Vietnam and South Korea are both influenced by China.  Why has South Korea become a developed country while Vietnam is still a poor country?

越南和韩国都受到过中国的影响。为什么韩国成为发达国家，而越南仍然是穷国？

以下是Quora网友的评论：

Vikas Mehta

Despite both being influenced by China, the differing development trajectories of South Korea and Vietnam can be attributed to a combination of historical, geopolitical, economic, and social factors. It's important to note that "development" is a multifaceted concept encompassing economic growth, social progress, technological advancement, political stability, and more. Here are some key factors that have contributed to the divergent paths of South Korea and Vietnam:

虽然韩国和越南都受到过中国的影响，但两国不同的发展路径要归因于历史、地缘政治、经济和社会因素的综合影响。值得注意的是，“发展”是一个多方面的概念，包括经济增长、社会进步、技术进步、政治稳定等等。以下是导致韩国和越南走上不同发展道路的一些关键因素：

Historical Context

1.Colonial and War History: South Korea and Vietnam have different histories of colonialism and war. Japan colonized South Korea until the end of World War II, after which it entered into a destructive Korean War (1950-1953). Vietnam experienced a more extended period of colonial rule under France, followed by the First Indochina War, the Vietnam War (1955-1975), and internal conflicts. The prolonged and successive wars in Vietnam had a more devastating and lasting impact on its infrastructure and social fabric.

2.Division and Ideology: Post World War II, Korea was divided into North and South, with South Korea aligning with Western capitalist de ocracies and North Korea with co unist powers. In contrast, after the Vietnam War, Vietnam was unified under a co unist government. This difference in ideological alignment had significant implications for their respective economic models and international relations, especially during the Cold War era.

历史背景

1. 殖民和战争历史：韩国和越南遭遇过不同的殖民历史和战争历史。日本对韩国的殖民一直持续到第二次世界大战结束，随后韩国又经历了毁灭性的朝鲜战争(1950-1953)。越南经历了旷日持久的连续战争，对越南的基础设施和社会结构造成了破坏性更大、更持久的影响。

2. 分裂和意识形态：第二次世界大战后，朝鲜半岛分裂成南北两部分，韩国与西方zb主义民*国家结盟，朝鲜与*主义国家结盟。在越南战争结束后，越南被一个*主义政府统一。这种意识形态上的差异对两国各自的经济模式和国际关系产生了重大影响，尤其是在冷战时期。

Economic Policies and Development

1.Economic Models and Reforms: South Korea adopted a market-oriented economic approach earlier, with significant state involvement in directing economic development. This led to rapid industrialization and the creation of globally competitive companies (chaebols). On the other hand, Vietnam initially followed a centrally planned economic model and only began significant economic reforms (Đổi Mới) in 1986, moving towards a more market-oriented economy.

2.Foreign Investment and Trade: South Korea actively courted foreign investment and technology, leading to rapid industrial growth and export-led development. Vietnam's economic opening to foreign investment and global trade came much later, which meant it could not capitalize on these factors until the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

经济政策与发展

1. 经济模式和改革：韩国较早地采用了以市场为导向的经济方式，国家积极参与经济发展的指导。这使得韩国快速实现了工业化，促进了具有全球竞争力的企业(财阀)的诞生。另一方面，越南最早遵循中央计划经济模式，直到1986年才开始进行重大经济改革，走向更加市场化的经济。

2. 外国投资和贸易：韩国积极吸引外国投资和技术，导致工业快速增长和出口导向型发展。越南面向外国投资和全球贸易的经济开放要晚得多，这意味着越南直到20世纪末和21世纪初才开始利用这些积极因素。

Geopolitical and International Relations

1.Cold War Dynamics: South Korea received substantial economic and military aid from the United States and its allies during the Cold War, facilitating its economic development. Vietnam, after the war and reunification, faced economic sanctions and isolation from much of the Western world until the 1990s, hindering its economic progress.

2.Global Integration: South Korea successfully integrated into the global economy, joining organizations like the OECD. Vietnam's integration came much later, which impacted its access to international markets and technologies.

地缘政治和国际关系

1.冷战局势：韩国在冷战期间从美国及其盟国获得了大量的经济和军事援助，促进了韩国经济的发展。在战争和统一后到20世纪90年代，越南一直面临着经济制裁和西方世界的孤立，阻碍了经济的发展。

2.全球一体化：韩国成功地融入了全球经济，加入了经合组织等组织。越南的一体化进程要晚得多，这影响了它获得国际市场和技术的机会。

Social and Cultural Factors

1.Education and Human Capital: South Korea invested heavily in education and skill development, creating a highly educated workforce that supported its economic transformation. Vietnam has also made significant educational strides but started from a lower base and faced more significant challenges due to its war-torn history.

