ABSTRACT
The chapter looks at President Kim Dae-Jung's vision of "Productive Welfare"—a conception of a Korean welfare state. "Productive Welfare" is put in a historical and comparative perspective, starting with a brief resumé of the origins of the modern welfare state and its differentiation into institutionally different types of welfare state regimes in Western Europe. The main elements of the vision are presented. The problems and concerns forming the basis for Productive Welfare, as well as its goals, are briefly introduced. Productive Welfare is described as an interesting attempt to expand and guarantee the fundamental democratic and social rights of all citizens. The government is given a more central, responsible and responsive, role in welfare provision. It is assumed that the policies already implemented after the economic crisis of 1997, and those spelled out for future decisions, in some sense will move the Korean welfare system closer to the so-called "social-democratic" or Scandinavian or "Nordic" type of welfare regime.
