<jats:sec> <jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Purpose</jats:title> <jats:p>The purpose of this paper is to get more insight about the importance of globalisation and regional integration for global value chains (GVCs) upgrade and economic growth.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Design/methodology/approach</jats:title> <jats:p>It uses South Korea as an illustrative example of pursuing sustained economic growth via economic globalisation and moving up the value chains. It provides answers to two questions. First, how did South Korea manage to achieve economic growth via moving up the value chains? Second, what are the governmental efforts on globalisation and trade liberalisation that have contributed to this success?</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Findings</jats:title> <jats:p>Among other factors, its success can be seen as a result of a combination of domestic development strategy and policies and its efforts to create a “development-friendly” global and regional circumstance via strengthening the economic ties with main powers, expanding the free trade agreements network, and deepening integration into Factory Asia. It is of South Korea’s interest to push forward the progress of regional integration.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Originality/value</jats:title> <jats:p>Many countries have successfully got rid of poverty by participating international production sharing, but only few of them have managed to move further and eventually upgrade to be an advance economy. This case study of South Korea gives us more insight about the importance of globalisation and trade liberalisation in supporting GVCs upgrade.</jats:p> </jats:sec>