The Korean Journal of Economic Studies
Long-term Trade Statistics and Indices in Korea, 1877-1963
Ki-Joo Park / Nak Nyeon KimYear 2009Vol. 57No. 3
Abstract
This paper is purposed to build up the foreign trade statisticsDB(Data-base) of Korea from 1877 to 1963 and estimate the long-term trendof foreign trade. Major work for this was to utilize new sources, to combinevarious trade statistics which were differently formatted according toproducers, and to assign SITC(Standard International Trade Classification)code to each item. This elaboration allowed us to link our data with UNComtrade DB, which result in a consistent series from 1877 to 2006. We alsocomputed the chained Fischer unit price index, the quantity index of trade andthe terms of trade, which were linked up with indices exhibited by theBOK(Bank of Korea). We divided the 130-year period since the opening ofthe port into four, which are the open-port period, the colonial period, fromthe liberation to the early 1960s and after the mid-1960s, showed how thecomposition of trade and the various indices changed over time and tried toexplain their differences in each period. The high growth of trade wascharacterizing all period, except the third period when the openness wasshrinking. Even though the net barter terms of trade was sometimes improvedor deteriorated, the income terms of trade was improved constantly all thetime due to the fast increasing quantity of export.