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  • Home
  • About RSIS
      • Introduction
      • Building the Foundations
      • Welcome Message
      • Board of Governors
      • Staff Profiles
        • Executive Deputy Chairman’s Office
        • Dean’s Office
        • Management
        • Distinguished Fellows
        • Faculty and Research
        • Associate Research Fellows, Senior Analysts and Research Analysts
        • Visiting Fellows
        • Adjunct Fellows
        • Administrative Staff
      • Honours and Awards for RSIS Staff and Students
      • RSIS Endowment Fund
      • Endowed Professorships
      • Career Opportunities
      • Getting to RSIS
  • Research
      • Research Centres
        • Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS)
        • Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS Centre)
        • Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS)
        • Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS)
        • International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR)
      • Research Programmes
        • National Security Studies Programme (NSSP)
        • Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Programme
      • Future Issues and Technology Cluster
      • [email protected] Newsletter
      • Other Research
        • Science and Technology Studies Programme (STSP) (2017-2020)
  • Graduate Education
      • Graduate Programmes Office
      • Overview
      • MSc (Asian Studies)
      • MSc (International Political Economy)
      • MSc (International Relations)
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      • NTU-Warwick Double Masters Programme
      • PhD Programme
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      • Meet the Admissions Team: Information Sessions and other events
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      • Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO)
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    • WP265 | South Korea’s Middle-Power Engagement Initiatives: Perspectives from Southeast Asia
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    WP265 | South Korea’s Middle-Power Engagement Initiatives: Perspectives from Southeast Asia
    Sarah Teo, Bhubhindar Singh, Tan See Seng

    28 July 2013

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    Abstract

    South Korea has emerged as an important actor in the evolving Asian and global governance structure. Its influence has grown in various capacities that spans over areas such as trade, investment, aid, tourism and the cultural Korean Wave. Today, most analysts acknowledge South Korea’s status as a middle power—both in terms of its material capabilities as well as its foreign policy behaviour. This paper focuses on Southeast Asian perspectives of South Korea’s rise, specifically views from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. It examines these countries’ views of South Korea’s rise and its efforts in promoting itself as a middle power. The paper concludes that Southeast Asia generally views South Korea as an emerging middle power, and its role in Southeast Asia is largely confined to the economic and cultural sectors. Although South Korea is perceptibly absent from Southeast Asia’s geostrategic calculus, its perceived neutrality (despite being a U.S. ally) is seen to work to its advantage in its pursuit of middle power status.

    About the Authors

    Sarah Teo is an Associate Research Fellow with the Multilateralism and Regionalism Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; Bhubhindar Singh is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Multilateralism and Regionalism Programme at RSIS; and, See Seng Tan is an Associate Professor, Deputy Director of the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, and Head of the Centre for Multilateralism Studies at RSIS.

    Categories: Working Papers / International Politics and Security / East Asia and Asia Pacific / Southeast Asia and ASEAN

    Last updated on 02/09/2014

    Abstract

    South Korea has emerged as an important actor in the evolving Asian and global governance structure. Its influence has grown in various capacities that spans over areas such as trade, investment, aid, tourism and the cultural Korean Wave. Today, most analysts acknowledge South Korea’s status as a middle power—both in terms of its material capabilities as well as its foreign policy behaviour. This paper focuses on Southeast Asian perspectives of South Korea’s rise, specifically views from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. It examines these countries’ views of South Korea’s rise and its efforts in promoting itself as a middle power. The paper concludes that Southeast Asia generally views South Korea as an emerging middle power, and its role in Southeast Asia is largely confined to the economic and cultural sectors. Although South Korea is perceptibly absent from Southeast Asia’s geostrategic calculus, its perceived neutrality (despite being a U.S. ally) is seen to work to its advantage in its pursuit of middle power status.

    About the Authors

    Sarah Teo is an Associate Research Fellow with the Multilateralism and Regionalism Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; Bhubhindar Singh is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Multilateralism and Regionalism Programme at RSIS; and, See Seng Tan is an Associate Professor, Deputy Director of the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, and Head of the Centre for Multilateralism Studies at RSIS.

    Categories: Working Papers / International Politics and Security

    Last updated on 02/09/2014

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    Latest Book
    WP265 | South Korea’s Middle-Power Engagement Initiatives: Perspectives from Southeast Asia

    Abstract

    South Korea has emerged as an important actor in the evolving Asian and global governance structure. Its influence has grown in various capacities that ...
    more info