Africa should learn from Korea

[best2002]

Last December, The Economist published the article, ‘Africa Rising.’ Over the past decade, the average growth rate of African countries was 6.8~8.8%. However, the World Bank and other international institutions that support development in Africa reminded them that growth in Africa must continue and recommended that they follow the Korean economic growth model. Following the Korean War and the Japanese colonization, South Korea remained one of the poorest countries in the world for over a decade. The growth of the industrial sector was the principal stimulus to economic development. Now it ranks 15th in the world by nominal GDP and 12th by purchasing power parity. Now, Korea and Africa has formed inter-government consultative body to actively address the developments through effective coordination and creative organization of the relevant forums. I hope to see Africa's economic growth catch up with the developed countries.

[Scootaloo]

1. You do know that Africa isn't a country, right?

Further, you do know that the smallest of Africa's nations is about the size of South Korea, yeah?
Also, South Korea is heavily subsidized by the United States.
To say nothing of that whole "fascist military dictatorship" thing they had going for a while...
Also there's this thing, called history, where Korea has been a defined kingdom for over a thousand years, while most of Africa's "nations" have existed for about forty, and don't reflect any sort of historical, ethnic, cultural, linguistic, social, religious, or environmental commonalities?

"Africa should be more like South Korea" is like saying the color green should be more like a can of pineapple rings; it makes no fucking sense on any level.

[DireStrike]

2. Yeah korea was/is heavily invested into by the US as a bulwark against communism

Not much communism anymore but regional allies surrounding the US's biggest frenemy will not just be discarded.

Investment into Africa looks a lot different. Usually along the lines of "what is the minimum amount I can pay to extract as many natural resources as possible?"

[Selatius]

3. That's why China is intensely interested in the Indian Ocean, incidentally. They want resources.

The Chinese industrial base needs vast amounts of raw resources to operate and grow, and Africa is a prime candidate for finding more raw materials. The Chinese government and business leaders inside China have been investing more and more time in Africa, cultivating economic relationships and trade agreements precisely to gain access to African resources.

Of course, this has irritated China's regional competitor India. India has not taken kindly to Chinese plans to gain a bigger foothold in the Indian Ocean basin. The last thing India wants is the Indian Ocean an economic battleground where Chinese and Indian interests compete for African resources.