Vietnam - Korea Cultural exchange shows the spirit of solidarity between the two countries - Photo: kinhtedothi.vn

1. The New Southern Policy of South Korea

South Korea’s NSP was introduced by President Moon Jae-In during his visits to Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, the ASEAN+3 Summit, and the East Asia Summits in November 2017. The policy emerged in the context of complicated developments in the economic, political and security situation at home and abroad..

At home, the political scandals involving former President Park Geun-Hye had deepened divisions in society, and months of protests had brought government operations to a practical standstill. In May 2017, President Moon Jae-In came to power with a resolve to build a more just South Korea by eliminating habits, regimes, and systems that led to privileges, criminality, and collusion between politics  and business. He advocated new policies and a brighter future as well as a new period, aiming to soothe old wounds and develop social solidarity. Alongside the New Northern Policy, the New South Policy was created with the aim of building a new and better future for the people.

Overseas, the relationships between South Korea and regional powers have always faced numerous underlying variables and challenges in terms of sincere and sustainable cooperation. South Korea’s foreign policy used to place significant value on its relationships with key partners, such as the United States, China, Japan, and Russia. However, these relationships have undergone gradual changes.

Specifically, the relationships between South Korea, Japan, and China have grown increasingly distant and marked by mutual mistrust, while the relationship between South Korea and the United States is characterized more by dependency than equality⁽¹⁾. South Korea and Russia have yet to develop strong ties due to a lack of cultural connections, and, more crucially, the two countries have not yet met the necessary conditions to promote relations.

South Korea has long been influenced by larger powers in its pursuit of its strategic interests on the Korean peninsula. To mitigate pressure from major powers (as well as strategic competition among these powers) and promote more dynamic diplomacy, South Korea desperately needs a practical policy to expand its survival space and develop stronger regional linkages to advance national interests⁽²⁾.

With existing favorable conditions and a certain foundation of cooperation, ASEAN and India are southern lands with great potential for development collaboration in investment, trade, and tourism, etc. In particular, the unharmonious relationship with China has caused South Korea to face significant difficulties in terms of international trade and investment. China is also a key channel for approaching North Korea and seeking help with North Korean affairs. Therefore, to address this challenge, South Korea needs to reduce its reliance on China and find an alternative partner. ASEAN, the organization that plays a central role in the strategic calculations of great powers, and India, a country of 1.3 billion people, which is projected to become the third largest economic power in the world by 2024⁽³⁾, have the full potential of helping South Korea not only overcome current difficulties but also break free from its dependence on China in terms of the economy, diplomacy, and security.

Several ASEAN countries have varying degrees of diplomatic or economic ties with North Korea; hence, ASEAN is an important channel for South Korea to reach out to North Korea as North Korea is becoming more independent from China, while the South Korea-China relationship is deteriorating.  Through ASEAN, South Korea can explore opportunities for peace talks and cooperation with North Korea, addressing the nuclear issue, and working towards creating a more stable environment of peace and prosperity for South Korea and the Korean Peninsula.

Through the New Southern Policy, South Korea will collaborate with 10 ASEAN countries and India, which are located to its south, to establish a “future community” based on the three pillars of people, peace, and prosperity, also known as the 3P policy.  ASEAN and India will become a “new axis of prosperity” in South Korea’s New Southern Policy. This is a significant diplomatic initiative aimed at elevating South Korea’s strategic relations with ASEAN and India to the level of its four traditional major diplomatic partners, namely the United States, China, Japan, and Russia. The New Southern Policy aims to not only create a region of peace, prosperity, and free cultural and people-to-people exchanges, but also to open up the prospect of sustainable peace and security on the Korean Peninsula in preparation for the future reunification of the two Koreas.

2. Vietnam in New Southern Policy of South Korea

Vietnam has a critical position and role in South Korea’s New Southern Policy. Not only is Vietnam an intermediary country and a bridge between South Korea and ASEAN countries, but Vietnam and South Korea have also maintained a strategic partnership for over 10 years, with a 30-year history of cooperation, and the two countries are aiming for comprehensive strategic collaboration.

Firstly, South Korea has identified Vietnam as an important partner playing a central role in its New Southern Policy.