2.Cultural Factors: Confucian values, emphasizing hard work, education, and authority, have influenced both countries but might have interacted differently with other social and economic factors.

社会文化因素

1.教育和人力资本：韩国在教育和技能提升方面投入了大量资金，培养出一支受过高等教育的劳动力队伍，为其经济转型提供了支持。越南在教育方面也取得了重大进展，但因为饱受战争蹂躏，起点较低，面临着更大的挑战。

2.文化因素：提倡努力工作、教育和权威的儒家价值观对两国都有影响，但可能与其他社会和经济因素产生了不同的相互作用。

Current Status

It's also worth noting that while Vietnam is still considered a develo country, it has made remarkable progress in recent decades, with rapid economic growth, poverty reduction, and improvements in various human development indicators. Its development path differs from South Korea's but is on a significant financial and social development trajectory.

In summary, while South Korea and Vietnam share a historical influence from China, their development paths have been shaped by distinct historical experiences, economic policies, geopolitical alignments, and social factors. Development is a complex and nonlinear process, and each country's journey is unique to its circumstances.

当前的状态

同样值得注意的是，虽然越南仍然被视为发展中国家，但近几十年来，越南取得了令人瞩目的发展成功，经济快速增长，贫困减少，各项人类发展指标都有所改善。越南的发展道路与韩国不同，但在金融和社会发展方面有着显著的差异。

总之，虽然韩国和越南都受到过中国的历史影响，但它们的发展道路却受到不同的历史经历、经济政策、地缘政治联盟和社会因素的影响。发展是一个复杂的非线性过程，每个国家的发展历程都因各自的国情而有所不同。

Wuan Tran

Are you forget North Korea?

North Korea is now China's most loyal vassal. And has a total GDP of 15 billion USD per year. Equal to 1/20 Vietnam. You can also ask the same question but reverse the side between Vietnam and North Korea.

你忘了朝鲜吗？

朝鲜现在是中国最忠诚的附庸国。每年的GDP总量为150亿美元，约等于越南的1/20。你也可以对此提出同样的问题，但记得把越南和朝鲜的立场反过来。

Ryan Jeong

Both of these countries got influenced by China culturally over the last few thousand years. However, being a developed country is more heavily tied to politics. Politics can prevent countries from develo and that is what happened to Vietnam.

这两个国家在过去的几千年里都受到过中国文化的影响。但作为一个发达国家与政治的联系更为紧密。政治可以阻挠国家的发展，越南就是这样。

Long Huang

Maybe the fact that the US spent billions investing into colonizing South Korea and the Vietnam War where the US crippled 30–40% of the Vietnamese population at the time by the time it ended have something to do with it.

也许事实是，美国为了殖民韩国花费了数十亿美元，越南战争结束时，美国给越南人口造成了30-40%的伤亡率，这个局面与此有关。

Willy Ho

If you play Age of Empires, you will know why.

Two reasons to get rich and strong country is free boom (without war) and trading.

South Korea free from 1953 and trading since then.

Vietnam free from 1990 and later is trading.

Vietnam still fight China and Cambodia until 1990.

So how to develop while still at war?

如果你玩过《帝国时代》，你就会知道为什么了。

国家富强的两个原因是自由发展(没有战争)和贸易。

韩国从1953年开始自由贸易。

越南从1990年才开始自由贸易。

越南直到1990年还在跟中国和柬埔寨作战。

越南如何在战争中实现发展呢？

Wei Wenxng

The Korean War made Japan rich

The Vietnam War made South Korea rich

Vietnam is not rich because the United States has not transferred the war industry to it

朝鲜战争让日本富裕起来

越南战争让韩国富裕起来

越南并不富裕，因为美国并没有将军工业转移给越南

Lucia Millar

Answer: It is true that Vietnam and South Korea or Korea had culturally influenced by China. However, South Korea become developed has nothing to do with China but the US. Vietnam is another story that the US did not want Vietnam to become independent and reunited from 1950–1975. The conflicting interests between both countries lasted from 1950–1995 with the US-Vietnamese normalization of their relationship. After that, Vietnam has started to grow fast and is no longer one of the poorest countries in Asia.

