Table Of ContentSouth Korea’s Middle Power Diplomacy
in the Middle East
This book examines the theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of
middle powers with reference to South Korea’s bilateral relations with Iran,
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Iraq.
It maps the development, political, and diplomatic trajectories between
South Korea and Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Iraq against the historical
backdrop of ROK– U.S. alliance and the rise of China. Jeong provides a
nuanced analysis of the intersectionality of political economy and foreign
policy analysis contextualizing the state- building processes in ROK and the
Middle Eastern countries.
This accessible book is intended for students and scholars in area studies
and international affairs, career diplomats, and South Korean businesses in
the Middle East. It should also prove of practical value for journalists and
policy makers who are interested in studying the nexus of domestic, regional,
and international factors that have configured South Korea’s Middle East
policy.
Hae Won Jeong is Assistant Professor at Abu Dhabi University. She specializes
in international politics of the Middle East and has published on Gulf–A sia
relations, foreign policy, and public diplomacy of the Middle East and nation-
building in the Gulf.
Changing Dynamics in Asia- Middle East Relations
Series editor: Jonathan Fulton
A number of political and economic initiatives in recent years underscore
the surge in relations across Eurasia and the Indian Ocean region. The USA’s
Indo- Pacific strategy, China’s Belt and Road Initiative, India’s Look East and
Look West strategies, and several less formal but no less important state- to-
state relationships all indicate that ties across Eurasia are growing. Economic
relations between Persian Gulf states and various Asian energy markets have
diversified to the point that trade, investment and finance are complemented
with diplomatic and security cooperation. Soft power initiatives are building
relations across non-e lite levels, creating familiarity in language, culture, and
religion. At the same time, increased interactions present potential for tensions
as competition between Asian states plays out in the Middle East, and Middle
Eastern rivalries affect the trajectory of Asian states’ regional involvement.
This series publishes monographs and edited collections on the political,
economic, strategic, and diplomatic interactions between Middle East and
Asian states. Contributions from a diverse range of perspectives and all regions
are welcome on International Relations, International Political Economy,
Foreign Policy and issue- specific topics such as security cooperation, politics
of sport, politics of religion, energy politics, Belt and Road Initiative and
Eurasian development.
For more information, please visit the series webpage:
South Korea’s Middle Power Diplomacy in the Middle East
Development, Political and Diplomatic Trajectories
Hae Won Jeong
South Korea’s Middle Power
Diplomacy in the Middle East
Development, Political and Diplomatic
Trajectories
Hae Won Jeong
First published 2022
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 Hae Won Jeong
The right of Hae Won Jeong to be identified as author of this work has been asserted
in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
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British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Jeong, Hae Won, author. Title: South Korea’s middle power
diplomacy in the Middle East: development, political and
diplomatic trajectories / Hae Won Jeong.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2022. |
Series: Changing dynamics in Asia-Middle East relations |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021043921 (print) | LCCN 2021043922 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780367551315 (hardback) | ISBN 9780367551322 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781003092100 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Korea (South)–Foreign relations–2002– |
Korea (South)–Foreign relations–Middle East. |
Middle East–Foreign relations–Korea (South) | Middle powers.
Classification: LCC DS923.27.J46 2022 (print) |
LCC DS923.27 (ebook) | DDC 327.519505609/05–dc23/eng/20211013
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021043921
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021043922
ISBN: 978-0-367-55131-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-55132-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-09210-0 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/ 9781003092100
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Newgen Publishing UK
To Abba
Contents
Acknowledgments viii
1 State- building processes in South Korea and the Middle East 1
2 From Tehran boulevard to post- JCPOA Iran 26
3 Oil, business diplomacy and Saudi– Korea Vision 2030 63
4 Nuclear energy and security cooperation with the UAE 104
5 Business and security implications after the Gulf wars
and post- ISIS Iraq 137
6 Conclusion 175
Index 193
newgenprepdf
Acknowledgments
I am grateful for the past and present encounters I had with Korean expatriate
communities in the Gulf and the inspiration they gave me in writing different
sections of this book.
I have had the privilege of gaining exposure to the Middle East since my
teenage years through my dedicated parents, Jae Seop Jeong and Jin Kyoung
Son. This book would not have been completed without their moral and
spiritual support.
I would like to thank the librarians in Abu Dhabi and Seoul for their kind
assistance in helping access electronic and archival sources and print sources
both remotely and physically during the pandemic.
I would also like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the two
anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback on the manuscript and
the editorial team and staff at Routledge for their assistance in various stages
of this project.
1 S tate- building processes in
South Korea and the Middle East
South Korea’s foreign policy priorities since the Cold War
The importance of American alliance in South Korea’s Middle East policy
is conspicuous in the historical legacies of the Cold War. The partition of
the Korean Peninsula emerged as a direct result of the Soviet Union and
the U.S. dividing it into two spheres of influence after the WWII. The
U.S. proposed the 38th parallel as the line of demarcation between the two
Koreas in August 1945 while Imperial Japan was defeated in August 1945.
Korea was placed in the four- power United Nations (UN) trusteeship which
was presided over by the U.S., Britain, Soviet Union, and China. After the
U.S.– USSR Joint Commission was adjourned twice from March to October
1946, Korea’s future status was entrusted to the UN, and the UN Temporary
Commission on Korea held elections in South Korea, in February 1948. Six
months later, Rhee Syngman became the founding president of Republic
of Korea (ROK) on August 15, 1948, and subsequently, North Korea was
established a month later on September 9 headed by premier Kim Il- sung.1
After the Korean War ended in July 1953, the post-K orean War security
alignment and the subsequent Cold War competition with North Korea, a
communist bloc, set the tone for ROK’s foreign policy imperatives in the
Middle East from the 1960s to 1970s. ROK’s diplomatic relations with the
Middle East were largely dictated by Cold War divisions in the Middle
East, as South Korea supported the U.S. allies in the region. Turkey was
the first country in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to
establish diplomatic relations with South Korea in the 1950s; the Turkish
Brigade served in the Korean War with the UN coalition led by the U.S.
In the next decade, South Korea established diplomatic relations with Iran,
Israel, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia, whereas Pyongyang has
had formal diplomatic ties with Egypt, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, North Yemen,
and South Yemen during the same decade. In the 1970s and 1980s, South
Korea expanded its diplomatic relations with Sudan and the remaining GCC
states, namely Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and the UAE, followed by Lebanon
and Libya in the following decade.2
DOI: 10.4324/9781003092100-1