In the implementation of the New Southern Policy, the South Korean government has identified Vietnam as an important and key partner⁽⁴⁾. President Moon Jae-In once affirmed: “Our (South Korean) relationship with ASEAN is integral to peace and prosperity, and Vietnam is at the heart of that relationship”⁽⁵⁾. There are many factors that make Vietnam a crucial partner in the implementation of this policy.

South Korea highly values Vietnam for its central geopolitical position in Southeast Asia, stable political environment, and many cultural similarities with South Korea. With nearly 100 million inhabitants and a sustained GDP growth rate of over 6%, and Vietnam is one of the most populous ASEAN countries. In 2021, the scale of Vietnam’s economy was worth approximately 370 billion USD, making it the fourth largest economy in Southeast Asia (its economic growth rate is expected to increase from 7.5% to 8.0%, with a GDP of 398 billion USD in 2022); its average income per person was more than 3,700 USD; and its trade scale also reached 670 billion USD, placing it among the top 20 economies in terms of international trade⁽⁶⁾.

Given Vietnam’s great potential for future economic development, it is an ideal investment environment for South Korean investors. The deep and extensive relationship between Vietnam and South Korea has been reflected in various areas, including economic, cultural, and social relations. Vietnam, in particular, is South Korea’s largest economic partner in ASEAN, accounting for 30% of South Korean investment in the region; as a result, the Vietnam-South Korea trade turnover represents 50% of the total trade turnover between South Korea and ASEAN⁽⁷⁾. 

On the Vietnamese side, South Korea is its third-largest trading partner (after China and the US). In 2021, the bilateral import-export turnover between Vietnam and South Korea reached US$78 billion (which is 150 times higher than that in 1992), making up 11.6% of Vietnam’s total import-export turnover.

South Korea is the largest FDI partner in Vietnam, currently investing in 19 of the 21 Vietnamese economic sectors and 59 of the 63 Vietnamese provinces and cities, with 9,383 active projects and approximately 80 billion USD in registered investment capital. In the first seven months of 2022, South Korea ranked second out of 72 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with a total investment capital of roughly 3.3 billion USD⁽⁸⁾. These results demonstrate that Vietnam and South Korea have become indispensable trading partners for each other. 

In terms of the effort to development tourism between the two countries, many South Koreans prefer Vietnam to other ASEAN countries⁽⁹⁾. South Korea is the second-largest market for Vietnamese tourism, with 4.3 million arrivals in the period before the COVID-19 pandemic (2019)⁽¹⁰⁾. In the opposite direction, between 2016 and 2019, the number of Vietnamese tourists to South Korea increased 2.1 times, from 251,000 to 523,000. When Vietnam opened to foreign tourism in the first nine months of 2022, it received more than 500,000 South Korean visitors out of a total of roughly 1.9 million international visitors.

Vietnam and South Korea also cooperate in other fields, including defense and security. During a meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on October 18, 2022, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin affirmed that South Korea considers Vietnam a key partner not only in its policy towards ASEAN but also in its Indo-Pacific strategy⁽¹¹⁾.

People-to-people exchanges between the two countries are also increasing and have significant development prospects. In addition to the growing number of tourists, there were approximately 40,000 Vietnamese students studying in South Korea in 2020, accounting for 31% of the total number of foreign students in South Korea (second only to China)⁽¹²⁾. After graduation, some students have stayed to work for South Korean enterprises, contributing to the closer economic cooperative relationship between South Korea and Vietnam. Meanwhile, there is also an increasing number of young South Koreans studying Vietnamese and looking for job opportunities in Vietnam. Promoting people-to-people exchanges, especially among the younger generations, will help to increase mutual understanding, creating a positive and favorable environment for further cooperation in the future.

In terms of public health, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the South Korean government supported the Vietnamese government and people with 1.1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in October 2021. This was South Korea’s first and largest bilateral vaccination support for partners in the context of a worldwide vaccine shortage as well as South Korean domestic issues. South Korea has stated that it will continue providing medical aid, including vaccines, to Vietnam in the future.

Former South Korean Ambassador Lee Hyuk once remarked that, given the natural rapport and good chemistry between the two nations, and considering it as a typical model for the rest of its ties with ASEAN, there is no reason for South Korea to stop strengthening the relationship with Vietnam⁽¹³⁾. In the coming years, Vietnam will play an increasingly important role in deepening the relationships between South Korea and ASEAN countries.

