Sep 25th 2008 From The Economist print edition
Heavy industry is South Korea's sweet spot
JUST as South Korea, in historical terms, sees itself as a little thing among overbearing powers, so many of its businessmen and policymakers now feel that the country's export machine, the thumping heart of the economy, is being squeezed by two giants. On one side is Japan, whose high technology and sophisticated production give it an edge in exports. On the other is China, whose low wages allow it to compete ruthlessly on cost, even as it learns to make ever more complex products. What, South Koreans wonder, is their economy's place in Asia's future?
They may be overreacting. Certainly, China's rise up the production chain has been swift and, in some cases, ferociousand the South Korean won has been the strongest of the region’s currencies since Asian growth took off earlier this decade, even if it has softened somewhat this year. Yet South Korea has responded admirably to increased competition and a stronger currency, notching up double-digit export growth for the past five years. It is now the world's tenth-biggest exporter, and apart from a cyclical slump in Asian export growth that appears to be caused by America's and Europe's sharply slowing economies, there is plenty of reason to think that its success can continue for a while.
A. 어휘
juggernaut 〔인도 신화〕크리슈나神(Krishna). 엄청난 파괴력, 不可抗力(불가항력), 맹목적 미신(풍습, 제도). heavy industry 重工業(중공업). sweet spot 强點(강점).
overbearing 거만한, 橫暴(횡포)한. powers 列强(열강).
thump 쾅쾅 크게 울리다, 강한 타격. squeeze 壓搾(압착)하다.
sophisticated 精巧(정교)한.
give an edge to (give it an edge) 보다 우세하다,...에 날을 세우다, ...를 돋구다.
low wages 低賃金(저임금). ruthlessly 무자비하게. overreact 과잉 반응하다.
ferocious 엄청난, 凶暴(흉포)한. South Korean won 한국의 圓貨(원화)
region 지역. currency 通貨(통화). take off 도약하다.
admirably 감탄할만하게, 훌륭하게. notch up 기록하다. double-digit 두 자리 수.
apart from ...을 제쳐두고. cyclical 週期的(주기적)인. slump 不進(부진), 둔화.
economies (경제적인 의미의) 국가들.
49b-2-213
To date, China has proved a boon for South Korea's exports. Having overtaken America in 2003 to become South Korea's largest trade partner, it runs a bilateral trade deficit thanks to large imports of capital equipment and parts from South Korea. This growing bilateral trade reflects the knitting-together of production networks all over Asia, centred on China. China's share of South Korea’s total exports of unfinished goodsthat is, partsrose from just 1% in 1992 to 27% in 2004, according to the IMF. Now China's bilateral deficit is narrowing as South Korea imports more intermediate goods from there. Yet much of this is the result of South Korean investment in China.
South Korean manufacturers are still improving their own competitiveness. Partly thanks to modest wage growth, labour productivity in manufacturing has grown by an average of 10% a year since 2002. Indeed, the stronger won appears merely to be the flip side of that productivity growth. Currency strength, certainly, is squeezing profits in some areas, notably for small- and medium-sized businesses that are less efficient than larger firms, as well as for the big carmakers.
South Korean exports have not only grown but become more sophisticated as production has shifted out of low-value-added goods such as textiles that rely mainly on cheap labour. Korea's spending on research and development is equivalent to nearly 3% of GDP a year, one of the highest rates among developed economies. According to the IMF, high-value-added productsthings like cars, consumer electronics and top-of-the-range shipsnow make up half of Korea's exports, up from a quarter in 1990.
A. 어휘
to date 오늘(현재)까지. boon 은혜, 선물. overtake 추월하다.
bilateral 양쪽의, 상호간의. deficit 赤字(적자). capital equipment 資本財(자본재).
parts 部品(부품). knitting-together 결합.
growing bilateral trade 늘어나고 있는 상호무역. unfinished goods 半製品(반제품).
according to ...에 의하면. immediate goods 完製品(완제품). manufacturer 제조업자.
competitiveness 경쟁력. modest 적당한, 품위 있는. stronger won 보다 강력해진 원화.
merely=only. flip side 레코드의 뒷면(B면). currency strength 通貨强勢(통화강세).
squeeze 돈을 뜯어내다. squeeze profits 이익을 갉아먹다.
small- and medium-sized businesses 중소기업. efficient 능률적인. firm 회사.
shift 이동하다. low-added-goods 低附加價値(저부가가치) 제품. textile 織物(직물).
equivalent to ...와 동등한. products 제품. consumer electronics 家電製品(가전제품).
top-of-the-range 최고급의. make up 구성하다. a quarter 1/4.
- centered= which is centered.
