Korea’s growth track record is truly extraordinary by any measure. It is not easy to explore Korea’s astounding development trajectory amidst the many obstacles that stood in its way or to gaze into the crystal ball for a glimpse of its future, given the numerous challenges and uncertainties that stare in its face. Noland (2012) has skilfully carried out this task. His excellent analysis bears testimony to his deep understanding of Korea’s history, psyche, and growth strategy. Korea’s growth model was by no means seamless. In fact, Korea had its own share of mistakes which resulted in hyperinflation, an overvalued currency, unbridled cronyism, rent seeking, etc. Indeed, developing countries have much to learn from Korea’s failures as much as from its successes. The lack of natural resources was a blessing in disguise for Korea, which ensured that Korea could not slip into complacency or fall into the clutches of the Dutch disease. Korea was good at transforming obstacles into opportunities, turning a resource-scarce economy into a resourceful one. Japan was Korea’s role model, which was also the case for Taiwan and Singapore, given the common denominator of a lack of natural resources, although their growth strategies were markedly different, especially with respect to the role of conglomerates as opposed to small and medium enterprises and the role of foreign direct investment versus homegrown investment. In a sense, Korea’s development model was a carbon copy of Japan’s, withchaebols as its counterparts for Japan’szaibatsus, based on government patronage and driven by domestic investment. The Korean economy grew on the coattails of the USA during the Cold War. Had it not been for the rapid expansion of the US economy with fairly liberal market access, Korea could not have leapfrogged to where it stands today. While Japan was a source of inspiration cum peer pressure for Korea, it is to the USA that Korea owes the most. This observation is highly pertinent not only for explaining the meteoric rise of Korea thus far, but also for understanding its future challenges. Korea’s policy missteps, too, provide valuable lessons for other economies, to avoid costly mistakes, which include such practices as “picking winners,” price distortions, short-term borrowing for long-term investment, high levels of financial leverage, and an unholy trinity among the state, businesses, and banks. All these had arguably led to poor governance which culminated in a major financial crisis in 1997. Be that as it may, credit