For the past six decades, Korea has experienced rapid industrialization, and with it, rapid urban growth. As the nation’s core industries quickly evolved from the primary sectors to manufacturing and services between the 1960s and 1990s, the urban population grew rapidly. Ninety-one percent of the population lived in cities in 2010, compared to 50 percent in 1970, according to Hyundai Research Institute. In the course of urbanization, population and income per capita have grown as well, spurring

Tracking the history of Korea Exchange Bank is much like scavenging through Korea’s modern economic history following the 1950-1953 Korean War. Established in 1967, KEB has contributed to the nation’s banking industry as one of the oldest banks. The bank, well known for its specialized foreign exchange marketing and corporate banking, started its second takeoff in 2012 after it was acquired by Hana Financial Group to become a sister bank of Hana Bank. Entering the 1960s, the Korean government wa

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles titled Global Brand as part of the first installment of Power Korea. Korea’s success story is a 60-year-old tale written by not one, but many who worked to build one of the world’s most powerful nations from the ashes of war. This Global Brand series is designed to honor those who made this Korean Dream come true. This is the 16th part of the Global Brand series. ― Ed.In 1998, Hana Bank ranked 578th among the world’s 1,000 largest banks by core

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on infrastructure as part of its second installment of Power Korea. Korea’s success story is a 60-year-old tale written by not one, but many who worked to build one of the world’s most powerful nations from the ashes of war. This series features the development and global competitiveness of Korea’s infrastructure. The special articles were made in cooperation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. This is the 5th part of the i

Incheon International Airport was named again this year the “world’s best airport” by the Airports Council International ― for the eighth time in a row. Since the non-profit association of some 1,700 global airport operators started announcing the top honor back in 1993, the Korean airport is the only one that has enjoyed such success. Despite the growing presence of Asian rivals such as Singapore and China, Incheon outperformed them again in service quality, which is evaluated by users all thro

Hope that a Korean consortium, led by the Incheon International Airport Corp., could win the first deal to build an international airport overseas this month is rising as the government is developing a package of programs to support the deal.Backed up by its global brand power, the IIAC partially exported its know-how to Russia, the Philippines, Nepal, Cambodia and Indonesia, but has not yet exported a full package deal, which includes construction of an airport, terminals and operational system

Water is one of the essential resources for the economic growth of a country. It contributes to food production, industry supply and the health and welfare of the people.This is why Korea has continuously invested in water-related infrastructure, including multipurpose dams and water treatment systems, since the beginning stages of the nation’s economic development in the 1960s.  Water resource development history in Korea The primary objective of the development of water resources, therefore, i

In July 2004, the Seoul Metropolitan Government introduced an integrated public transport payment system, called T-Money, for the first time in Korea. The system, operated by LG CNS, an affiliate of LG Group, allows citizens to travel with a T-Money card, which can be used to pay fares for public transport, including buses, subways and urban railways. The T-Money card provides convenience to its users by charging a differentiated fare based on the distance they travel and offering transfer disco

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on infrastructure as part of its second installment of Power Korea. Korea’s success story is a 60-year-old tale written by not one, but many who worked to build one of the world’s most powerful nations from the ashes of war. This series features the development and global competitiveness of Korea’s infrastructure. The special articles were made in cooperation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. This is the second part of th

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on infrastructure as part of its second installment of Power Korea. Korea’s success story is a 60-year-old tale written by not one, but many who worked to build one of the world’s most powerful nations from the ashes of war. This series features the development and global competitiveness of Korea’s infrastructure. The special articles were made in cooperation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. This is the first part of the

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles titled Global Brand as part of the first installment of Power Korea. Korea’s success story is a 60-year-old tale written by not one, but many who worked to build one of the world’s most powerful nations from the ashes of war. This Global Brand series is designed to honor those who made this Korean Dream come true. This is the 15th part of the Global Brand series. ― Ed.Hyosung Group, the nation’s 26th-largest conglomerate by assets in 2012, has

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles titled Global Brand as part of the first installment of Power Korea. Korea’s success story is a 60-year-old tale written by not one, but many who worked to build one of the world’s most powerful nations from the ashes of war. This Global Brand series is designed to honor those who made this Korean Dream come true. This is the 14th part of the Global Brand series. ― Ed.Asiana Airlines has a relatively short history of 25 years compared to its ar

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles titled Global Brand as part of the first installment of Power Korea. Korea’s success story is a 60-year-old tale written by not one, but many who worked to build one of the world’s most powerful nations from the ashes of war. This Global Brand series is designed to honor those who made this Korean Dream come true. This is the 13th part of the Global Brand series. ― Ed.It is nothing new that the telecommunications industry is already a much satu

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles titled Global Brand as part of the first installment of Power Korea. Korea’s success story is a 60-year-old tale written by not one, but many who worked to build one of the world’s most powerful nations from the ashes of war. This Global Brand series is designed to honor those who made this Korean Dream come true. This is the 12th part of the Global Brand series. ― Ed.In every Korean industry, there seems to be a “Psy” possessing the star power

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles titled Global Brand as part of the first installment of Power Korea. Korea’s success story is a 60-year-old tale written by not one, but many who worked to build one of the world’s most powerful nations from the ashes of war. This Global Brand series is designed to honor those who made this Korean Dream come true. This is the 11th part of the Global Brand series. ― Ed.Nearly five decades ago, AmorePacific became the first homegrown cosmetics br

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles titled Global Brand as part of the first installment of Power Korea. Korea’s success story is a 60-year-old tale written by not one, but many who worked to build one of the world’s most powerful nations from the ashes of war. This Global Brand series is designed to honor those who made this Korean Dream come true. This is the 10th part of the Global Brand series. — Ed.In 1896, amid the social and political upheaval of the late 19th century, the

CJ E&M has been committed to the long-term goal of helping raise Korea’s national competitiveness through making business out of Korean cultural content.Rather than simply using hallyu to net short-term profits, CJ E&M has focused on becoming Asia’s top cultural content company that leads trends and creates culture through various media platform service and content ranging from broadcast and film to music, performance and games.“Considering that Korea’s manufacturing sector such as cars, electro

When CheilJedang spun off from Samsung Group in 1993, not many expected the food company would grow into a major conglomerate encompassing retail and entertainment businesses as well.With food and food service; biopharmaceuticals; entertainment and media; home shopping and logistics as its four core businesses, CJ Group has shown remarkable growth and change over the past 20 years.In addition to keeping the No. 1 spot in the food and bio businesses, CJ acquired Korea Express, the nation’s larges

Hankook Tire’s Daejeon plant is one of the world’s largest tire factories in terms of production capacity. The factory was established in 1979 in order to meet the growing demand for ultra-high-performance tires globally. The facility is able to produce 24 million tires every year, making up 27 percent of the company’s total production. Despite the large size, the roles for workers are limited only to management and quality control, while cutting-edge machines and smart systems are responsible f

Hankook Tire has devoted its 72-year history solely to tire making. The nation’s first and largest tire maker, which produces some 90 million tires every year, has grown into the world’s seventh-biggest tire manufacturer today. Last year, when global tire makers were struggling slowing sales, Hankook Tire was the only one among the top 10 that posted robust growth. Between 2008 and 2012, the company saw its global sales increase by an annual average of 15 percent. Last year, it logged 7.291 tril