This thesis examines post-colonial economic development (or modernization theory) through a comparative study of post-colonial economic theory through a comparative study of two nations (Chile and the Republic of Korea) that employ a similar approach with varying degrees of success and drastically different results. It is a comparative look at two systems that followed two similar economic models with drastically different results. I survey and analyze competing arguments of economic development. I conclude with a critique of development economic theory, and propose my own model of development for post-colonial nations drawing on the success and failures of both of these cases.