Korean Diaspora in the World Economy

Koreans living in the United States have generated an increase in trade between the United States and Korea of about 15 to 20 percent. This is just one of the surprising conclusions reached in this report, which, upon the 100th anniversary of the migration of Koreans from their homeland, looks at the impact of the 6-7 million Korean people outside the Korean peninsula who make up this diaspora on both overseas economies and on South Korea.

No country in history has ever succeeded and built a developed and high-income economy without participating in the global economy; globalization is a requirement for economic success. And one of the major elements in globalization, in addition to international trade and international investment, is migration. In The Korean Diaspora in the World Economy, experts hold up South Korea as one of the most dramatic examples of that experience, having gone from a poor, underdeveloped country less than 40 years ago, to a postwar economic success story. The report also looks at South Korea’s role as a regional trading partner and its present and future relations with North Korea.