Hong Jea-hwan, a research fellow at Korea Institute for National Unification / Courtesy of Hong Jea-hwan

If you lived in Korea from the 1950s to 1980s, you would have witnessed two very different situations in a short period. Rising from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War, Korea experienced remarkable economic growth, known as the Miracle on the Han River.

Behind the dazzling achievements of Korea were its economic architects, or bureaucrats.

"Economic bureaucrats during this era played active roles. As time goes by, they have largely been forgotten. I wanted to spotlight them as well as to introduce the economic history of Korea," Hong Jea-hwan, a research fellow at Korea Institute for National Unification, said during a phone interview with The Korea Times.

The economic historian recently published a book titled "The Era of Economic Bureaucrats," delving into the contributions of 13 figures who played significant roles in establishing Korea's economic foundation.

Hong majored in the economic history of Korea for his master's and doctoral degrees at Seoul National University.

One of the figures highlighted was Chang Key-young, who acquired The Korea Times from its founder in 1953 and started the publication of the Hankook Ilboin 1954 after serving as the senior deputy governor of the Bank of Korea in 1950. In 1964, he was appointed finance minister and vice prime minister.

As a person who disliked idle working environments, he made phone calls to his employees from 5 a.m. after waking up an hour earlier. Employees had to report on grocery prices after observing the market early in the morning.

Hong believes that the Miracle on the Han River could not have been achieved by the president alone. Policy-level support from economic bureaucrats, in addition to strong leadership, made this success possible.

However, Hong also points out that it has become difficult for economic bureaucrats to emerge as stars nowadays, despite the abundance of well-educated individuals and a significantly improved economic environment.

"Nowadays, the overall government administration operates based on a system. In the past, there were fewer systemic foundations, so the impact of an individual's decision was more significant. They could also make flexible decisions, as the principles were less strict at the time. Such an environment has both good and bad aspects," Hong said.

Even if exceptional economic bureaucrats were to emerge, it would still be challenging to address the complex issues currently burdening the Korean economy. However, it could be valuable to remember the dedication and sense of mission demonstrated by bureaucrats during an earlier time, according to Hong.