By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo
The following article was contributed by Sharapov A.A., Candidate of Political Sciences, Associate Professor, Department of International Relations, University of World Economy and Diplomacy (Republic of Uzbekistan) and Pulatov J.N., Lecturer, Department of International Relations, University of World Economy and Diplomacy, Tashkent (Republic of Uzbekistan) through the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Seoul. –Ed.
Looking back at the process of formation of states and their role in international relations, one can note the existence of various theories and approaches in general and in the theory of international relations in particular. At present, when there is competition between major international actors, it seems appropriate to pay attention to the role of states that are not such. In this case, we are talking about middle-level states.
It is noted that the idea of the heterogeneity of the international political system, as well as the idea of the existence of different types of states, first arose in the works of philosophers such as Thomas Aquinas, Bartolo da Sassoferrato and Giovanni Botero. Thomas Aquinas divided states into three classes: city, province and kingdom, Bartolo da Sassoferrato proposed dividing states into such types as city-state, state with an aristocratic form of government and large states with a monarchical form of government. Philosopher G. Botero in his work "Ragion di Stato" (1589) also suggested the existence of three types of states and singled out among them the "middle power" - "a state that has significant will and power to independently provide and support itself without the help of another."
It is also worth noting the scientific approaches of modern Western scientists. In 1984, the Danish scientist K. Holbraad defined middle powers as states that are weaker than large powers, but in comparison with small countries have a more significant influence in the system of international relations.
In contrast to the above-mentioned scientific approaches, Korean scholars have developed their own visions of this issue. In the 21st century, Korean experts, developing their own position on the definition of a “middle power”, relied on the discussions of Western researchers of the late 20th – early 21st centuries. As Kim Eugene notes, despite the fact that after the end of the Cold War the importance of multilateralism increased and middle powers began to attract more attention, the concept of a “middle power” itself has not yet been consolidated in the theory of international relations. Lee Suk-chon notes that the topic of the relationship between middle-power states and great powers within the framework of a changing world order has been practically unstudied. At the same time, in the middle of the last decade, Korean experts quite willingly began to study and project this concept.
In particular, Kim Ton Hi defines South Korea as a medium-power state, based on Chinese-Korean relations and South Korea's role in attracting China to dialogue with ASEAN countries. At the same time, the Korean specialist emphasizes that South Korea can be classified as "medium-power" both on the basis of the state's behavior and on the basis of foreign policy and economic capabilities, and even through self-determination.
Analyzing the foreign policy activity of Seoul, it can be noted that the strengthening of the international position of the Republic of Korea begins in the conditions of crisis and the collapse of the bipolar system of international relations.
Since the 1980s, during the presidency of Roh Tae-woo (1988–1993), Korea has taken decisive steps towards forming an influential foreign policy course, seeking to diversify its relations with the United States, trying to develop effective and self-sufficient foreign policy instruments. This period is associated with the emergence of the Northern Policy of the Republic of Korea, namely, a policy that overcomes ideological barriers and contradictions. For the Republic of Korea, this was a time of establishing relations with the USSR and the PRC, as well as the states of the socialist camp.
Since the beginning of the implementation of Roh Dae Woo's Northern Policy, the historical conditions for the development of the Republic of Korea have changed significantly. In the context of the new international situation, the influence and potential of the Korean state have increased. However, it should be noted that the fact that the Korean Peninsula, as the most important geostrategic outpost linking Eurasia with the Pacific region, remains uninvolved in either continental processes or a full-fledged global market, and the international isolation of the DPRK is an obstacle to the growth of the Republic of Korea as both a regional and global player, has remained unchanged.
The solution to this problem seems to be a priority task of the modern foreign policy of the Republic of Korea. It is no coincidence that President Moon Jae-in, who came to power in 2017, initiated an active growth of the foreign policy of the Republic of Korea in the East Asian region, as well as beyond its borders. Among the basic principles of the modern policy of the Republic of Korea on the peninsula, the President defined: “the leading role of the Republic of Korea in solving the problem of the Korean Peninsula; ensuring peace; developing inter-Korean relations based on mutual trust; pursuing policies taking into account public opinion and national consensus; implementing policies through international cooperation.
