 The U.S. government was growing wary of Japan's artificially low currency and would begin force it up but Japan would aggressively cut interest rates which sputtered growth.Despite bubbles culminating with a series of stock and real estate market crashes, the post-war miracle had transformed the island archipelago into the industrialized nation with a thriving middle class that it is today.Following the Korean War, South Korea remained one of the poorest countries in the world for over a decade.