South Korea

Northeast Asia has a population of 1.5 billion, and its economy, consisting mainly of Korea, China, Japan and Taiwan, is one of the three largest economic zones in the world, accounting for nearly 20% of global gross domestic product.

Korea is at the crossroads of this critical economic region – the gateway to China, Japan, the Russian Far East and beyond. Moreover, it is expected to serve as the linkage point between the Eurasian continent and Pacific Rim economies, once the inter-Korean railway is connected to the Trans-Siberia and Trans-China railways.

Since the 1960s, the economy has achieved a sustained 7.4% annual GDP growth rate. It is expected to grow at 5% annually, with a rise in productivity being one of the important factors.

Korea is known for its highly educated population. The government’s workforce retraining programmes, which emphasise science and technology, will augment the level of education while meeting the information and technology sector’s demand for qualified workers.

The country’s IT infrastructure and telecommunications technology is ranked among the highest in the world while the number of internet and high-speed internet users are ranked second and first, respectively. Testament to Korea’s attractiveness are its many leading companies, in sectors such as IT home appliances, semiconductors, liquid crystal displays, automobiles, shipbuilding and steel.