Given the mercantilist mindset and the fact that Korea is so dependent on trade for its economic well-being, Koreans often think of their country as a helpless player in the harsh global marketplace, where other countries limit imports of Korean goods for nationalist reasons and have forced Korea to open its markets before the economy is ready, resulting in massive domestic shocks. Considering that it was the gains from trade that allowed Korea to develop, this mindset may be paradoxical, but Korea is hardly alone in having such views about trade; it was, after all, only forty years ago that Korea’s GDP per capita was less than $200.