Editing Economy of South Korea (section)

==Sectors==
{{See also|List of largest companies of South Korea|Manufacturing in South Korea|Economy of Seoul}}

===Shipbuilding===
[[File:Aerial View of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.jpg|thumb|Hanwha Ocean Okpo Shipyard in Geoje]]
During the 1970s and 1980s, South Korea became a leading producer of ships, including oil supertankers, and oil-drilling platforms. The country's major shipbuilder was Hyundai, which built a 1-million-ton capacity drydock at Ulsan in the mid-1970s. Daewoo joined the shipbuilding industry in 1980 and finished a 1.2-million-ton facility at Okpo on Geoje Island, south of Busan, in mid-1981. The industry declined in the mid-1980s because of the oil glut and because of a worldwide recession. There was a sharp decrease in new orders in the late 1980s; new orders for 1988 totaled 3 million gross tons valued at US$1.9&nbsp;billion, decreases from the previous year of 17.8 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively. These declines were caused by labour unrest, Seoul's unwillingness to provide financial assistance, and Tokyo's new low-interest export financing in support of Japanese shipbuilders. However, the South Korean shipping industry was expected to expand in the early 1990s because older ships in world fleets needed replacing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-12311.html|title=South Korea: Shipbuilding|publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=14 August 2010|archive-date=10 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510120426/http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-12311.html|url-status=live}}</ref> South Korea eventually became the world's dominant shipbuilder with a 50.6% share of the [[Shipbuilding#World shipbuilding industry in the 21st century|global shipbuilding market]] as of 2008. Notable Korean shipbuilders are [[HD Hyundai Heavy Industries|Hyundai Heavy Industries]], [[Samsung Heavy Industries]], [[Hanwha Ocean]], and the now bankrupt [[K Shipbuilding|STX Offshore & Shipbuilding]].

===Electronics===
{{main|Electronics industry in South Korea}}
Electronics is one of South Korea's main industries. During the 1980s through the 2000s, South Korean companies such as [[Samsung]], [[LG]], and [[SK Group|SK]] led South Korea's growth. In 2017, 17.1% of South Korea's exports were semiconductors produced by [[Samsung Electronics]] and [[SK Hynix]]. Samsung and LG are also major producers in electronic devices such as televisions, [[smartphone]]s, [[Display device|display]], and [[computer]]s.

===Automobile===
{{Main|Automotive industry in South Korea}}
[[File:Hyundai Sonata DN8 PE Aero Silver Matte (5).jpg|thumb|left|A [[Hyundai Motor Company|Hyundai]] automobile. The automotive line is a key sector in South Korea's industry.]]
The automobile industry was one of South Korea's major growth and export industries in the 1980s. By the late 1980s, the capacity of the South Korean motor industry had increased more than fivefold since 1984; it exceeded 1 million units in 1988. Total investment in cars and car-component manufacturing was over US$3 billion in 1989. Total production (including buses and trucks) for 1988 totaled 1.1 million units, a 10.6 percent increase over 1987, and grew to an estimated 1.3 million vehicles (predominantly passenger cars) in 1989. Almost 263,000 passenger cars were produced in 1985—a figure that grew to approximately 846,000 units in 1989. In 1988 automobile exports totaled 576,134 units, of which 480,119 units (83.3 percent) were sent to the United States. Throughout most of the late 1980s, much of the growth of South Korea's automobile industry was the result of a surge in exports; 1989 exports, however, declined 28.5 percent from 1988. This decline reflected sluggish car sales to the United States, especially at the less expensive end of the market, and labour strife at home.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-12312.html|title=South Korea: Automobiles and Automotive Parts|publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=14 August 2010|archive-date=25 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160825204042/http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-12312.html|url-status=live}}</ref> South Korea today has developed into one of the world's [[List of countries by motor vehicle production|largest automobile producers]]. The [[Hyundai Motor Group]] is South Korea's largest automaker in terms of revenue, production units and worldwide presence.

