By Kum Gi-hyun
secretary-general of Korea Entrepreneurship Foundation


South Korea needs to boost its entrepreneurship to prepare its economy for the future and adjust to changes, as it is facing a looming crisis due to external and internal factors.

The spread of entrepreneurship is imperative for an economy to grow and develop, according to German nonprofit research organization Max-Planck-Gesellschaft and a report by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, an organization which studies entrepreneurship.

It is said that Japan, which had enjoyed a boom in the late 1980s, is now suffering long-term recession partly due to weak entrepreneurship. 

According to a study entitled “Impact of Entrepreneurship Education” by the US Kauffman Foundation, a person who has undergone entrepreneurship training has a threefold higher chance of launching a startup than those who do not, along with 27 percent and 62 percent higher annual income and assets, respectively.

During the G-20 summit in September in Hangzhou, China, the leaders of 20 major countries stressed the importance of entrepreneurship in creating jobs and buttressing the economy. At the event, they declared the G-20 Entrepreneurship Action Plan, which contained ways to fortify startup support, and promote the education and training of entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship has caught the attention of many countries, with many nations trying to foster businesses launched by youths.

On the other hand, the prolonged economic downturn has made the young seek stable jobs rather than bold challenges. However, in times like these, entrepreneurship should become a virtue that is all the more emphasized.

It was due to those who demonstrated entrepreneurship with their youthful spirit, ambition, ability to overcome challenges and passion that South Korea -- which had less than $100 in gross national product per capita following the Korean War (1950-1953) -- rose to become the world’s 10th-largest trading country, with nearly $30,000 in GNP.

Indeed, the rapid growth of the Korean economy was achieved thanks to the courage, passion, persistence and spirit of challenge that entrepreneurs showed. They did not shy away from failures and showed a high sense of responsibility along with a strong conviction of purpose.

These days, however, there is rising concern about the Korean economy. Incessant low growth, record-breaking unemployment rates as well as spreading social and economic anxiety indicates that the Korean economy is falling into a slump.

Unless we prepare to turn things around, it seems inevitable that Korea may face a long-term recession like Japan.

There is, therefore, the desperate need to spread a sense of entrepreneurship, along with the values of creativity, innovation, passion, ambition and perseverance.

As the popular sayings go: “No pain, no gain,” and “No success without failure.”

The road we must walk is crystal clear in order to recover the success and glory that our predecessors strove to achieve. And it is the entrepreneurship that is echoed around the world that must accompany our journey.