When it comes to Asia, it is worth mentioning the work of Amitav Acharya, which examines the state of relations between states in the region and issues of integration against the backdrop of the crisis. As well as Seoul's participation in resolving regional issues.
Analyzing the concept of "middle power" it follows that, in recent years, one can observe scientific publications in which the countries participating in MIKTA (Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey, Australia) are identified as regional leaders or states claiming this status. One can also note the views of M. Stephen on the possibilities in the sphere of political communication of the middle state.
Regarding the positive image of South Korea in the international arena, it should be noted that, according to the Global Soft Power Index 2023 report, the Republic of Korea ranked 15th out of 121 countries represented in the study in terms of brand awareness, reputation and influence. Although its position has changed slightly compared to 2021 (11th place in the world ranking), the Republic of Korea continues to be among the top twenty countries that successfully use soft power and public diplomacy in their national interests.
The emergence of South Korea as a modern innovative state is directly related to the policy pursued in the area of improving the quality of human capital – in education. In this regard, the experience of South Korea for the Central Asian region, where the population is dominated by young people, is very relevant.
Research notes that Korean families traditionally pay great attention to the education of children. Korea has achieved an exceptionally high level of education. Thus, 69.8% of adults aged 25-34 have higher education (the average for OECD countries is 45.6%).
According to the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea, in 2023, there were 424 higher education institutions in Korea, of which 190 were universities offering at least four years of undergraduate and graduate programs, two private industrial universities, 133 basic universities (with two to three years of study, as opposed to the standard four years), 44 graduate schools, 10 teacher training universities, 44 technical colleges including nine polytechnics, and cyber and corporate colleges, which are universities established by companies (within the companies themselves) to develop employees' skills according to the needs of the enterprise. Education expenditure in Korea is 5.1% of GDP, with 3.5% for primary and secondary education and 1.6% for tertiary education.
As a result, the innovative image of the country is changing, since the demand for high-quality Korean goods on the world market is the result of the policy pursued in the field of innovation. It is noted that the level of R&D expenditure in South Korea is one of the highest in the world - 5.21% of GDP in 2022. Only small Israel has a higher level - 6.02%.
In the conditions of high competition at the global level, each state realizes the importance of such a factor as scientific research as a guarantor of sustainable development. In this regard, South Korea has created and developed an extensive education system at all levels, which contributed to solving the problem of staffing the science and technology sector. The number of researchers in terms of full-time employment in Korea reached 471 thousand people in 2021, or 167 people per 10 thousand employed in the economy. For comparison: in Russia, the comparable figure for the same year was 389 thousand people, or 55 people per 10 thousand employed. At the same time, if in Russia there has been a decline in the number of researchers for many years, then in South Korea, on the contrary, there was explosive growth. The number of researchers increased from 160 thousand people in 2000 to 587 thousand in 2021, that is, 3.7 times.
Despite more than convincing international achievements in both economics and politics, South Korea is in dire need of natural resources, which are so necessary for further technological development. In this regard, the Eurasian vector of the foreign policy of the Republic of Korea is of particular interest.
President Moon Jae-in linked the future economic rise of the Korean Peninsula with the implementation of the political course "Responsible Community of Northeast Asian Countries +", which unites two modern foreign policy strategies of Korea - the New Northern and New Southern policies.
"The New Northern Policy sets the task of including the Republic of Korea in the free trade zone of the Eurasian Economic Union and developing trilateral economic cooperation Russia - DPRK - Korea (energy and transport projects)." It is noted that the New Northern Policy and its economic initiative "9 Bridges" are aimed at Korea's cooperation not only with Russia, but also with the countries of Central Asia, Mongolia, Ukraine and Belarus. All these players are part of the Eurasian contour and are of interest to Korea within the framework of continental policy, while the leading role is still played by Russia and its Far East.
