A DECADE Of MEANINGFUL DEVELOPMENT
HA HONG HAl Institute for International Relations
A decade has passed since Vietnam and South Korea established their diplomatic relations ( 12/1992 12/2002). Ten years, while being quite a long period of time in a person's life, is rather short in the history of a nation and the world. Ten years after the end of the Cold War, and in the context of dramatic changes in the world and in the Asia Pacific region, there have been significant and encouraging steps of developments in the relations betNeen Vietnam and South Korea. Throughou\ the history of international relations, it is rare to see any relation advance forvvards without experiencing some periods of difficulties. Yet, Vietnam South Korea relations seem to be an exception. Within such a short period of time, their relations have developed quickly in almost all fields such as economics, politics, culture, tourism and peoples' exchanges. It is possible to have an objective judgment that Vietnam South Korea relations have so far experienced advancement "forvvard"
without any "backward" period. This fact has been regarded as "an explosion" in their relations by the publics in the two countries.
In order to have further understandings of the process that led to the establishment of official relations between Vietnam and South Korea and how their relations have developed in recent years, this paper will find and ana!yze those factors that led to the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the two countries as well as those factors that promote their bilateral relations by looking into the achievements recorded in the past decade.
1. Factors that led to the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and South Korea:
First, the end of the Cold War led to dramatic changes in world politics in general and international relations in particular, especially the democratization process in international relations. In the early 1990s, there were developments and changes, both in forms and nature, in international relations. With the end of the Cold War, there were basic changes in the world. The bipolar order no longer existed. There were significant and worldwide changes, from the East to the West, from the North to the South, and in all aspects. Differences in ideologies were no longer obstacles that hammered relations between the countries with different socio- political systems. Economic development became the first priority in all nations' strategies. Economics became a decisive factor in international relations. The scientific-technological revolution, especially the one in informatics, paved ways for rapid economic development for all nations, big or small alike. Globalization and regional integration, especially in the economic field, became a widespread tendency and affected all aspects of international relations. Countries, be they big or small, rich or poor, developed or underdeveloped, had to adjust themselves to the new circumstance. Relations between countries had major adjustments, changing from confrontation or allying with one country to confront another to cooperation in peaceful co-existence. In this context of changes in the world, countries attached great importance to economic development, promoted
the diversification and multilateralization of foreign relations to improve their stance in the international arena and create a favorable condition to ensure national security and development for their respective countries.
Vietnam and South Korea, the two countries with different socio-political systems, were no exception in this tendency. The need to develop their economies created conditions for the two countries to advance forwards the establishment of their diplomatic relations and cooperation in various fields.
Secondly, the Asia-Pacific region, especially East Asia, did not lie outside the orbit of changes in world politics. The tendency of peace, stability and cooperation gradually overwhelmed the region despite the existence of some Cold War legacies. In the economic aspect, Asia-Pacific was, during the 1980s and in the early 1990s, the most dynamic region in which the growth rates of the region as a whole and those of individual countries were the highest in the world. Small and medium countries in the region had increasingly important roles in safeguarding peace and maintaining stability in the region. Also, international relations in the region had qualitative changes with "cross-meetings", "cross-recognitions" and normalization between countries with different socio-political systems. The situation in the Korean Peninsula was also improved with reduced tensions and increased dialogues and cooperations. There were remarkable achievements in the relations between the two sides of the Korean peninsula: the two sides started negotiations at the Prime Ministerial level in 9/1990; signed the deal on rehabilitation, cooperation and no invasion of each other in 12/1991; separately joined the UN in 12/1991: signed the joint Declaration to make the Korean peninsula a nuclear free zone in 12/1991; agreed to meet at high levels scheduled in 8/19~4; started economic, cultural and sports exchanges and cooperations. The favorable economic and political conditions and the improvement in international relations in the region, as well as the defused tension in the Korean peninsula in the after math ofthe Cold War constituted an important condition that soon led to the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and South Korea.
