Books & Arts
97. Asia's quest for wealth

Going for growth Jul 30th 2009 From The Economist print edition

Digging in their heels The Miracle: The Epic Story of Asia's Quest for Wealth.
By Michael Schuman. Harper Business 464 pages $29.99 and ￡16.99. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk

97-1-458
SOMETHING remarkable has swept through Asia in recent years, enriching literally billions of people far beyond even what optimists would have imagined just a few decades ago. In "The Miracle", Michael Schuman, Asia business correspondent for Time magazine, attempts to discern who and what energised each country, and beyond the obvious differences, whether certain features are common to them all.
The book explores some rich veins, beginning with the compelling, yet often flawed, people who forced their nations forward. These were men of broad vision, who were usually obsessed with micro-managing details. The leading exemplar was probably Park Chung-hee, president of South Korea from 1961 until 1979. Park would fly off by helicopter before dawn to inspect the construction of a highway project he believed was critical in linking together his country, only to find the project manager, Chung Ju-yung, subsequently better known as the founder of Hyundai, already at work, having slept at the site in the back of a Jeep.

A. 어휘
quest 탐구, 탐색. miracle 기적. epic 敍事詩(서사시)의, 영웅적인, 비상한, 서사시.
The Epic Story of Asia 아시아의 영웅적인 이야기. remarkable 놀라운.
sweep-swept-swept 휩쓸다. literally 문자 그대로. optimist 낙관주의자.
correspondent 특파원. Time magazine 타임誌(지). discern 분간하다, 식별하다.
obvious 명백한. feature 특징, 특색. explore 탐험하다. vein 성질, 기질, 혈관, 정맥.
compelling 존경하지 않을 수 없게 하는, 강압적인. flawed 결함이 있는.
obsess 망상에 사로잡히다, 달라붙다. exemplar 본보기, 전형. inspect 점검하다.
critical 결정적인. subsequently 뒤에. founder 창립자.

B. 구문
- only to find→but he found
- having slept→who had slept

97-2-459
As Mr Schuman illustrates, the men who led Asia's growth typically came out of slums and jungles, carving out their careers from what initially were trivial opportunities in regional militias or factories and accounting houses. Just a few, Azim Premji of India's Wipro, Akio Morita of Sony, and perhaps (more quietly) Li Ka-shing of Hong Kong, had ties to wealth. These men saw business as a noble calling. All of them were fiercely nationalistic they took huge risks and occasionally came to a brutal end, as was the case for Chung's longtime rival, Kim Woo-choong, who created and destroyed Daewoo.
Mr Schuman goes to some lengths to show that many of Asia's successes happened after different industries threw off the heavy hand of the state. This was true even in Japan, the birthplace of the miracle, whose economy was heavily influenced by bureaucrats. Sony survived by circumventing government obstacles to American technology and Honda's car division made a point of resisting a government-imposed consolidation. India and China began to prosper once they emerged from under the influence of regulators and planners.
Despite that, the heavy role of the state snakes its way through Mr Schuman's book, for better and worse, providing an essential aspect of the narrative. Its influence was felt directly, through support for heavy industries like steel, shipbuilding, and car manufacturing, and also indirectly, through the creation of targeted economic development zones that were exempt from taxes and regulation, and lavished with subsidies. Most controversial were protectionist policies that were almost universally applied.

A. 어휘
illustrate 예증하다, 설명하다. carve out 개척해 나가다. cf. carve 조각하다.
initially 초기에는. trivial 사소한. regional militia 지역민병.
accounting house 회계사무소. noble calling 고귀한 天職(천직).
fiercely 맹렬하게. nationalistic 민족주의적인. brutal end 잔인한 종말.
goes to some lengths 이야기를 조금 길게 하다. different industries 다양한 산업들.
the heavy hand of the state 국가의 束縛(속박). bureaucrat 관료.
circumvent 계략을 써서 ...을 포위하다, 속이다. obstacle 장애물.
car division 자동차 사업부. cf. division 部(부), 局(국), 육군의 師團(사단).
make a point of resisting 저항하는 것을 원칙으로 하다. impose 강요하다.
consolidation 기업통폐합. emerge from 벗어나다. regulator 규정하는 사람, 단속자.
planner 계획입안자. regulators and planners. 정부의 관료들.
snake 꿈틀거리며 움직이다. for better and worse 좋건 나쁘건.
aspect 양상. narrative 이야기, 담화, 서술부. exempt 면제된.
lavished 아낌없이 받는. subsidies 보조금. controversial 논쟁의 여지가 있는.
protectionist policies 보호주의정책. universally 보편적으로.