From meltdown to bounceback : how South Korea weathered the 2008 financial crisis

South Koreans remember the acute humiliation of the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, when the mighty export powerhouse was forced to go hat-in-hand for a bailout to the International Monetary Fund. Not so during the 2008 global financial crisis. Although hard hit, South Korea bounced back rapidly, while the US, Europe and Japan are still struggling. Lessons from the earlier crisis provided the foundations for recovery this time around, writes Shalendra D. Sharma.