I must be missing something here. South Korea was, last I knew, a democratic republic, friendly to the US, a high-wage nation, and otherwise a perfectly appropriate place for US companies to do business. Contrast them with China.
Hyundai, so far as I know, provides excellent products at reasonable prices. Even with shipping costs between there and here, they are still nipping at the heels of industry giants (dinosaurs?) like Caterpillar and GM. I even read an article the other day that folks in South Korea are developing refinements to the steelmaking process, making now-pricey steel less expensive and their products more competitive. (searched- couldn't find the article online- anybody else have any luck?)
The American auto industry of the 1970s is ample evidence of why protectionism doesn't work. Bloated, inefficent, unresponsive, it failed to innovate or make use of improved techonlogy. The result was that "Japanese Junk" cars would run between 100,000 and 250,000 miles without a major powertrain failure (if properly maintained.)
Case in point: 1981 Ford Escort vs. 1981 Toyota Corolla.
I owned one of each. The Escort was a sad joke- unreliable, hard to drive, expensive to repair. At 80,000 miles, with a perfect body, I junked it. The 1981 Corolla I bought to replace it had been sitting in a field for two years. It started! It had had 125,000 miles on it when the odometer quit, and had been driven two years beyond that. Having paid only $400 for it, I proceeded to abuse it for two years- and failed to break it. I finally gave it to a friend so he could put the motor in his identical wagon. Best car I ever owned.
A few years later, I bought a 1993 Ford Tempo- the second best car I ever owned. It's quality and reliability met or exceeded my 1981 Toyota.
In short, competition saved the US auto industry. Quality is up, innovation is everywhere, and every company is being forced to give the customers what they want- or the customers go elsewhere. This has even given us the "crossover vehicle"- the blending of sedan, station wagon and SUV- safe, fairly fuel efficient, low polluting and incredibly versatile.
Free markets = good
Command & Control economy = bad
Yes they are.
Unfortunately, they are not immune to having their policies ingored and corruptly undermined by transnational corporatists.
I had a survey from some company call me about the purchase of my minivan. I ID'd it as a Kia Sedona. All kinds of questions about why the car I bought and not the american car. Was the American dealership unfriendly...nope, I said, it was the price and the warranty. Was the quality of American cars lower....nope, I said, it was the price and the warranty.
A lot of questions and all of them the same answer: Price and Warranty.
They had an end of year clearance here in Cincy a few weeks back. I forget which Korean dealer, but they offered a free subcompact if you bought one of their larger cars at regular price.