There are many reasons including subjective reasons and objective ones to explain why Vietnam is still relatively poor and South Korea is developed. One of the main reasons is the US involvement:

回答：越南和韩国在文化上确实受到过中国的影响。但韩国的发达与中国无关，而是与美国有关。越南不一样，1950-1975年间美国不希望越南实现独立和统一。随着美越关系正常化，两国之间的利益冲突从1950年持续到1995年。在那之后，越南开始快速增长，不再是亚洲最贫穷的国家之一。

为什么越南仍然相对贫穷，而韩国已经是发达国家了呢？原因有很多，包括主观原因和客观原因。其中一个主要原因是美国的介入：

While the US helped South Korea to become developed, but also the US is the main reason why Vietnam was stuck in the war for half of the century. Vietnam only has started to grow after opening its economy to the western countries and normalized its relationship with the US in 1995. Today, the US and the US allies are the main partners and also the main investors of Vietnam, especially South Korea and Japan, Taiwan.

虽然美国帮助韩国实现发展，但美国也是让越南陷入长达半个世纪的战争的罪魁祸首。越南是在1995年向西方国家开放经济并与美国关系正常化后才开始增长的。今天，美国及其盟友是越南的主要合作伙伴，也是越南的主要投资者，尤其是韩国和日本和台湾地区。

One of the main reasons why Vietnam has decided to reconcile with the US and the US allies is because of the Former Soviet Unions' collapse and the Chinese threat. Another reason is that Vietnam wants to change itself and reform its economic system. Since 1945, Ho Chi Minh - the founding father of the Vietnamese modern state has always viewed the US as the important factor to help Vietnam rebalance with the possible Chinese threat.

越南决定与美国及其盟友和解的主要原因之一是前苏联的解体和中国的威胁。另一个原因是越南也想要改变自己，改革自己的经济体制。自1945年以来，越南现代国家之父胡志明一直将美国视为帮助越南重新制衡可能面临的中国威胁的重要力量。

Anonymous

South Koreans made tremendous sacrifices for economic development. Many people say that South Korea has grown so far with economic support from the United States and Japan, but this is far from the truth.

The South Koreans were all destroyed after the Korean War. There was no capital to create an industry for economic growth. So, South Korean entrepreneurs traveled around the world to get loans from all over the world, but of course no one invested in South Korea.

韩国人为经济发展做出了巨大牺牲。很多人说，韩国的经济发展得益于美国和日本的经济支持，但事实远非如此。

在朝鲜战争后，韩国遭到了严重的摧毁。韩国没有资本来打造促进经济增长的产业。因此，韩国企业家走遍世界各地，从世界各地获得贷款，但没有人在韩国投资。

So Korean did everything it could to raise capital. For example, Koreans cut their hair and made wigs for export, or did difficult and dirty jobs that people in developed countries were reluctant to do.

Now, the entrepreneurs who gathered the capital to start the light industry set up factories, produced cotton fabrics, and exported them abroad. In the process, factory workers, including many children, worked really hard, despite the harsh workload, horrendous environment and ridiculously small salaries.

因此，韩国人尽其所能筹集资金。例如，韩国人剪掉自己的头发、制作成假发，出口到国外，或从事发达国家的民众不愿从事的艰苦、肮脏的工作。

现在，企业家们筹集资金创办轻工业，建立工厂，生产棉织物，并出口到国外。在这个过程中，包括许多儿童在内的工厂工人，虽然工作繁重、环境恶劣、工资也低得离谱，但他们依然努力工作。

Korean entrepreneurs who met requirements started the heavy industry and succeeded surprisingly. Since then, the Korean economy has grown exponentially. The citizens of Korea, whose economic level had risen to a certain degree, began to demand de ocratization. The process required a lot of blood and sacrifice, but they succeed in establishing a de ocratic government.

符合条件的韩国企业家们开创了重工业，并取得了惊人的成功。从那时起，韩国的经济迅速增长。经济水平上升到一定程度，韩国民众就开始要求皿煮。这个过程会造成大量的鲜血和牺牲，但他们成功地建立了皿煮政府。

So let's talk about Vietnam. Vietnam didn't have enough time to spur an industry after the Vietnam War and a belated escape from co sm, but the Vietnamese had another chance. That is, with the rise of China, the countries of the first world built factories by investing huge amounts of money in Vietnam instead of China to keep China in check.

I am convinced that Vietnam can grow into a much larger economy than Korea if such active investment from overseas and Vietnam's abundant resources and population are utilized well.

我们来谈谈越南。在越南战争结束、脱离共 产主义之后，越南没有足够的时间来刺激产业的发展，但越南人还有另一个机会。也就是说，随着中国的崛起，第一世界国家开始在越南投入大量资金建设工厂，遏制中国。

我相信，如果这种积极的海外投资以及越南丰富的资源和人口得到充分利用，越南的经济规模将远远超过韩国。