近數十年來，亞洲經濟的成長主要歸功於國際貿易。為了使國際貿易的利益極大化，區域乃致力於發展運輸與後勤基礎建設以減少貿易的交易成本。在區域的層次增加運輸與後勤基礎建設的效率不僅減少邊際、交通與行銷的成本，而且打開新市場，因而增加區域生產者的利益。今日基礎建設發展的效率已成為一國在全球經濟體系成功的決定性因素。一國的基礎建設與後勤脆弱終將會在全球生產網絡中退化。 南韓經濟的發展堪稱是二次世界大戰後最成功的故事。有不少的研究與辯論從經濟與社會的條件來探討導致南韓增長與發展如此快速的主要因素。常被提到的決定性因素包括教育、文化與價值、領導能力、企劃、工業政策、政策性財政支援、 企業家精神、國際經援等。但卻未有一位學者找出一個單一的變數足以解釋此一整個的發展過程。本文主旨即試圖以基礎建設為單一變數檢視南韓在基礎建設的投資以及基礎建設對南韓經濟發展的貢獻，俾利作為其他發展中國家進行基礎建設投資的參考。

Asia’s economic growth in recent decades is mainly indebted to international trade. Even during its financial crisis of 1997-1998, Asia was able to recover fairly quickly thanks to its continuous increase in trade. In order to maximize the benefits of international trade, regional efforts have been made to reduce transaction costs of trade thus leading to the development of transport and logistics infrastructure. At the regional level, the increase of transport and logistics infrastructure efficiency not only decreased marginal, transportation, and marketing costs but also opened up new markets hence increasing profits for producers in the region. Today, the efficiency of the infrastructure development has become a determinant factor in a country’s success in the world economy. A country with a weak infrastructure and logistics will eventually degenerate in the global production networks. The South Korean (“Korean” hereafter unless defined otherwise) economy has been the most successful story in the post-war world. There are a number of researches and debates on the major factors that made it possible for Korea to grow and develop so fast in terms of its economy and social conditions. Education, culture and values, leadership, planning, industrial policy, policy financing, entrepreneurship, international assistance and so on were among other alleged determinants of the final outcome of economic and social development. No one would be able to efficiently argue for a single variable to explain the whole process of development. However, the role of infrastructure in Korea’s economic development remains one of the under-explored realms among other additional contributors. Korea is one of the major Asian countries that has benefitted from developing its infrastructure industry. Infrastructure development had been initiated since its colonial period but positive outcomes of its investment and efforts have been notable only after the Korean War in 1953. SOC has continuously increased and this has resulted in the increase of trade and overall economic growth of the country. As early as in 1970, infrastructural investment was one of the key areas with political attention by the then-president Park Chung Hee. His and succeeding regimes’ drives for infrastructural development not only contributed to national integration in the political sense, but also made the Korean economy as a whole more efficient in terms of industrial development and export-oriented strategy performance. This paper attempts to examine such Korean experiences in infrastructural investments and infrastructure’s contribution to Korea’s economic development, and to draw implications for the importance and directions of infrastructural investments in other developing countries. As in the policy implementation process in general, however, no one can always guarantee rosy outcome of infrastructural projects ahead. However, this paper will attempt to make several policy recommendations for the success of infrastructure investment policies in other regions.