Pakistanis are now trying to learn a thing or two from South Korea as one witnessed at the Korea Development Institute (KDI) School of Public Policy and Management in Seoul. Students from 60 countries are studying at the school, spread over a sprawling and leafy campus. Professor Jin Park, a known South Korean economist, has 25 students from 18 countries in his class studying development economics and two of them are Pakistanis, both government officials. It was heartening to hear from Professor Park that these two were among his three top students. “Two Pakistani students are the best performers in my class. They are intelligent, disciplined and motivated,” he opined.
“Anyone with a master’s degree in economics can apply in our course, all imparted in English. We also offer generous scholarships,” he added.
Here is an opportunity that Pakistani graduates in economics should try to avail because we need to learn from the Korean experience. The Korean example is nothing short of a miracle as an over-populated country with a small territory has progressed so fast that it is now serving as a model for other countries. It was notoriously unstable politically in the past, but is a vibrant and stable democracy now. In 2009, South Korea became the first major recipient of official development assistance (ODA) to turn the corner and ascend to the status of a major donor of ODA. The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) is now disbursing aid to a growing number of countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. South Korea is the sixth largest exporter and the tenth largest importer in the world. It is among the world leaders in electronics, mobile phones and ship-building. South Korea has few resources, but technological advancement serves as the strength of its robust economy. The Koreans refer to their remarkable success as the ‘miracle of the Han River,’ the mighty river that flows in Seoul and bifurcates the nation’s capital into two.
The potential for Pakistan to learn and benefit from the Korean success and for the two countries to expand their economic relationship is largely untapped. South Korea’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Choongjoo Choi, told this writer that his country wanted to enhance its economic cooperation with Pakistan and enhance their bilateral trade from the existing $1.1 billion. He said Pakistan could get quality Korean products at reasonable prices that are lower than Western goods. Without naming China and Taiwan, he argued that Korean electronic and other products were of a better standard even if slightly higher in prices.
Pakistan cannot match South Korea’s bilateral trade with India, which now stands at $16 billion, and with China, stated to be an unbelievable $1 billion dollars a day. However, the potential for enhancing trade between the two countries clearly exists and needs to be exploited. Perhaps it is also time for the Republic of Korea to return the favour that Pakistan did to it in the 1960s and impart lessons that would kick-start the ailing Pakistani economy. n
The writer is resident editor of The News in Peshawar. rahimyusufzai@yahoo.com
The original article can be read here.
The story of South Korea having learned and benefited from Pakistan’s experience in economic planning in the 1960s is often told and retold.
Anyone telling this story invariably adds that Pakistan faltered on the way after showing promise at the time while South Korea surged ahead by learning from others. There is now no comparison between Pakistan and South Korea. Pakistan’s economic problems are well-known while South Korea has become the world’s 11th largest economy. Its economy is the strongest among the four original Asian Tigers, the others being Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
This writer heard this story on quite a few occasions during a recent visit to South Korea, but one of the narrators, Jay Hee Oh, was particularly of interest as he had first-hand knowledge about the official Korean delegation sent to Pakistan to find out more about its five-year plan and learn from the Pakistani experience. He served as South Korea’s consul general in Islamabad in 1982 and became the first Korean ambassador to Pakistan in December 1984 when the diplomatic mission was upgraded. Leading a retired life in Seoul, the 79-year old Oh is presently the chairman of the Korean-Pakistan Friendship Association.
According to Oh, the World Bank officials in the early 1960s advised the South Korean government to send a delegation to Pakistan to study its five-year economic plan as they felt it could serve as a model for Korea. Mentally alert with a sharp memory, this is how he recalled that memorable visit: “I was at the time serving in the Korean embassy in Washington. A military coup had taken place in South Korea on May 16, 1961, and the new government of General Park Chung-hee was keen to undertake economic development by launching our country’s first five-year plan. The head of the Korean delegation that visited Pakistan was my friend and he and Dr Mahboobul Haq, who was also a friend of mine, narrated this story to me.”
Jay Hee Oh remembered that Korea had, for the first time, set up an economic planning board in its ministry of planning and economy and its director planning led the delegation to Pakistan. “We were very poor," he said. "Korea had no resources, but we were determined to change our lot. We learned from Pakistan’s experience and also of other countries, but we did things in our own way as we embarked on the mission of industrialising and developing our country.”
Oh said that Dr Mahboobul Haq was one of those Pakistani economists the South Korean delegation met. “You know Dr Haq was a top economist. He was always recommended by the World Bank and others as someone who needed to be heard. At the World Bank, he later became the right-hand man of President Robert McNamara,” he pointed out. “Korea learned some lessons from Pakistan. It is time Pakistan learned from Korea,” he remarked with a chuckle.
Recalling a meeting with Pakistan's military ruler General Ziaul Haq, Oh said the first question he asked was the secret of Korea's success as an economic power. "My answer was why don't you ask Dr Mahboobul Haq!" he said.
Times indeed have changed. Pakistanis are now trying to learn a thing or two from South Korea as one witnessed at the Korea Development Institute (KDI) School of Public Policy and Management in Seoul. Students from 60 countries are studying at the school, spread over a sprawling and leafy campus. Professor Jin Park, a known South Korean economist, has 25 students from 18 countries in his class studying development economics and two of them are Pakistanis, both government officials. It was heartening to hear from Professor Park that these two were among his three top students. “Two Pakistani students are the best performers in my class. They are intelligent, disciplined and motivated,” he opined.
“Anyone with a master’s degree in economics can apply in our course, all imparted in English. We also offer generous scholarships,” he added.
Here is an opportunity that Pakistani graduates in economics should try to avail because we need to learn from the Korean experience. The Korean example is nothing short of a miracle as an over-populated country with a small territory has progressed so fast that it is now serving as a model for other countries. It was notoriously unstable politically in the past, but is a vibrant and stable democracy now. In 2009, South Korea became the first major recipient of official development assistance (ODA) to turn the corner and ascend to the status of a major donor of ODA. The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) is now disbursing aid to a growing number of countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. South Korea is the sixth largest exporter and the tenth largest importer in the world. It is among the world leaders in electronics, mobile phones and ship-building. South Korea has few resources, but technological advancement serves as the strength of its robust economy. The Koreans refer to their remarkable success as the ‘miracle of the Han River,’ the mighty river that flows in Seoul and bifurcates the nation’s capital into two.
The potential for Pakistan to learn and benefit from the Korean success and for the two countries to expand their economic relationship is largely untapped. South Korea’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Choongjoo Choi, told this writer that his country wanted to enhance its economic cooperation with Pakistan and enhance their bilateral trade from the existing $1.1 billion. He said Pakistan could get quality Korean products at reasonable prices that are lower than Western goods. Without naming China and Taiwan, he argued that Korean electronic and other products were of a better standard even if slightly higher in prices.
Pakistan cannot match South Korea’s bilateral trade with India, which now stands at $16 billion, and with China, stated to be an unbelievable $1 billion dollars a day. However, the potential for enhancing trade between the two countries clearly exists and needs to be exploited. Perhaps it is also time for the Republic of Korea to return the favour that Pakistan did to it in the 1960s and impart lessons that would kick-start the ailing Pakistani economy. n
The writer is resident editor of The News in Peshawar. rahimyusufzai@yahoo.com
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