Secondly, South Korea attaches great importance to its political-diplomatic relationship with Vietnam.

On December 22, 1992, Vietnam and South Korea established diplomatic relations, marking a historic turning point in their bilateral relations: from former enemies during the Vietnam War to cooperating partners. Along with the rapid growth of bilateral economic cooperation, especially in trade, both countries have sent senior officials, including heads of state, to visit each other in order to reinforce, expand, and improve their ties.

In recent years, their political-diplomatic relationship has developed smoothly, with frequent exchanges of delegations and high-level talks between them. This demonstrates the significance and priority that the leaders of both countries place on each other.

The following are some of the most noteworthy visits undertaken by the two countries’ leaders: After taking office in September 2013, President Park Geun-Hye chose Vietnam as the third country (after the United States and China) and the first in Southeast Asia to which to pay an official visit. This was a special and unprecedented event in the history of South Korean diplomacy. Typically, South Korean presidents would spend the first year of their terms visiting and promoting relations with their four most important allies, the US, Japan, China, and Russia, before visiting other countries.

This was the first time a South Korean president visited Vietnam not only before visiting Russia and Japan but also in his first year in office (except for President Kim Dae-Jung, who visited Vietnam in conjunction with the ASEAN+ Summit in 1998, his first year in office). The visit showed the high regard of the President in particular and the South Korean government in general for Vietnam, as well as their desire to strengthen bilateral relations further and comprehensively, while also contributing to building deeper political trust between their senior leaders and setting an important orientation, making the Vietnam-South Korea relationship more all-encompassing, effective, and intensive in all fields.

Despite the political crisis that led to the resignation of President Park Geun-Hye in 2017 and the subsequent rise to power of President Moon Jae-In, the Vietnam-South Korea relationship has remained unaffected and continues to strengthen. President Moon Jae-In demonstrated his commitment to the relationship by sending special envoys to Vietnam early on and repeatedly expressing his desire to further promote bilateral ties.  

On the occasion of attending the 2017 APEC Summit held in Da Nang on November 11, 2017, President Moon Jae-In had a meeting with President Tran Dai Quang. The South Korean President highly appreciated the theme of APEC 2017, “Creating New Momentum for Cultivating a Common Future,” and stated that this is also the goal of Vietnam-South Korea bilateral relations.

President Moon Jae-In also affirmed that South Korea places high value on developing a strategic cooperative partnership with Vietnam. The South Korean people and President Moon Jae-In have a special friendship with the Vietnamese people; and the significant achievements made after 26 years of diplomatic relations constitute a firm foundation for the future development of the two countries’ relations.

President Moon Jae-In affirmed that South Korea would join Vietnam in unceasing efforts to broaden and deepen their fields of cooperation, and expressed his hope that the two nations would continue to strengthen collaboration in the development of human resources, science, technology, transportation, energy, and infrastructure. President Moon Jae-In believed that with determination, strong will, and hard work, the Vietnamese people would realize the “Miracle on the Mekong River”. At the same time, he emphasized that the South Korean government attaches great importance to its relationship with Vietnam and considers Vietnam as the main focus of its New Southern Policy.

 Despite the unpredictably of the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, a high-ranking delegation from the South Korean National Assembly, led by National Assembly Chairman Park Byeong-Seug, visited Vietnam from October 31 to November 4, 2020, which meant a lot to both countries. This visit by the highest-ranking officials in the South Korean National Assembly during the complicated epidemic period has clearly demonstrated the importance of Vietnam to South Korea and the close relationship between the two countries. It has also highlighted their commitment to building a stronger partnership in the future, especially when the region and the world are striving to recover from the effects of the pandemic. The visit has also shown South Korean support for Vietnam in its role as ASEAN Chair in 2020.       

From June 21st to the 23rd, 2021, the South Korean foreign minister, Chung Eui Yong, paid an official visit to Vietnam. This was the third foreign trip of Mr. Chung after being appointed Foreign Minister of South Korea in February 2021 and also his first official visit to Vietnam, as Vietnam was the first country, he visited among the three Southeast Asian countries on his itinerary (Vietnam, Singapore, and Indonesia).

