omogeneity, and the sense of a shared historical experience that it promoted gave the people of South Korea a strong sense of national purpose. However, the years of Japanese colonial rule, the division of the peninsula after World War II, the establishment of two antagonistic states in the north and south, and the profound changes in the economy and society caused by industrialization and urbanization since the 1950’s led may South Koreans to search anew for their national identity and place in the world. Often, the concern for identity expressed itself as xenophobia, the creation of a “national mythology” that was given official or semiofficial sanction, or the search for specail and unique ‘essence” of Korean culture. Government South Korea is a unitary multiparty republic, governed by a president, prime minister, deputy prime minister, and state council (cabinet). There is also a 299 seat unicameral National Assembly and a supreme court. The prime minister is the head of the government. The chief of state is the president, who is elected to a five-year term. Members of the National Assembly serve a four year term.Governments Role in Economic Development In 1961 General Park Chung Hee overthrew the popularly elected regime of Prime Minister Chang Mayon. A nationalist, Park wanted to transform South Korea from a backward agricultural nation into a modern industrial nation that would provide a decent way of life for its citizens while at the same time defending itself from outside aggression. Park’s government was the beneficiary of the syngman Rhee administration’s decision to use foreign aid from the United States during the 1950’s to build an infrastructure that included a nationwide network of primary and secondary schools, modern roads, and a modern communications network. The result was that by 1961, South Korea had a well-educated young work force and a mo...
