The Wall Street Journal on Oct. 27 said Korea's GDP in the third quarter grew 1.9% in the article headlined ''Why the U.S. Can’t Replicate South Korea’s Impressive Economic Recovery.'' (screen capture from daily's website) 

By Kim Young Deok and Yoon Sojung

International media including the U.S. daily Wall Street Journal and the British newspaper Financial Times have provided major coverage analyzing the Korean economy's rebound.

The Journal on Oct. 27 said, ''Korea's recession ended in the third quarter,'' adding that GDP grew 1.9% in the third quarter from the second in its article titled ''Why the U.S. Can't Replicate South Korea's Impressive Economic Recovery.'' 

Calling ''getting the virus under control early, and benefiting from an existing export-heavy economic model'' as ''the real secret sauce for coming back from Covid-19,'' the article said, ''Breaking down the components of the surge offers the clearest indication of why most economies in North America and Western Europe would struggle to replicate Korea's performance.''

The daily also provided in-depth coverage of Korea's economic rebound in the story ''South Korean Growth Shows Asia's Stronger Recovery From Coronavirus.''

''Remote working and schooling have also driven up demand for electronic gadgets and data servers that comprise the internet's plumbing, a win for South Korea's chip makers like Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc.,'' it said.

Alex Holmes, a Singapore-based economist at Capital Economics, was quoted as saying in the article, ''Korea has benefited a lot from the global demand for electronics,'' adding that slumps in petrochemicals and oil refining have been ''drags on exports.''

Bloomberg on Oct. 27 said Korea is in ''something of a sweet spot for the Covid-19 era'' in its article titled ''The real winner of the work-from-home economy.'' (Screen capture from Bloomberg website)

In the article ''South Korea virus response underpins sharp GDP jump,'' the London-based newspaper Financial Times said, ''In the three months to the end of September, South Korea's economy grew 1.9 per cent from the second quarter,'' adding, ''That marked a rebound from two consecutive contractions in the first six months of the year and the steepest quarterly increase since early 2010.''

The report also said this result was backed by Seoul's ''swift response to the coronavirus pandemic and robust tech exports.''

Krystal Tan and Sanjay Mathur, analysts for the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Ltd., were quoted as saying in this article, ''While uncertainty surrounding the global pandemic continues to cloud the growth outlook, the combination of effective policy responses and a favourable export structure places South Korea's economy in a good position to recover faster than most.''

On the driving force behind Korea's economic recovery, the article said, ''The country's leading tech manufacturers, including Samsung, LG and SK, have all benefited from robust demand this year. This has stemmed from greater demand for connectivity during the pandemic, China's strong economic recovery, as well as a surge in demand from Huawei ahead of the latest U.S. sanctions against the Shenzhen-based telecoms company.''

Bloomberg added that Korea is in ''something of a sweet spot for the Covid-19 era'' in its article headlined ''The real winner of the work-from-home economy.''

''Neighboring China, its biggest trading partner, is driving the global rebound and the world increasingly wants the technology that Korea sells,'' it said.

Citing exports as the reason for Korea's economic rebound, Bloomberg added, ''South Korea's bounce is built on what leaves the country. Exports account for about 40% of the economy. Memory chips and electronics have benefited from a shift to work-and study-from-home during the pandemic.''

''Perhaps the real achievement is that the country kept coronavirus infections in check and returned to growth without a comprehensive lockdown or equally forced rapid reopening.''

In Japan, Kyodo News and Jiji Press also highlighted Korea's 1.9% GDP growth in the third quarter as the result of remarkable export growth of 15.6%.

kyd1991@korea.kr