한국기업의 생성과 발전

A Study on Generation and Development of Korean Corporations : Business-historical Background of Their Formation and Growth (1816-1979)

This research studies in terms of business history how Korean corporations were born and developed for 100 years after Korea had opened its port to foreign trade. Korean entrepreneurs and corporations significantly contributed to forming the current state of Korean economy which ranks the 11th largest economy in the world. This research aims to examine the course of development of Korean corporations since the Liberation, thereby to illuminate the present economic situation of Korea, and ultimately to contribute to creating its new economic future. My analysis divides Korean business history into three crucial periods: first, generation of Korean corporations (1876-1945); second, their renaissance (1945-61); and lastly, their development (1962-79). According to this analysis, first, Korean corporations were developed through international trade (import and export). Second, they showed a high degree of dependence on foreign countries in their management elements, such as capital and technology. Third, commercial capital transformed itself to industrial capital in Korean corporations in the late 1950s; and the industrial structure of Korean corporations transferred from light industry to heavy and chemical industry in 1973. Fourth, Korean corporations were characterized by family corporate governance. Fifth, major birthplaces of Korean entrepreneurs moved from Seoul and Kaesung, through Honam (Southwestern part of Korea), to North Korea, and then to Youngnam (Southeastern part of Korea). Sixth, stations of birth of Korean entrepreneurs changed from bureaucrats and great landowners, through landowners and common merchants, to common merchants and industrialists. Seventh, Korean corporations were formed, developed, and showed entrepreneurship in their active response to governmental policies of the government-oriented economic system right after the Liberation. Lastly, the life cycle of Korean corporations is estimated at about thirty years.