As E.F. Parubochaya notes, the importance of Central Asia for Korea is substantiated and recorded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan. First of all, the territory is noted; the area of the five Central Asian republics is 18 times larger than the Korean Peninsula, and due to its energy and natural resources, the Central Asian region is designated as “another Middle East”. Oil from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and gas from Turkmenistan are the main natural resources of the aforementioned countries, while Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are known to be rich in hydropower.
The existing resources of Central Asia, in turn, created the ground for geopolitical rivalry between the world’s leading actors, and in connection with this, Seoul also decided to strengthen its presence.
For this purpose, there is such a tool as the “Central Asia-Republic of Korea” format. As is known, on November 4, 2024, under the chairmanship of South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, the 17th Central Asia-Republic of Korea Cooperation Forum was held, which was attended by foreign ministers, deputy foreign ministers and chief delegates from five Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, Korean media report. Within the framework of this forum, such key issues as transport and logistics, energy, digitalization and the environment were discussed.
It should be noted that bilateral relations have an ancient history. Experts from South Korea and the Republic of Uzbekistan note that since ancient times, Korea and Central Asia have exerted a huge cultural influence on each other through the Great Silk Road. In the 7th-8th centuries, the ancient city of the Korean Peninsula, Gyeongju, which was the beginning of the Silk Road in the east, also became its final destination. Thanks to the Great Silk Road, Gyeongju was connected with Central Asia and Europe, and there was an active economic and cultural exchange between Korea and Central Asia, which had a profound impact on the way of life of these countries.
The authors then analyze in detail the origins of the wall paintings of the palace in Afrasiab. The unique wall paintings of Afrasiab were discovered in 1965. Archaeological excavations were conducted here for 3 years, as a result of which curious frescoes were discovered depicting two people with feathers on their headdresses, typical of ancient Koreans.
Thanks to the use of modern technologies, a digital version of this historical event was created. Currently, these relations, which have such ancient roots, are developing in new formats. In this regard, international experts have recently focused their attention on the initiative of South Korea, which is called the K-Silk Road initiative - this is the first comprehensive diplomatic strategy of South Korea, aimed specifically at strengthening ties with Central Asia.
In fact, "K-Silk Road" is the third regional strategy of the South Korean government after the Indo-Pacific Strategy and the Korea-ASEAN Solidarity Initiative. It is aimed at creating a new model of cooperation with the Central Asian region, uniting Asia and Europe.
It is noted that the K-Silk Road initiative is based on four main components of the partnership: resources, official development assistance, cultural exchanges and people-to-people interactions, and public-private cooperation. The initiative is in line with the growing strategic importance of the region, which is rich in natural gas and key minerals including uranium, lithium and tungsten.
According to the director of the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of Uzbekistan (ISIS) E. Aripov, since the establishment of diplomatic relations, trade turnover between the Central Asian countries and South Korea has increased 600 times: from $15 million in 1992 to more than $10 billion in 2023, and the total volume of accumulated Korean investments in the region exceeded $18 billion.
In addition, there is active cooperation in the cultural and humanitarian sphere. Jeong Hongpyo, a visiting fellow at the Institute for Advanced International Studies at UWED, examining the role of South Korea’s official development assistance (ODA) in sports within the broader framework of the K-Silk Road initiative, notes the importance of Korea’s involvement in Central Asian affairs through joint training programs, coach exchanges, and the development of local sports infrastructure. These efforts, in his opinion, not only improve sports results in recipient countries, but also contribute to the development of long-term diplomatic and economic partnerships.
According to Pak Sang Nam, Natalia Karimova, in order to strengthen cooperation between the Republic of Korea and Central Asia, it is necessary to seek and implement new projects and plans. For cooperation between Central Asia and the Asia-Pacific region, attempts are being made to develop the Eurasian continent.
In conclusion, it can be noted that the huge scientific, technological, educational and economic potential that South Korea has is attractive for the Central Asian states where modernization of the national economy is being carried out and geopolitical rivalry between the world's leading actors is observed, and for the Central Asian states it is necessary to ensure not only stable development of the national economy but also to ensure a balanced presence of interests of international players in the region.
