The Korean Diaspora in the World Economy - Softcover

Koreans living in the United States have generated an increase of about 15 to 20 percent in trade between the United States and Korea. This is one of the surprising conclusions reached in this special report, which, upon the 100th anniversary of the migration of Koreans from their homeland, looks at the impact of the 6 to 7 million people who make up this diaspora on both South Korean and overseas economies. No country in history has ever succeeded in building a developed and high-income economy without participating in the global economy; globalization is imperative for economic success. And one of the largest elements of globalization, in addition to international trade and investment, is migration.

In The Korean Diaspora in the World Economy, experts hold up South Korea as one of the most dramatic examples of that experience, having gone from being a poor, underdeveloped country fewer than 40 years ago to becoming a postwar economic success story. This report also looks at South Korea's role as a regional trading partner and its present and future relations with North Korea.

Inbom Choi, former visiting fellow, is the chief economist at the Federation of Korean Industries. Previously, he was assistant secretary to the president for economic affairs and director of international economic policy in the Office of the President of Korea (1995-96). He has been a research fellow at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy since 1990. He has also been a consultant to the World Bank and a visiting professor at Georgetown University.

C. Fred Bergsten, senior fellow and director emeritus, was the founding director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics (formerly the Institute for International Economics) from 1981 through 2012. He is serving his second term as a member of the President's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations and was co-chairman of the Private Sector Advisory Group to the United States–India Trade Policy Forum, comprising the trade ministers of those two countries, during 2007–14.