Ukraine and South Korea: a shared strategy for growth under constant threat

Vitaliy Kim

Today, Ukraine is a real-time laboratory of resilience. We are going through a phase similar to what South Korea experienced in the 1950s–1960s: a devastated economy, a lasting security threat, and the understanding that survival is possible only through economic transformation.

This is why Ukraine’s experience is not only a story of endurance and resilience, but also a practical case study for nations developing under long-term security risks. For South Korea — a country that has combined economic growth with permanent security challenges for decades, this experience is not abstract, but strategically relevant.

This historical similarity, alongside differences in the intensity of threats, makes the dialogue between Ukraine and South Korea uniquely meaningful. At the same time, although our histories and sensibilities offer many points of connection, Ukrainians and Koreans are, in essence, shaped by rather different mindsets. This is a distinction I both sense and understand clearly.

South Korea built its economy for decades knowing that the threat from the North would not disappear. Ukraine lives under the same conditions today. But in the reality of an active war, which only heightens the urgency of economic transformation.

The Korean experience shows that scale, exports, and technology deliver results only when state support is paired with discipline and responsibility. The Ukrainian experience confirms another principle: survival and development are only possible through constant adaptation without waiting for “perfect conditions.”

Ukraine’s frontline regions — like my city Mykolaiv — prove daily that economic life continues even under fire. Businesses operate despite attacks, power is restored within hours, decisions are made without waiting for central instructions.

This is not theory, but a practical management model shaped by permanent risk. It mirrors the early decades of South Korea’s post-war development, when despite the DPRK threat the country built factories, schools, and infrastructure.

This culture of governance — fast, decentralized, and responsible — once became the foundation of Korea’s economic breakthrough.

Ukraine is building a new generation of infrastructure — underground.

In Kharkiv, the world’s first full-fledged underground school is already operating. In Mykolaiv and Dnipro, underground medical modules are already functioning, and frontline communities have built underground hubs to sustain daily life.

South Korea understands this logic well. After the war, Seoul developed shelters, metro lines, and tunnels as part of everyday security. Ukraine is now following this path. In the 21st century.

For Ukraine, underground infrastructure is not a temporary wartime solution but a new safety standard for cities. Such standards create a predictable environment for investment even under long-term threats.

Mil-tech: innovation born under fire

War has proven that those who adapt faster prevail. South Korea knows this logic well: Samsung, Hyundai, and LG rose to global leadership through agility, bold engineering decisions, and rapid innovation.

Ukraine is undergoing a similar process in its military innovation.

A unique mil-tech ecosystem has emerged in Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro, functioning as a “wartime accelerator”:

In Mykolaiv, engineers turn commercial drones into high-precision systems with secure communication in just months.

In Kharkiv, ground robotic platforms for evacuation and logistics are developed and tested on the front the very next day.

In Dnipro, localized production of FPV drones is operating at scale.

The cycle of “idea — testing — adjustment — implementation” has been shortened to weeks.

In the 1960–80s, Samsung and Hyundai grew in the same way: through learning, fast adaptation, and engineering courage.

For both our nations, technology is an instrument of national security.

Importantly, many Ukrainian innovations are dual-use: from robotics and autonomy to secure communications and civilian safety systems. This is exactly how military innovation becomes a driver of economic growth, mirroring South Korea’s experience.

South Korea invested in education even in times of scarce resources, prioritizing engineers, technical expertise, and industrial management — the foundation of the Korean economic miracle.

A similar development logic is emerging in Ukraine today.

Ukraine now has a unique pool of talent — mil-tech specialists, engineers, and local managers in frontline regions capable of making rapid decisions under pressure.

This is what will drive the next leap forward.

Partnership with Korea strengthens this potential.

In Ukrainian universities, Samsung-supported programs and training schools are already preparing students in modern engineering, robotics, and advanced technologies — an additional bridge between our nations that is shaping the engineers of tomorrow.

For many years, Samsung has been developing educational bridges in Ukraine in technology and engineering. Its long-term cooperation with the Samsung R&D Institute Ukraine at the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute offers internships and joint research opportunities, while Samsung IT schools in multiple Ukrainian cities train young people for technical specialties and careers in engineering and programming. This stands as a remarkable example of how Korean companies can go beyond project investment to actively shape the human capital of the future.

This creates an additional platform for cooperation, where South Korea becomes not only an example of economic success but a practical partner in training Ukraine’s future engineers and tech leaders.

The synergy between Ukraine’s practical resilience and Korea’s engineering strengths could drive a next-generation partnership in technology and defense.

Ukraine today looks to South Korea not only for its economic lessons — growing interest in Korean culture and language is bringing our societies closer, making South Korea feel like a close future-oriented partner rather than a distant country.

Korea’s experience shows how to turn threat into development. Ukraine’s experience shows how to create innovation in real time.

The strategic role of the Korean government has been to set a long-term course and consistently implement it. This is exactly the kind of role Ukraine’s government must play today to ensure its own economic success in Europe.

We are not looking for universal recipes. We are looking for a shared logic of development. That is why the partnership between Ukraine and South Korea is natural and strategically beneficial for both sides.

To build this cooperation, Ukraine should begin by importing technologies in those sectors where South Korea is a global leader. This is essential for shaping a 10–20-year plan to develop complementary industries capable of competing on the world market. And for this partnership to be mutually beneficial, Ukraine must do so in sectors where it is strong — mil-tech is precisely one of them.

What partnership do we already have?

KOICA is implementing major projects in humanitarian assistance, healthcare, education, and institutional development. POSCO International owns a grain terminal in the Mykolaiv port — one of Ukraine’s key agricultural export hubs before the war. This makes Mykolaiv a natural partner for Korean business in rebuilding our southern regions, particularly within the “Ukrainian South 2.0” transformation concept.

With its engineering base and access to the Black Sea, Mykolaiv is a logical investment hub for Korean companies in shipbuilding, logistics, and high-tech industries.

The Ukrainian–Korean partnership can take shape now — through cooperation in southern Ukraine’s infrastructure, engineering education, shipbuilding, logistics, security technologies, and urban recovery. These are areas where Korean companies have deep expertise, while Ukraine has clear demand, urgent needs, and significant opportunities.

This momentum positions South Korea to become a true partner and stakeholder in Ukraine’s economic success story, while strengthening its strategic footprint in Europe’s future.

Vitaliy Kim is a Ukrainian politician of Korean descent and the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration. Appointed in 2020, over the last four years he has been leading one of Ukraine’s frontline regions, overseeing civilian resilience, economic continuity, and crisis management under constant military threat.