Word: koreas
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...adjustment has not been easy. In such basic industries as shipbuilding, textiles and small electronics, Japan began losing customers to South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Many Japanese firms had to cut production and sacrifice profits to remain competitive. Mazda, for example, saw its net earnings drop 77% in the six months ending April 30, compared with the same period a year earlier, as it struggled to keep its car prices down...
...Japan and Western Europe draw most of the attention, about one-quarter of the U.S. trade deficit is the work of a pesky group of second-tier nations known as the newly industrialized countries. Once dismissed as marginal producers of chintzy clothes and toys, the NICs, which include South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mexico and Brazil, have gone upscale, producing everything from VCRs and computers to cars and commuter planes. By importing technology and deploying armies of low-paid but often well-educated workers, the NICs have been able to undercut competitors' prices in markets all over the world...
None of the other NICs has been more successful or volatile than South Korea. The government has directed the growth of such huge industrial conglomerates as Hyundai and Daewoo, which manufacture cars, computers and other high-tech goods. Following the example of the giant Japanese manufacturers, the Korean companies have launched a determined U.S. invasion. Hyundai's subcompact Excel, which reached American shores last year, is the hottest-selling new imported auto in history. This summer, General Motors started selling small Daewoo cars under the Pontiac LeMans nameplate...
While scoring business triumphs, Korea has been racked by political and social unrest for much of the year. In the summer, massive and violent street demonstrations forced Korean President Chun Doo Hwan to speed up the process of democratic reform. Then a series of strikes temporarily shut down virtually all major Korean companies and many minor ones as workers demanded -- and won -- higher wages. Amid the turmoil, the Korean economy has proved resilient; growth for the year is expected...
...contrast to Korea's large corporations, Taiwan's companies, which churn out products as diverse as calculators and vaccines, tend to be small. But they make big waves in world trade. With the U.S. alone, Taiwan piled up a $16 billion surplus last year. That has stirred anger in Washington, which has forced Taiwan to raise the value of its currency, and is threatening protectionist retaliation because the country keeps its domestic market closed to U.S. imports...