In the twentieth century, Korea had a violent change in its history. Initially, Korea lost its independence and became a Japanese colony. It regained freedom after the defeat of Japan, but soon, the Korean War broke out. From that time until today, Korea has been divided into two parts: the southern one and the northern one. After the war, South Korea was a country under military dictatorship for a long time. South Korea after the Korean War belonged to one of the poorest countries over the world. In the present time, however, South Korea has become a country that has a great impact on the global economy. This change in history had a huge impact (positively and negatively) on the mentality of Koreans. The aim of my article is to present the economic development of South Korea from a Confucian point of view and to analyze the impact of Korean history in the twentieth century on the mentality of Koreans and its operation in Korean society (work ethos and ethos of science, Korean language, etc.).