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50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and South Korea.

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• GS Paper 2 International Relations.
• Tags: #upsc #gspaper2 #indiasouthkorea #buddhism #50yerasofdiplomaticrelations.

Why in the news?

• Recently the Indian Embassy in Seoul has organized an event to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and South Korea this year.
• The two countries share a long history together, dating back to one of the first contacts that both countries established through Buddhism.

India and Korea’s bilateral relationship have long standings historical and cultural ties, spanning over two millennia. The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1973. It made the path for a sound and steady development in bilateral relations across a wide range of areas, including politics, economy, and culture.

Pillars of Cooperation

The main pillars of India-South Korea relations are listed below

Cultural relations

• The India-South Korea Relations dates back to 48 AD.
• Several Korean serials are highly popular in Tamil Nadu, Mizoram, and Manipur.
• In 1929 Rabindranath Tagore wrote the poem ‘Lamp of the East’ on Korea’s glorious past.

 Economic relations

• South Korea has the fourth largest economic sector in Asia, and India is in the third position; this is a great foundation for friendship. Also, the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission helps to create a broad society, along with democracy and vast international economic order
• From January 2019 to 2020, the bilateral trade reported a transaction of US$17.3 billion trading food, unrefined metals, raw materials, and much more
• Several companies like LG, Hyundai, Samsung, etc., have their establishments in India
• India and South Korea made a pact for Overseas Development Assistance, where the latter decided to be a part of Maharashtra’s infrastructure project, the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway.

Political relations

• India stayed beside Korea in all terms, especially after 1945, when Korea gained independence
• Both these countries share high political values and also support each other
• G-20, Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB), and the East Asian Summit is operated by India-South Korea relations.

 People-to-People Relations

• Around 11000 Indian nationals, including 120 PIOs, currently reside in South Korea
• Several Koreans also choose to live in India as it is a great destination to study

 The Vision of The New Southern Policy

• The South Korean government’s New Southern Policy seeks to strengthen its ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and India.
• As a result of this alliance, Korea’s traditional four major diplomatic allies have been elevated to equals (the U.S., China, Japan, and Russia).
• It produced principles that may be empathized by others, and it worked to create a people-centered community that was mutually prosperous.
• The New Southern Policy’s goal is to establish an economic and diplomatic framework that will accommodate the United States’ concentration on domestic concerns while also addressing the rise of China’s influence throughout East Asia,
• According to the New Southern Policy, the “3P community” stands for a community centered on People, Peace, and Prosperity.

Why India is important for South-Korea? 

• One of the points that the Koreans have been making to India is that they see India as a country that is now strategically important to them.
• South Korea also finds in India a very acceptable partner.
• India doesn’t have edges which can create problems for them. They are aware of one factor which they have grown up with, which is the Pakistan factor.
• With new issues cropping up in ties with China and America, export-driven South Korea must find new markets.
• South Korea’s economic growth has slowed, presenting it with important challenges.
• South Korea is targeting economies with the greatest growth potential like India.
• South Korea is too heavily dependent on China’s market. So diversification is essential for South Korea.
• Moon sees India as central to NSP’s success. Need cooperation for development in third countries, like capacity building programs in Afghanistan.

Challenges

The list of challenges faced by India-South Korea relations are

• Economic ties have reached a standstill. The two countries have agreed to share $22 billion in annual revenue. It also appears that the defense relationship has been reduced to a simple sale and purchase of weapon systems from one country to the other
• According to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) report, almost 88% of the Korean Branch is owned by India, and about 11.3% are joint volunteers

Way Forward

• India and South Korea should regularize their summit meetings and that they meet more frequently at the highest level. This will give directions to the business and industry in each country to work together.
• South Korea is the most technologically advanced nation in Asia after Japan. Therefore, bringing them Japan on board would be an absolute boost to India’s ability to become a more powerful nation.
• There is an urgent need to strengthen economic partnership. As a trade war unfolds between US and China, Delhi and Seoul need to liberalize their own bilateral trade relations.
• India would need to work with South Korea on new generation technologies and core technologies, while at the same time consolidating the existing relationship.
• The two sides also need to focus on expanding bilateral security and defense cooperation and working together with other countries to promote a stable Asian balance of power system.
• Delhi and Seoul should focus on building flexible middle power coalitions in Asia to limit the impact of the current volatility in the relations between US and China.
• The business community of both countries must leverage opportunities arising from complementarities between the two economies to enhance investment, to promote joint ventures, and to work towards the goal of raising bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030″.
• At a time when U.S. foreign policy is capricious and unpredictable, and China’s is making purposeful moves towards global domination, it is important that the South Korea-India partnership grows and consolidates, to contribute to stability in the region.

Source: The Hindu

Mains Question

India’s ‘Act East Policy’ is strategically complementary to South Korea’s ‘New Southern Policy’ in the Indo-Pacific. Examine the advantages, potential and challenges of India South Korea bilateral ties in this context.