For South Korea as a whole,that seems as much a prophecy as an ambition. Like Japan in the 1960s,the country is poised for an assault on the world' s export markets. Its surging $81 billion economy is churning out a flood of increasingly sophisticated products,from shoes,toys and telephones to video recorders and microprocessors. Korea's mighty conglomerates dominate Middle East construction,and they command key shares of the world' s shipbuilding,textile and steel industries.

Korea,once known as the "Hermit Kingdom",is plainly on the move. As with "Japan,Inc.”before it,the new label“Korea,Inc.”may be no more than a trendy buzzword. But South Korea aims to forge just such a national economic machine,using the might of its established giants backed by centralized planners who can mobilize the country's banks and industrial infrastructure. The heady dreams of actually rivaling Japan may never come within reach; Korea' s economy,while large by Asian standards,is barely one-fifteenth the size of its island neighbor. And it faces a gantlet of other obstacles,ranging from an unwieldy bureaucracy and a volatile political climate to a chronic shortage of investment capital and heavy commitments to military spending. Still,the comparisons with Japan,Inc. are more than empty flattery;in fact,they signal Korea's gathering clout. What is a“ Hermit Kingdom" ?

Korea,once known as the "Hermit Kingdom",is plainly on the move. As with "Japan,Inc.”before it,the new label“Korea,Inc.”may be no more than a trendy buzzword. But South Korea aims to forge just such a national economic machine,using the might of its established giants backed by centralized planners who can mobilize the country's banks and industrial infrastructure. The heady dreams of actually rivaling Japan may never come within reach; Korea' s economy,while large by Asian standards,is barely one-fifteenth the size of its island neighbor. And it faces a gantlet of other obstacles,ranging from an unwieldy bureaucracy and a volatile political climate to a chronic shortage of investment capital and heavy commitments to military spending. Still,the comparisons with Japan,Inc. are more than empty flattery;in fact,they signal Korea's gathering clout. What are the disadvantages of Korea's economy when compared with Japan's?

Korea,once known as the "Hermit Kingdom",is plainly on the move. As with "Japan,Inc.”before it,the new label“Korea,Inc.”may be no more than a trendy buzzword. But South Korea aims to forge just such a national economic machine,using the might of its established giants backed by centralized planners who can mobilize the country's banks and industrial infrastructure. The heady dreams of actually rivaling Japan may never come within reach; Korea' s economy,while large by Asian standards,is barely one-fifteenth the size of its island neighbor. And it faces a gantlet of other obstacles,ranging from an unwieldy bureaucracy and a volatile political climate to a chronic shortage of investment capital and heavy commitments to military spending. Still,the comparisons with Japan,Inc. are more than empty flattery;in fact,they signal Korea's gathering clout. What does"gathering clout" mean in the passage?

(Income Gap: In fulfilling those hopes, however, Korea faces some potentially disruptive problems. Some are social. For all the progress, deep pockets of poverty exist throughout the country. In Seoul, glistening high-rise apartment houses jostle with warrens of slum housing; in remote rural communities people are still eking out subsistence livings. As a result, conspicuous consumption by a nouveau riche elite has become a real source of friction. In contrast to Japan, which has managed to spread its postwar wealth relatively evenly, Korea is beset by a widening income gap between rich and poor.)What is the usually meaning of the expression “a deep pocket”?

(Income Gap: In fulfilling those hopes, however, Korea faces some potentially disruptive problems. Some are social. For all the progress, deep pockets of poverty exist throughout the country. In Seoul, glistening high-rise apartment houses jostle with warrens of slum housing; in remote rural communities people are still eking out subsistence livings. As a result, conspicuous consumption by a nouveau riche elite has become a real source of friction. In contrast to Japan, which has managed to spread its postwar wealth relatively evenly, Korea is beset by a widening income gap between rich and poor.)What does “deep pockets” mean here?

(Income Gap: In fulfilling those hopes, however, Korea faces some potentially disruptive problems. Some are social. For all the progress, deep pockets of poverty exist throughout the country. In Seoul, glistening high-rise apartment houses jostle with warrens of slum housing; in remote rural communities people are still eking out subsistence livings. As a result, conspicuous consumption by a nouveau riche elite has become a real source of friction. In contrast to Japan, which has managed to spread its postwar wealth relatively evenly, Korea is beset by a widening income gap between rich and poor.)The expression “deep pockets” is used here ironically, what does it indicate?

Last year,however,China ousted the US to become the second largest exporter to the emirate with goods worth more than $1,000 million,or 8 percent of Dubai's total import bill. ( )

Shaikh Fahim has already shown in recent public statements that he is inclined to be forth-right about the threat posed by the UAE's neighbours across the Gulf. ( )

Even the well-established consultants are finding it hard to secure definitive lucrative projects. ( )