Miracle on the Han River

[조영희]

Balli balli.  It translates as hurry-hurry.

Actually, balli means hurry, but it word is always used in tandem adding to the need to move fast.

Balli Balli , roughly translates as 'Faster, faster!'

—which explains some of South Korea's economic success in a nutshell.
The country's fast pace, vast innovative strength, and technological progressiveness are impressive.
This helped South Korea to evolve from a destitute nation of farmers to the fourth-biggest economy in Asia

within a mere 40 years.
 In 1960, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) was still below those of Mozambique, the Congo, and Senegal.
Since then, its economic output has soared to 150 times that figure.
In 2015, GDP totaled almost USD 1.4 trillion. Economists are projecting expansion of about 3.2 percent in 2016,

and 3.6 percent in 2017.
There is a name for this success story:

“The miracle on the Han River,” after the river that flows through the capital, Seoul.
 To South Koreans, the Han River is emblematic of the will to live.
The Miracle on the Han River refers to Korea's story of modernization and rebirth.
There was rapid economic and social growth after the Korean War.
The nation transformed from a war-torn, devastated nation to one of the globe's major powers.
This process also involved the democratization and globalization of the nation.
Government-led economic policies put the chaebol into place and rural areas were developed.
This enabled social development and massive industrialization.
Over the span of 40 years, Seoul transformed from a city with almost no infrastructure to an advanced

and self-sufficient Asian hub.