Influences behind the development of South Korea’s shipbuilding industry from the 1960s to the 2000s

Bibliographic Data

ID21521396
AuthorsD G Lee (Australian National University, corresponding author), Dongkeun Lee (0000-0003-1184-9248)
Year2024
Volume167
Pages106251
Publication date2024-09-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMarine Policy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0308-597X • E-ISSN: 1872-9460
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106251
OpenAlexW4399573053
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited3

From the 1960s to the 2000s, the Republic of Korea (ROK) witnessed the rapid development of its shipbuilding industry, establishing itself as one of the world’s largest shipbuilders. This article seeks to answer the question of what drove the rapid development of South Korea’s shipbuilding industry. It accomplishes this by examining both classical sea power theory and the unique South Korean shipbuilding development model of the 1960s to the 2000s. Drawing from primary sources obtained from the ROK Presidential Archive and secondary sources, including newspapers and scholarly articles, this paper concludes that a combination of classic drivers of sea power development – including maritime commerce and threats – and the unique South Korean model, characterised by government subsidies and investments in both commercial shipbuilding and warship construction, contributed significantly to the development of South Korea’s shipbuilding industry. Finally, by learning from South Korea’s experience, developing and middle power countries looking to establish their shipbuilding industry should consider subsidising the industry in its early stages and contributing to a healthy ecosystem by investing in both commercial and warship construction

Archaeology · Business · Geography · International trade · Shipbuilding · Asian Industrial and Economic Development · Economic Zones and Regional Development

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access