===Mining===
Most of the mineral deposits on the Korean Peninsula are located in North Korea, with the South only possessing an abundance of tungsten and graphite. Coal, iron ore, and molybdenum are found in South Korea, but not in large quantities and mining operations are on a small scale. Much of South Korea's minerals and ore are imported from other countries. Most South Korean coal is anthracite that is only used for heating homes and boilers.

In 2019, South Korea was the 3rd largest world producer of [[bismuth]],<ref>{{cite web| url = https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-bismuth.pdf| title = USGS Bismuth Production Statistics}}</ref> the 4th largest world producer of [[rhenium]],<ref>{{cite web| url = https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-rhenium.pdf| title = USGS Rhenium Production Statistics}}</ref> and the 10th largest world producer of [[sulfur]].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-sulfur.pdf| title = USGS Sulfur Production Statistics}}</ref>

===Construction===
[[File:Seosan Break Water Construction (Hyundai Construction).jpg|thumb|right|Breakwater construction in Seosan coast (1984)]]
Construction has been an important South Korean export industry since the early 1960s, and remains a critical source of foreign currency and ''invisible'' export earnings. By 1981, overseas construction projects, most of them in the Middle East, accounted for 60 percent of the work undertaken by South Korean construction companies. Contracts that year were valued at US$13.7 billion. In 1988, however, overseas construction contracts totaled only US$2.6 billion (orders from the Middle East were US$1.2 billion), a 1 percent increase over the previous year, while new orders for domestic construction projects totaled US$13.8 billion, an 8.8 percent increase over 1987. South Korean construction companies therefore concentrated on the rapidly growing domestic market in the late 1980s. By 1989, there were signs of a revival of the overseas construction market: the Dong Ah Construction Company signed a US$5.3 billion contract with [[Libya]] to build the second phase (and other subsequent phases) of Libya's [[Great Man-Made River|Great Man-Made River Project]], with a projected cost of US$27 billion when all 5 phases were completed. South Korean construction companies signed over US$7 billion of overseas contracts in 1989.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-12314.html|title=South Korea: Construction|publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=14 August 2010|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305033134/http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-12314.html|url-status=live}}</ref> South Korea's largest construction companies include [[Samsung C&T Corporation]], which built some of the highest buildings and most noteworthy skyscrapers such as three consecutively the world's tallest buildings: the [[Petronas Towers]], [[Taipei 101]], and the [[Burj Khalifa]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4thCrpuz6v0C&q=samsung+construction+Taipei+101&pg=PA51|title=Civil Engineer's Handbook of Professional Practice|isbn=9780470901649|last1=Hansen|first1=Karen|last2=Zenobia|first2=Kent|date=31 March 2011|publisher=John Wiley & Sons |access-date=10 November 2020|archive-date=4 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304090056/https://books.google.com/books?id=4thCrpuz6v0C&q=samsung+construction+Taipei+101&pg=PA51|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.secc.co.kr/eng/html/biz/building.asp|title=Building -- Samsung C&T|access-date=11 June 2016|archive-date=21 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921182441/http://www.secc.co.kr/eng/html/biz/building.asp|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Armaments===
[[File:US Navy 100727-N-2013O-128 An SH-60F Sea Hawk helicopter flies by Dokdo (LPH 6111).jpg|thumb|right|South Korea's remarkable technological advancements and industrialisation allowed the country to produce increasingly advanced military equipment.]]
{{Main|Defense industry of South Korea}}
During the 1960s, South Korea was dependent on the United States to supply its armed forces, but after the elaboration of President [[Richard Nixon|Richard M. Nixon's]] policy of [[Vietnamization|Vietnamisation]] in the early 1970s, South Korea began to manufacture its own weapons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-12313.html|title=South Korea: Armaments|publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=14 August 2010|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304201657/http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-12313.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since the 1980s, South Korea has begun exporting military equipment and technology to boost its international trade. Some of its key military export projects include the [[T-155 Fırtına|T-155 Firtina]] self-propelled artillery for [[Turkish Land Forces|Turkey]]; the [[S&T Daewoo K11|K11]] air-burst rifle for the [[United Arab Emirates Armed Forces|United Arab Emirates]]; the [[BNS Bangabandhu|Bangabandhu class]] guided-missile frigate for [[Bangladesh Navy|Bangladesh]]; fleet tankers such as [[HMAS Sirius (O 266)|Sirius class]] for the navies of [[Royal Australian Navy|Australia]], [[Royal New Zealand Navy|New Zealand]], and [[Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela|Venezuela]]; [[Makassar-class landing platform dock|Makassar class]] amphibious assault ships for [[Indonesian Navy|Indonesia]]; and the [[KAI KT-1 Woongbi|KT-1]] trainer aircraft for [[Turkish Air Force|Turkey]], [[Indonesian Air Force|Indonesia]], and [[Peruvian Air Force|Peru]].

