Back in the early 1960s Korea needed money to power the first phase of the five-year economic development plan. South Korea’s need for funds and West Germany’s need for hard-working labor force met up and Korea sent thousands of miners and nurses to West Germany. The money they sent back home formed the foundation for Korea’s economic growth in the 60s and 70s. Korea would not have achieved today’s prosperity if not for the sacrifices of these young miners and nurses who left their families behind to work demanding and dangerous jobs in West Germany.
