One of the most difficult obstacles facing non-western nations is the issue of technology transfer. The main objective of this dissertation is... Show moreOne of the most difficult obstacles facing non-western nations is the issue of technology transfer. The main objective of this dissertation is to analyze the how South Korea has succeeded through industrial upgrading through technology transfer in achieving the Han River Miracle- making it in 2011, the fourth largest economy in Asia and the 9th largest in the world. From 1910 to 1945, Korean modernization was continuously developed under the Japanese war economy and its military policy. Japanese capital, technology and entrepreneurs were transferred to Korea due to supplement the shortages of Japanese industries or to take advantage of the low labor costs in Korea in order to prepare for the Sino-Japanese War in 1936 and the Pacific War in 1941. There is no doubt that President Chung-Hee Park (1961-1979) was the architect of the Korean economic miracle. During his authoritarian regime, the government had played an important role in the creation and financing of the modern Korean industrial groupings, called the Chaebols. The government also intervened directly in the formation of their policies. In the 1980s, when the country embarked on financial liberalization, the degree of intervention started to decrease. And finally, the 1997 crisis will be examined, with special attention on the introduction of reforms required by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In the industrial arena, the focus will be on the rationalization policies undertaken to increase the total factor productivity (TFP). It will cover the currently important industries of steel, automobiles and semiconductors, as well as those promising industries which have led the development of South Korea's knowledge-intensive economy. An integral part of the xi ii analysis will study the repercussions of the 1997 financial reforms on both the large and small and medium-size industries. Conventional wisdom assumes that it was under President Park's rule that South Korea had its first experience with industrialization. This assumption, however, ignores the significant industrialization that took place during the colonial period. It also does not take into account the admittedly limited industrial development that took place during the time before the 1961 coup d'état, when civilian governments were in charge. The dissertation would shed light on these overlooked periods. PH.D in Management Science, May 2014 Show less