South Korea also exports various core components of other countries' advanced military hardware. Those hardware include modern aircraft such as [[F-15K]] fighters and [[Boeing AH-64 Apache|AH-64]] attack helicopters which will be used by Singapore, whose airframes will be built by [[Korea Aerospace Industries]] in a joint-production deal with Boeing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.koreaaero.com/english/business/fuselage_01.asp|title=KAI Major Programs: Airframe|publisher=Korea Aerospace Industries|access-date=14 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809130914/http://www.koreaaero.com/english/business/fuselage_01.asp|archive-date=9 August 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> In other major outsourcing and joint-production deals, South Korea has jointly produced the [[S-300 missile system|S-300]] air defence system of Russia via Samsung Group,{{Failed verification|date=August 2019}} and will facilitate the sales of [[Mistral-class amphibious assault ship|Mistral class]] amphibious assault ships to Russia that will be produced by [[STX Corporation]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10740291|title=France to sell two Mistral-class warships to Russia|publisher=BBC|date=23 July 2010|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-date=12 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212193455/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10740291|url-status=live}}</ref> The deal was cancelled in 2014 due to Russia's actions in Ukraine and the ships were sold to Egypt instead.<ref>
{{Citation|title=Los Angeles Times| date=6 August 2015 |url=https://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-france-cancels-sale-warships-to-russia-20150806-story.html#:~:text=France%20is%20looking%20for%20a,deliver%20the%20vessels%20to%20Russia.}}</ref> South Korea's defence exports were $1.03 billion in 2008 and $1.17 billion in 2009.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/08/205_67771.html|title=Korea emerges as arms development powerhouse|newspaper=[[The Korea Times]]|access-date=12 November 2015|archive-date=30 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130111459/https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/08/205_67771.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Tourism===
{{Main|Tourism in South Korea}}
In 2012, 11.1 million foreign tourists visited South Korea, making it one of the most visited countries in the world,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tourismroi.com/Content_Attachments/27670/File_633513750035785076.pdf |title=UNTWO World Tourism Barometer, Vol.5 No.2 |access-date=15 October 2008 |last=UNTWO |date=June 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080819191518/http://www.tourismroi.com/Content_Attachments/27670/File_633513750035785076.pdf |archive-date=19 August 2008 }}</ref> up from 8.5 million in 2010.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/11/business/global/11iht-sk-hotel.html?src=busln|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=11 November 2010|title=South Korea Sets Its Sights on Foreign Tourists|access-date=24 February 2017|archive-date=22 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722052156/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/11/business/global/11iht-sk-hotel.html?src=busln|url-status=live}}</ref> Many tourists from all around Asia visit South Korea which has been due to the rise of the [[Korean Wave]] (''Hallyu'').

[[Seoul]] is the principal tourist destination for visitors; popular tourist destinations outside of Seoul include the major coastal city of [[Busan]], the [[Seoraksan|Seorak-san]] national park, the historic city of [[Gyeongju]], and subtropical [[Jeju Island]].