Thirdly, with two decades of rapid growth in the 1970s and 1980s, South Korea became a newly industrialized country (NIC) in the early 1990s, "an economic tiger of Asia". South Korea took advantage of the positive aspects of the new tendency in the world and the region, thus, succeeding in economic development and improving its stance in the international arena. Since the end of the 1980s, the political democratization process in South Korea was speeded up, paving ways for the formulation of new policies, catching up with the new developments in the world and the region. In foreign relations, South Korea formulated a new and more flexible foreign policy to address security and economic problems facing the country, thus, making necessary conditions for the reunification of the two Koreas. One of the new directions of South Korea's foreign policy in the after math of the Cold War was the multilateralization of its relations. First of all, it was "diplomacy policy to the North" (2/1988 1992) in which South Korea accelerated and established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, China and the then socialist countries, including efforts to promote normalization with North Korea. South Korea recorded a number of achievements with this policy, moving from being heavily dependent on the US and Japan for economic development to having multilateral relations with countries with different political systems. This paved the way for South Korea to join the UN and improved the stance of the country in the international arena. lt was in the context South Korea accelerated the process of establishing official relations with Vietnam.
Fourthly, in the early 1990s, there were a number of significant changes in Vietnam after 5 years of implementation ofthe renovation process (1986 1991): Vietnam eventually escaped from serious economic crisis while maintaining political stability and safeguarding its national ~ecurity. In the new context of the world and the region, Vietnam continued to promote its renovation process and adjusted its diplomatic strategy to cope with new changes in the circumstance. The most important tasks of Vietnam's diplomacy in this period were to quickly create a peaceful and stable international environment, and to formulate the foreign policy of
openness, diversification and multilateralization of foreign relations, to pu_t the guideline ot "having more friends while reducing the number of enemies" higher in the agenda, and declared that "Vietnam wishes to be friends with all countries in the international community, striving for peace, independence and development."
Vietnam well realized that the international situation had basic changes: there were no longer two blocs, international relations rather than based on ideologies Changed to have many new forms. In foreign relations, new thinking that isolation means suicide and self-destruction gradually emerged. With that thinking, Vietnam felt the need to promote cooperation and international exchanges, thus, formulating the foreign policy of openness, diversification and multilateralization of foreign relations. In order to fulfill this task, one of the objectives of Vietnam in foreign relations was to build friendship and cooperative relations with countries in the region and to create a peaceful and long lasting stable surrounding environment to promote the socio- economic development of the country. Building up cooperative relations on the basis of interdependence in economics, development and security with the countries in the region was an important insurance for the processes of renovation, industrialization and modernization of Vietnam, thus, contributing to the safeguarding of Vietnam's national security. At the same time, through the cooperative relations with countries in the region, Vietnam could establish its position as well as improve its prestige in the international arena. The above-mentioned foreign policy and the need to develop its economy made Vietnam realize that South Korea was an important partner with which Vietnam could establish relations and have multifaceted cooperations.
2. Rapid and solid developmen~s in VIetnamã South Korea relations:
Vietnam - South Korea relations have experienced rqpid, solid developments and recorded a number of significant achievements in economical, political and cultural fields as well as peoples' exchanges. On the 51h
anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries (1992 1997), Vice P. M.
cum Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Manh Cam said. " It is rare in the world that two countries have had such rapid developments in relations within a short period of time after their establishment of relations"
Vietnamese Ambassador to South Korea Nguyen Van Xuong used the metaphor of "blossom" to describe Vietnam -South Korea relations. The rapid and solid developments in Vietnam - South Korea relations in 5 years afterwards strongly proved the above judgments.
