The ‘Korean economic miracle’ that has taken place over the past fifty years can provide some valuable lessons for Cambodia, according to a former Minister of Finance and Economy.
In a presentation at the American University of Phnom Penh (AUPP) on Thursday January 9 Dr. Okyu Kwon (pictured on the right) traced the development of the Republic of Korea’s economy from the time of the country’s liberation from Japanese occupation in 1945 up to the present.
Dr. Kwon, who also served a term as his country’s Deputy Prime Minister, identified several stages in Korea’s economic growth and political development, from an only partially democratic country with a per capita income of US$100 in 1964 to thriving democracy with per capita incomes averaging $24,000 in 2013.
AUPP’s library was filled to capacity with an audience of students, faculty, and visitors for the speech, the first in a series hosted by AUPP and open to the public.
The next speech in the series will be delivered on Monday January 11 by Sichan Siv, former US Ambassador to the United Nations and author of the memoir Golden Bones: An Extraordinary journey from Hell in Cambodia to a New Life in the United States. The speech begins at 2.30 pm in the Library at AUPP’s Tuol Kork campus, and is open to members of the public.