Korea faced economic ills caused by turmoil after liberation from Japan in 1945. In spite of severe contraction in industrial production, the nation was able to survive without suffering from economic crisis, mainly due to the economic assistance provided by the United States. A great portion of that aid money was spent for import of consumption goods such as food, clothing, and medicine. Moreover, Korea had its damage to the economy caused by the Korean War in June 1950. Despite runaway inflation, she faced her economy to near collapse if it had not been for foreign aid and allied support which consisted mostly of consumer goods. Therefore, the economy in that period was characterized by high dependency on foreign aid. The First Five-Year plan, aimed at attaining a high economic growth with price stability, was implemented from 1962, and the Second Five-Year Plan followed from 1967. Basic objectives of the two plans were to build a foundation for attainment of self-supporting economy, and to achieve industrialization through modernization of industrial structure. During the first plan period the energy industry, including coal and electricity, and basic key industries including fertilizer, cement, oil refining, etc. were developed along with high industries, mainly producing consumer goods. Heavy and chemical industries including steel, machinery, petrochemical industry, etc. were to be developed intensively during the second plan period. Light industries producing mainly consumer goods in the 1960’s were converted into export industries, and import substitution of major commodities was attained by the development of heavy and chemical industries. The successful industrial development in the 1960’s created a domestic industrial base on which such sophisticated heavy and chemical industries as cast steel, special steel, electronics, shipbuilding and precision machine industries can be converted to export production for a drastic increase of exports in the mid-1970’s. The most remarkable achievement in the 1960’s was the drastic expansion of exports which consolidated the foundation for an export-oriented economy. The factor contributed significantly to the export-oriented economy. Restructuring of industries suitable to export exapnsion resulted in diversification of export commodities from agricultural and light manufacturing products to heavy or sophisticated items such as electronic euqipment and ship. Economic development in the 1960’s was a process of industrialization through construction of export and key import-substitution industries. Industrial growth was accelerated and led to a high growth rate of the overall economy in the 1960’s. In conculusion, economic growth of the 1960’s was mainly led by the expansion of labor intensive light industries, since the emphasis was given to development of this sector in view of the economic conditions of that period. Development of light industires has contributed a great deal to the expansion of employment and exports during the 1960’s. That labor intensive light industry, however, has a limited capacity for growth, because of potentially small domestic market for the products and insufficient supply of raw materials and semi-finished goods. With successful implementation of the First and Second Five-Year Economic Development Plans in the last ten years, the Korean economy has achieved remarkably rapid economic development and export expansions. The emphasis of the Third Five-Year Economic Development Plan is laid on dynamic development of the rual economy, a dramatic and sustained increase in export, and the establishment of heavy and chemical industries. The major strategy of that plan may be characterized as balanced growth of agriculture and industry, and growth through increased exprots, in contrast to the unbalanced growth strategy of the First and Second Five-Year Plans, in which the top priority was given to industrial development. Such a development strategy has the purpose of consolidating the basis for self-sustaining growth in the long run by advancing the low-productivity sectors such as agriculture and fisheries, which are expected to supply raw materials to the industrial sector, and also to create a demand for goods from that sector. Such measures would lead this country to the stage of self-sustaining economy, with improvements of industrial and export commodity structures through the development of shipbuilding, metal, machine, petrochemical and other chemical industires with a great deal of linkage and import substitution effects. Throughout the 1970’s the Korean economy will undergo reorganization of industry by promoting the heavy and chemical industries in order to propel the industiralization process. Such industires as steel, special steel and flexible copper, heavy machinery, and shipbuilding primarily have to be developed as strategic industries for attaining an industrial basis to promote improvement of industrial structure and expansion of export industries. Shipbuilding and steel industries will be favored as the key industries to be developed for the 1970’s because of their contribution to the evolution of industrial structure, export expansion, defense development and linkage effects on machinery industry. The iron and steel complex which is under construction at present will be gradually expanded to the level which will completely substitute the import requirement for iron and steel, and further will greatly expand exports. Export expansion aimed at improvement of balance of payments aids economic development by supplying indispensable foreign exchange, stimulating related export industries, introducing and developing new technology, and increasing employment. The Korean economy will reach a new plateau in the early 1980’s when we will have completed the construction of heavy and chemical industries and the successful attainment of export target. The industrial sector in the 1980’s would continue to lead economic growth and its growth would, in turn, be backed up by expanded exports. The structure of the manufacturing sector will be improved significantly with its shift toward heavy and chemical industries. As the products of heavy and chemical industries become the major portion in the composition of export commodities, heavy and chemical industries would contribute the large percent to manufacturing output. Korean exports would mark $10 billion in 1981. Of those export commodities, the composition of manufactures, especially heavy and chemical goods, would gradually increase throughout the 1980’s.