ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Miracle on the Han River

The Miracle on the Han River is a term used to describe the rapid economic growth of South Korea after the Korean War in the 1950s.

Imagine that after a big and scary war, your family's house is completely destroyed. But instead of giving up, your family works together to build a new house. They work incredibly hard, and soon the new house is even better than the old one. Everyone in the neighborhood is amazed at how quickly your family was able to rebuild, and how great the new house looks.

That's kind of like what happened in South Korea after the war. The country was devastated and had very little resources. However, the people of South Korea worked together and worked incredibly hard to rebuild their country. This was encouraged by the government, who put policies in place to support industrialization and improve the economy.

Over the course of several decades, these efforts paid off in a big way. South Korea became one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, with major industries such as electronics, cars, and shipbuilding. People from all over the world began to notice how successful South Korea had become, and the term "Miracle on the Han River" was coined to describe this incredible transformation.

So in short, the Miracle on the Han River is a term used to describe South Korea's extraordinary economic growth after the Korean War, made possible by the hard work and determination of the Korean people and support from the government.