History
When Did South Korea Become Rich? Four Datable Answers
South Korea crossed the World Bank's high-income line in 1995 and joined the OECD in 1996 — then lost the title from 1998 to 2000 and won it back in 2001.
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Topic
Modern Korea
South Korea’s Miracle on the Han River is really two questions — how the money was made, and when it officially counted. This hub takes both: the 1962 export gamble that fed state credit to Samsung and Hyundai, then the World Bank’s high-income line in 1995 and the OECD in 1996. Including the reversal most timelines drop: Korea was back to upper-middle income from 1998 to 2000.
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