As Japan’s dominant technology sector adjusts its outlook due to slowing growth and increased international competition, South Korea’s tech firms are applying an increasing amount of Silicon Valley know-how to their financing and growth plans.
South Korea has long been heralded as an East Asian economic miracle, with firms like Hyundai fuelling the country’s job market for decades. However, the advanced country has never been known as a major hub for technological innovation.
Recent efforts by the government to encourage foreign investment and promote the country’s growing start-up scene, however, have been a success. The South Korean government is making an active effort to encourage risk taking and promote online businesses in order to diversify the country’s economic backbone.
Despite the success of many of its engineering and industrial firms, South Korea is one of several East Asian economic powerhouses that rely largely on state-owned firms for its economic health. The government’s investment in risk-taking in tech is seen as a victory for entrepreneurs, particularly those in the technology industry.
South Korea’s focus on cultivating a strong start-up culture mirrors that of another Asian economic powerhouse: Singapore. Singapore has increasingly opened its visa system to outsiders that plan on opening their own companies in the independent state, aiming to court investors and innovators from abroad.
The small city-state’s strategy has been largely successful, with American investor Jim Rogers famously relocating to the city-state in 2007. He has since claimed that the policies implemented by Singapore will put it ahead of its Western rivals due to enhanced growth and an economy that’s far more forward-thinking.
Major East Asian technical centres such as Japan have faced similar issues to many of the Western countries in recent years, with slowed growth and sluggish industry performance costing many professionals their jobs. Korea’s investment in high-tech innovation could be the country’s ticket to a brighter, smarter economic future.
