The death of Korea Inc

Imagine the embarrassment. Just weeks after Korea had been accepted into the rich man's club of OECD nations it suffered the collapse of two large corporations with debts of more than $6 billion, a banking crisis, an outbreak of labour unrest which brought the country to a standstill and a corruption scandal which spread across the political spectrum from the president's family down.

Added to its ballooning foreign debt, falling exports, a massive current account deficit, a depreciating currency and a failing stock market, analysts were quick to say this ambitious country was a busted flush - too big for its boots, living beyond its means, still too protectionist and xenophobic to be welcomed as a serious player among big economies.

But the sceptics - and there are many - may have spoken too soon, for there is nothing like a crisis to galvanize the Koreans into action.

"In the past, the government...