The expansion of private shipping and entrepreneurship in Korea, 1960-1981

Abstract

The Korean shipping industry has developed swiftly since the 1960s, and by 2018 Korea had become one of the world’s top seven shipowning countries. From 1945 to the 1960s, the Korea Shipping Corporation, as a national shipping company, played a crucial role in leading the development of the shipping industry. Since the privatization of this national shipping company in 1968, Korean shipping has been led by private companies. This article analyzes the forces that drove the rapid expansion of private shipping companies between 1960 and 1981, and contends that government policy and the entrepreneurship of merchant marine officers were the main causal factors.