Korean responses to environmental challenges: Origins, drivers and impacts of green growth on development

This chapter focuses on Korean environmental issues and policy responses to them from the 1960s to the present and suggests lessons for developing countries. First, it presents a brief Korean background along with the literature review. Second, drawing on secondary data (Pawar 2004), it discusses the dynamics of past and present Korean environmental policies under four phases: (i) ex post restrictions, command and green belt policy between the 1960s and 1980s; (ii) social and political responses and transition in the globalization era'from the 1980s to early 2000s; (iii) the quality of life policies and governance approach in the 2000s; and (iv) the low carbon green growth policies and responses to climate change as of 2011. Furthermore, it looks at the limits of the green growth policy and the importance of the sustainable development vision. Drawing on this overall discussion, the final section discusses what other countries can learn from Korean environmental policy failures and successes.