Comparative

Analysis between
South Korea &
Philippines

History
Comparison
While the Korean economy was
largely destroyed by the
Japanese exploitation, the
Philippines' economy was
relatively intact
Whereas in Korea, the Japanese
annexation of Korea was received
with much hostility from classes
ranging from the top to the bottom, in
01 the Philippines, the colonialist rule,
both American and Japanese, were
widely accepted by the Filipino elite,
collaborating with colonialists for
their advantages.
While Japanese largely resorted to a
harsh treatment of oppression in
ruling Korea, , Americans maintained
rather lenient ways of ruling to the
02 extent of promising the Philippines'
independence, let alone
collaborating with Filipinos in ruling
the Philippines.
 The Philippines' relatively short
period of subjugation from 1942 to
1944, compared to Korea's period of

History 03
subjugation from 1910 to 1945, looks
like a good explanation for why Japan
was unable to implement severe,

Comparison systematic exploitation in the

Philippines.

Favorable feelings towards foreign

power, such as that received by
Americans, seem to have worked
04 towards Japanese as well. Less
resistance by Filipinos meant less
oppression by Japanese.
History The geographical location probably

Comparison was a factor. While the Philippines

was not only an archipelago, in which
each island was separated by bodies
of water, but also far away from
05 Japan, Korea was a peninsula, which
bordered China located right next to
Japan; therefore, Japan had both
more incentive and need to exploit
Korea rather than the Philippines.

History
Comparison
The contrasting colonial
legacies - one more favorable
and the other less favorable,
however, laid opposite
implications for development:
Korea's development and the
Philippines' under-development.
While in Korea events tended to
destroy the old order, in the
Philippines they reinforced it. The
number of Filipino elite tended to be
06 legitimized by having close relations
to the U.S. imperialists. In contrast,
Korean elite were de-legitimized by
their relations with the Japanese
colonizers.
Thus the U.S. colonization of the
Philippines reinforced the existing
structures, whereas Japanese
colonialism caused Korea's existing
political structures to wither away.
07 Traditional Filipino elite retained
power and influence, but in Korea
some of those rights exclusively
enjoyed by yangban (landlords) had
begun to dissipate.
History
Comparison
Issues regarding a land reform
also provides some insight into
how the difference in colonial
rules - one reinforcing and the
other dismantling - spawned the
opposite outcomes for Korea and
the Philippines. The importance
of a land reform can be
considered significant for a
number of reasons.
In Korea, the Japanese land reform
was successful in destroying the
centuries-old feudal land-tenure
08
system. This initial act of redefining
property rights was central to the
Korean development.
In stark contrast, a land reform has
been an abortive issue in the
Philippines since before World War II.
Breaking the power of the
agricultural plantations has proven
enormously difficult. Under the U.S.
09 colonial administration, land reforms
were ignored because the Americans
were reluctant to upset the existing
arrangements, and by 1946 the
tenancy rate in the Philippines was
higher than it had been under the
Spaniards.
Economic
Comparison (Then)
South Korea, truncated into half the territory of united Korea, was
functioning in half (or perhaps less) its original productivity, which was not so
high in the first place either for much exploitation by Japanese colonization.

The Philippines, though may have suffered some damage (still to much lesser
degree than Korea) during its colonial period, stayed relatively solid in terms
of its state unity and function.

The war left South Korea in a grave economic situation, but gave the
Philippines the boost that pulled GNP growth per capita to an average rate of
about 4 percent and per capita income higher than South Korea and most of
other Asian countries over the first decade and a half since its post-war or
post-colonial period. By 1955, the Philippines was a regional leader in
economic growth with its GNP ($4.7 billion) outdoing that of South Korea
($2.3 billion) by more than two times as seen from the table below.
Economic
Comparison (Then)
South Korea, truncated into half the territory of united Korea, was
functioning in half (or perhaps less) its original productivity, which was not so
high in the first place either for much exploitation by Japanese colonization.

The Philippines, though may have suffered some damage (still to much lesser
degree than Korea) during its colonial period, stayed relatively solid in terms
of its state unity and function.

The war left South Korea in a grave economic situation, but gave the
Philippines the boost that pulled GNP growth per capita to an average rate of
about 4 percent and per capita income higher than South Korea and most of
other Asian countries over the first decade and a half since its post-war or
post-colonial period. By 1955, the Philippines was a regional leader in
economic growth with its GNP ($4.7 billion) outdoing that of South Korea
($2.3 billion) by more than two times as seen from the table below.
Economic
Comparison (Now)
South Korea exemplified a successful economic miracle whereas the
Philippines represented the opposite, in which an economy was
lagging behind those it once overwhelmed.
Although Park Chung Hee's feat of resplendent
South Korean economic development was
undeniable, side effects of an excessive focus on
heavy and chemical industries were beginning to
surface in the late 1970s. The unexpected sudden
A large portion of excessive focus on heavy and assassination of Park Chung Hee in 1979 duly
chemical industries was redirected towards light changed the course of South Korean economy at
industries, and development no longer only an opportune time
concerned economic aspects but social aspects as
well. As a result, South Korean economy enjoyed
stabilized and continued development throughout
1980s once the side effects from the Park regime
were solved.
 Comparative analysis of almost concurrent dictatorship
periods in both South Korea and the Philippines is particularly
important because it is during this time that the gap in terms of
economic development widened as the economic performance
of South Korea began to quickly outdistance that of the
Philippines. Although the Philippines was still ahead of South
Korea in both the per capita and absolute GNP before this
period and even into the late 1960s, by 1985 just a year before
Marcos' fall from the power, the Philippines' per capita GNP
($599) lagged far behind South Korea's per capita GNP
($2,200).
 In South Korea, there was sufficient
motivation for economic
development. Seen from his diary the
day before the coup, Park Chung Hee
seems to have been very motivated
by the fact that South Korea was in
01
Politics
the state of abject poverty. This
strong desire for growth not just from
the situation but also from the

Comparison President Park himself led to various

A significant change brought
forth during this period, of
course, is an extension of the
government power.
02
measures, which became successful
for the development of South Korea.
In the Philippines, there was
relatively little motivation for
development of the country as a
whole. The phrase "country as a
whole" means that there was the
desire to get rich, but not for the
Philippines as a whole but for the
certain group of people.
 Filipinos ousted the dictator
Ferdinand Marcos through people

Politics
power in February 1986, which
03 coincidentally was the watershed
event that inspired South Koreans to

Comparison remove their own despotic leader,

Chun Doo-hwan.

From the early 1970s to the mid-

1980s, both the Philippines and
South Korea were ruled by brutal
authoritarian regimes.
04
Both nations revised their respective
martial law constitutions in 1987,
establishing a political framework
founded on the rule of law, respect
for fundamental rights and freedoms,
and significant restraints on
government.
 The Republic of Korea is a democratic
republic with three principal branches of
government: the executive, the legislative,
and the judiciary.

South Korea has a centralized government

that primarily operates at the national level.
Comparative
The head of the government is the president.
Analysis
The highest member of the national assembly
is the president, followed by the prime
minister and then the ministers. The judiciary
and executive branches operate majorly at
the national level. The constitution
determines the structure of the government.
 The Philippines is a republic with a
presidential form of government wherein
power is equally divided among its three
branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.

The Philippines is a democratic and republican

State. Sovereignty resides in the people and
Comparative
Analysis
all government authority emanated from
them.

One basic corollary in a presidential system

of government is the principle of separation
of powers wherein legislation belongs to
Congress, execution to the Executive, and
settlement of legal controversies to the
Judiciary.