His visit shows South Korea’s high regard for promoting relations with Vietnam, especially in the context that the two countries are preparing to celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations (1992-2022), for expediting the implementation of the New Southern Policy, in which Vietnam is considered a key partner, for attaching importance to Vietnam’s role as the coordinator of ASEAN-South Korea relationship in the 2021-2024 period, and for normalizing foreign activities in the context of the new situation.

Thirdly, Vietnam has favorable conditions to play the role of a center for reconciliation, actively contributing to promoting denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, specifically the nuclear disarmament of North Korea, is one of the top objectives of South Korea’s foreign policy. The six-party talks, US-North Korea summits, and inter-Korean summits have demonstrated that denuclearization is not an easy issue, as it is related to the strategic security interests of North Korea and all concerned countries.

In this regard, Vietnam can play an active role as a mediator between them. Currently, Vietnam has close ties with both Koreas and increasingly good relations with the United States. Furthermore, Vietnam has strategic partnerships with the majority of the countries that have significant influence on security issues, especially the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, such as China, Russia, and Japan, and has been trusted by these countries to act as a mediator on issues related to nuclear disarmament and the establishment of sustainable peace on the Korean peninsula. During the second US-North Korea summit held in Hanoi from February 28 to 29, 2019, although the US and North Korea did not reach the desired agreement, Vietnam demonstrated its positive contribution in its role as host for the historic US-North Korea reconciliation.

Despite the fact that the fate and future of the Korean peninsula must be decided by South Korea and North Korea, the positive contribution of foreign countries to promote this process is equally critical, particularly in the face of new challenges emerging in inter-Korean relationship and US-North Korea relations. Given this context, Vietnam will undoubtedly become a positive factor in expediting the peace process and ensuring sustainable stability toward the reunification of the two Koreas in the future.

Hence, with the efforts of both governments and peoples, the relationship between Vietnam and South Korea will be strengthened in both breadth and depth. On that basis, Vietnam’s role in ASEAN in particular and the international arena in general will be increasingly enhanced and promoted, positively contributing to the implementation of South Korea’s NSP in the coming time, bringing affluence, prosperity, and sustainable peace to both Vietnam, South Korea, and the region n

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Received: October 20, 2022; Revised: October 20, 2022; Approved for publication: October 26, 2022.

Endnotes:

(1) Duong Minh Tuan (chief editor): Viewpoints and countermeasures of Northeast Asian countries and territories on the prospect of forming an East Asian community model, Social Sciences Publishing House, Hanoi, p. 148-149.

(2) Huynh Tam Sang: South Korea-Vietnam relationship in the context of South Korea’s New Southern Policy, Journal of Northeast Asian Studies, No. 2 (228), 2020.

(3) Ock Hyunoju, “New Southern Policy at heart of Moon’s diplomatic diversifications”, The Korea Herald, http://www.koreaherald.com/, logged on August 20, 2022.

(4) Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Vietnam is a key partner in South Korea’s New Southern Policy, https://baochinhphu.vn/, logged on October 10, 2022.

(5) Joel Lee, “Vietnamese top parliamentarian’s Korea visit heralds’ bright bilateral partnership”, http://www.koreaherald.com, logged on August 20, 2022.

(6), (7), (8) Manh Hung: Vietnam is South Korea’s largest economic partner in ASEAN, https://dangcongsan.vn/, logged on October 15, 2022.

(9) Pham Hong Thai: Vietnam in the New Southern Policy of South Korean President Moon Jae - In, Social Sciences Publishing House, Hanoi, 2020, p.154.

(10) Ha Phuong: Nearly 100,000 Vietnamese visitors traveled to Korea for 9 months, https://vov.vn, October 17, 2022.

(11) Ha Van: South Korea considers Vietnam a key partner in its Indo-Pacific strategy, https://baochinhphu.vn/, October 18, 2022.

(12) Yen Tram: Vietnamese students in South Korea adapt to the pandemic, https://nld.com.vn, September 27, 2021.

(13) Quang Dao: Vietnam-South Korea relationship and miraculous developments, https://baoquocte.vn, March 22, 2018.

ASSOC. PROF., DR. PHAN VAN RAN

MA. NGUYEN THI THU HA

Institute of International Relations,

Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics