India Korea Friendship

INDIA KOREA FRIENDSHIP At first, we have to know about “Friendship”. Friendship calls for nothing but co-ordination and mutual understanding between two friends. To make friends is a science, To keep friends is an Art. But it is very difficult to find a true friend in the world. Shakespeare rightly says that “Words are easy like the wind Faithful friends are hard to find.” India korea friendship has made great strides in recent years and have become truly multidimensional, spurred by a significant convergence of interests, mutual goodwill and high level exchanges. Our prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh paid an official visit to Seoul from 24-27 March 2012, both for bilateral and Nuclear Security Summits, which led to the deepening of bilaterial strategic partnership that was forged during President Lee Myung – bak’s state visit to India. A Joint Statement was also issued during PM’s visit. PM has last visited Seoul from Nov 10-12, 2010 for G20 Summit. Earlier President Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil cam on a State Visit to Republic of Korea from 24-27 July, 2011 during which the Civil Nuclear Energy Co-operation Agreement was signed. President Lee paid a Landmark visit to India, when bilateral ties were raised to the level of President Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam in feb. 2006 that heralded a new vibrant phase in India and Korea relations. Historical and cultural contacts between the two people date back to ancient times. According to “Samguk Yusa” or “The Heritage History of the Three Kingdoms” written in the 13th century, a Princess from Ayodhya (Suriratna) came to Korea, married King Kim Suro, and became Queen Hur Hwang-ok in 48 AD. The rationale for a close relationship between India and Korea has been reinforced in modern times by political and economic imperatives. Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore composed a short but evocative poem ‘lamp of the East’ – in 1929 about Korea’s glorious past and its promising bright future. He wrote : “In the golden age of Asia Korea was one of its lamp bearers, And that lamp is waiting to be lit once again For the illumination of the East.” India played an important and positive role in Korean affairs after its independence in 1945. Mr. K. P. S. Menon of India was the Chairman of the 9-Member UN Commission set up in 1947 to hold elections in Korea. During the Korean War (1950-53), both the warring sides accepted a resolution sponsored by India, and the ceasefire was declared on 27th July 1953. Major Korean conglomerates such as Samsung, Hyundai Motors and LG have made significant investments into India, estimated at $2.6 billion, till Sept.2012. Gurudev Tagore’s 150th Birth Anniversary was celebrated in 2011-12 in collaboration with the Tagore Society of Korea and Korea Foundation. A bust of Tagore was unveiled in Seoul in May 2011 by Speaker of the Lok Sabha Smt. Meira Kumar. India and Korea attach great importance to education and Human Resource Development. Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Delhi University (DU) offer programs in Korea Studies and Korean Language Courses respectively. Two South Korean Universities viz. Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul and Pusan University of Foreign Studies in Busan also have Indian Studies Departments.

The agenda of the trilateral for the Subsequent rounds are likely to include the following:- a) Regional Security Issues – Non-conventional Security concerns b) Global governance issues c) Nation – state building d) Nuclear issue and Nuclear safety e) Issure of Global / Regional Commons f) Global power shift and issue of a regional institutional architecture g) Role of the military in changing environment, in particular the role in peace keeping operations. h) Competing claims over resources in South China Sea, India – Vietnam Relations and China’s response. i) Af-Pak-China-North Korea-Pak nexus vis-à-vis nuclear security threats. Country Comparision :- Basis | India | Korea | Population | 1,190,340,000 | 48,758,000 | Area | 3,287,240 km2 | 99,392 km2 | Population Density | 365 / km2 | 491 / km2 | Capital | New Delhi | Seoul | Largest City | Mumbai – 13,922,125 (21,347,412 Metro) | Seoul – 10,464,051 (24,472,063 Metro) | Government | Federal parliamentary constitutional republic | Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic | Official Languages | Hindi and English and Urdu and 21 others | Korean | GDP nominal | $1.860 trillion ($1,176 per capita) | $991.147 billion ($20,265 per capita) |

Conclusion :- The future of India-South Korea bilateral relations looks promising. Apart from deepening economic and security defense cooperation, there is a new political understanding between the two countries on regional and global levels. The exchange of visits by Cabinet ministers at a regular intervals, the most important being the Indian Ministers of External Affairs and Defense to South Korea in 2010, President Patil’s visit in July 2011 and Prime Minister Singh’s visit in March 2012 help keep the momentum going. South Korea’s Minister of National Defense as well as the Foreign Minister are likely to visit India sometime late in 2012. These visits would help further Strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries. The two countries celebrated the year 2011 as the ‘Year of Korea in India’ and ‘Year of India in Korea’ and organized a number of cultural event in each others’ countries. \ In conclusion, it can be said that as matured democracies both India and South Korea have found many common grounds and sincere and sustained efforts by both can lift the bilateral ties to a solid platform.