Phenomenal GDP growth rates of 10% plus in 1999 saw foreign investors rushing back into the Korean market. Koreans, a nation of keen students, have learnt many lessons from the crisis and have transformed those lessons into a more efficient domestic financial market.
On the brink
Two years ago, along with most Asian nations, Korea was on the brink of bankruptcy. Once admired for its economic prowess, the Asian currency contagion dealt a severe blow to its financial architecture. Financial markets were in disarray, foreign exchange reserves were nearly depleted and the currency, the Won, was spiralling into oblivion.
A fledgling domestic derivatives market had been obliterated. Capital markets once dominated by...
