Asian economies such as Korea grew precisely due to government enforced industrialization programs. Protectionism is excellent for an economy's 'bootstrap' phas

Asian economies such as Korea grew precisely due to government enforced industrialization programs. Protectionism is excellent for an economy's 'bootstrap' phase where you wish to create some sort of viable industry where none existed before. To make this long term tenable, you have to then slowly pull back and return to a more market based approach.