Abstract
On what competitive advantages did South Korea lean to build a successful model of economic development? What factors can make South Korea particularly attractive as a market and as a base for value-added activities?
After the war which led to the division of the peninsula and Korea in 1953, South Korea became the first-rate economic power and a model of speed and effectiveness in its development policy over the last decade.
Today, South Korea is the world's 15th economic power, after Australia and Brazil, while at the beginning of 1960s, the Korean GDP per head was equivalent to that of Cameroon or of Indonesia. South Korea is one of the few countries that are ranked worldwide in consumer electronics, the steel industry, cars and the naval industry. South Korea is the second biggest supplier to China, leaving behind the European Union and Taiwan.
The question is why during last decades South Korea and other Asian countries knew of such an economic development, while other countries stagnated or even regressed in spite of their efforts?
According to Porter, to be really efficient, the advantage must be at the same time unique, difficult to imitate, adaptable, and superior in terms of quality against competition. Two types of competitive advantages can be identified, they are costs and differentiation. An advantage can have numerous origins: A brand with solid notability, a unique expertise, an exclusive patent, an upper network of distribution to others, a not very expensive and malleable working force (as in the case of China), a rare resource or an ideal geographical position.