in political field, the two countries have exchanged visits at high and prime ministerial levels. Two years after the two countries established diplomatic relations, P.M Vo Van Kiet paid an official visit to South Korea in 5/1993 and South Korean P.M Lee Young Dule returned this visit just about a year later in 8/1994. In 5/1995 Secretary General Do Muoi paid an official visit to South Korea and in 8/1996 Chairman of South Korean Parliament Kim Soo Han visited Vietnam. In October of the same year Chairman of Vietnamese National Assembly Nong Due Manh returned Chairman Kim Soo Han's visit. President Kim Te Chung paid an official '.'!~!t to Vietnam upon his becoming President of South Korea and attended the 6111 summit of ASEAN in Hanoi in
12/19S~.In 7/1999 Foreign and Trade Minister Hong Soon Young paid an official visit to Vietnam and in 8/2000 Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien officially visited South Korea. In 8/2001 Vietnamese President Tran Due Luong paid an official visit to South Korea and during his visit, the two sides agreed to build up "the comprehensive partnership in the 21$( century" in political, economical and cultural fields. The joint statement at the end of the visit stated, "the two .sides will strengthen cooperations in such fields as trade, investment, culture, education, arts, press, sports, tourism and interaction between the youth of the two countries, have annual meetings at ministerial level and coordinate to accelerate the process of Vietnam's joining WTO. The two sides express confidence that the summit is a new landmark in Vietnam South Korea relations which will further promote the friendship and cooperation between the two countries." In April this year South Korean P.M. Lee Han Dong paid a visit to Vietnam and delivered an important speech on the relations between the two countries ãat Hanoi National University. And most recently, in August this year Deputy P.M Nguyen Tan Dung
visited South Korea. Besides, Foreign Ministers, high level delegations and business delegations of the two countries regularly exchange visits. The visits by high-level officials mentioned above and exchanges between ministries, industries and organizations ofthe two countries prove a simple truth that close friendship leads to regular visits. Those meetings at the highest level lead to mutual understandings and trust, thus, creating strong incentives to strengthen Vietnam South Korea relations in the 21st century.
In retrospect, the leaders ofthe two countries have exchanged visits every year. This is essential because
"high-level diplomacy" often contributes significantly to the strengthening of relations between countries and helps resolve important matters in international relations.
In economics, before the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries had modest trade and investment relations. Trade values stood at $23.5 million in 1983 and increased to $86 million in 1989. At that time Vietnam implemented the renovation and the open door policy for three years and enacted the Foreign Investment Law for 2 years. In investment, there were only 7 South Korean investment projects in Vietnam during the 1988-1991 period with the total capital of $41.3 million. However, economic relations between the two countries developed rapidly and effectively after the establishfT!ent of their diplomatic relations. Two way trade increased from 250 million USD in 1991 to 2.1 billion USD in 2001, 8.4 times higher within 10 years and South Korea became the fourth biggest trading partner of Vietnam. In 10/2001 South Korean enterprises had 332 investment projects in Vietnam with the total capital of 3.26 billion USD, 7.9% higher than the figure of 1991 and South Korea became the fourth biggest foreign investor in Vietnam. Investment by South Korea created 100,000 jobs for the increasing labor force of Vietnam . Though South Korea is not a OECD country, it granted Vietnam with a remarkable sum of ODA.In 1993, s'outh Korea gave Vietnam a preferential loan of $50 million which increased to nearly $100 million in 1998. In the financial year of 1999, South Korea continued to lend Vietnam $77 million in the form of ODA. According to the South Korean government, Vietnam is one of its biggest recipients of nonrefundable aid. It is clear that Vietnam South Korea economic relations have developed rapidly and the two economies have become more integrated and interdependent. It is important to note that within a short period oftime, Vietnam and South Korea signed a series of agreements to provide solid legal frameworks for cooperation and long lasting relations.
The figures mentioned above clearly showed that Vietnam- South Korean economic relations made remarkable achievements within a short period of time and have great potentials. In interstate relations, political and economic relations are interrelated: close political relations will promote economic relations, and vice versa, major achievements in economic relations will further strengthen political relations between countries.
3. Factors that help promote Vietnam South Korea relations:
First, Vietnam and South Korea have common interests, from economic interests to political and security ones as well as the likeline$S in development strategy and polity. The time Vietnam implemented the renovation process with the adopt of the foreign policy of "openness, diversification, multilateralization of foreign relations" and "wished to be friends with all countries in the international community striving for peace, independence and stability", and started "to integrate into the region and the wor!d" was also the time South Korea adopted new diplomatic policy which promote globalization, cooperation with all countries, multiparty system, regional cooperation in the age of the Pacific, and diplomacy of reunification toward the future. The policies of the \INo countries had the same objectives namely contributing to the promotion of the tendency of peace, stability, cooperation for development in the region and the world. These also served as the basis for the two countries to develop multifaceted cooperative relations and friendship for mutual benefits.
