ABSTRACT
The transformation of South Korean society during the past three decades has astonished the world. Under strict authoritarian direction the Korean people have demonstrated an extraordinary productive dynamism. Between 1961 and 1987 South Korean leaders emphasized economic, military, and diplomatic progress, while political democracy, human rights, social and economic justice, and protection of the environment were generally suppressed, ignored, or played down. Despite a high degree of homogeneity in language, customs, and cultural tradition, South Korea is an extremely complex place. South Korean population structure has been characterized by a pronounced “youth bulge,” as a result of declining mortality rates and the extended baby boom that followed the Korean War. As the early 1960s, two-thirds of the South Korean population was engaged in agriculture. Today farmers make up less than one-fourth of the total population. Except for the landless rural poor, they are reasonably well fed, well clothed and well sheltered.