Secondly, the leaders ofthe two countries had the same political intension and wished to bring the bilateral relations to a higher level, meeting the interests of the two peoples. In the speech to welcome President Kim
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Young Sam to pay an official visit to Vietnam in 11/1996, General Secretary Do Muoi reaffirmed the wish of the Vietnamese people to build up the friendship and develop effective cooperation relations with South Korea:
"We attach great importance to the strengthening of multifaceted relations with South Korea". President Kim Young Sam, in his speech, also expressed the wish of the South Korean people to " share with .Vietnam experiences in making Song Han miracle" to help Vietnam achieve Mekong River miracle. This inte~sion was also expressed through a number of high-level visit exchanges and the sincere speeches of the leaders during those visits. The intension of the leaders together with the wishes of the people in the two countries constituted an important factor that contributed to the rapid developm~nt in Vietnam South Korea relations as seen in the
past 10years. ã
Thirdly, the two sides can complement each other not only in economic issues but also in political and security ones. Despite its limitations ih natural resources and unfavorable climate conditions, South Korea has experienced decades of development, accumulated a remarkable sum of capital and high-tech know-how.
Vietnam with a favorable geographic position, various types of natural resources, a huge labor force and a large domestic market, has been in need of capital, technology anãa 'management skills. The economies of the two countries can supplement each other. Vietnamese workers who are hardworking, skillful and rather well- educated can help South Korea to meet the demand for labor in its small and medium enterprises. In hfs speech at Hanoi National University P.M. Lee Han Dong affirmed that" ... the potentials and resources of Vietnam, if combined ideally with the capital and technology of South Korea, can significan~y contribute to the development of the two countries in particular and the economy of the region in general". Politically, being the
medium countries in a number of aspects, Vietnam and South Korea can share opinions on regional and global issues at multilateral regional and international forums, thus, contributing to peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region.ln terms of security, with the new thinking that the security of the two countries is closely related to the security of the whole region, security of the instability in the Korean peninsula inevitably affects Vietnam's security in one way or the other.
Fourthly. Vietnam and South Korea have a number of similarities in terms of geography, history and culture. Both countries !ucate in the West Pacific and have important gee-strategic positions in East Asia, the entrance of the Asian-European continents. Both countries were conquered by foreign invaders, thus, deeply understanding the significance of independence, freedom, self-determination as well as being proud of their respective heroic history of struggles against foreign invasions. Being once divided by foreign forces, Vietnam deeply understands and sympathizes with the wish to reunify the country of the government and people of South Korea. Thus, Vietnam wants the Korean peninsula soon have peace, stability and reunification. The sufferings and losses caused by the division of 4he countries make Vietnamese and South Korean people feel more sympathetic and close with each other at present time and in the future. Both nations have traditions of inheriting and preserving the national culture in the history of_ thousands of years of national building and safeguarding and selectively adopt the best of the mankind's culture. Both Vietnam and South Korea have special national identity and cultures while have no confrontations or ethnic conflicts. In both countries, many religious groups live in peace and there have never been any conflicts caused by differences inã'religions. In fact, religious groups in both countries worked and fought in solidarity against foreign invasion. Talking about the similarities between the cultures of the two countries, President Kim Young Sam said, "the confusion tradition of showing respect for parents, teachers and formality has great influence on education as well as the way of living of families". There are a lot of proverbs in Vietnamese showing that idea such as the two . followings: "Cong cha nhlf nui Thai Scm, nghia mE;J nhlf nlfCIC trong ngu6n chay ra" or "Nhat tl! vi Slf, ban tl! vi sll". The Korean language may have many proverbs or saying like those of Vietnamese.-!! is possible to say that the similarities in geography, history, and culture are the basis for Vietnam and South Korea to build their