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18. Indians in Korea
- ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
- Chapter
- Additional Information
301 18 INDIANS IN KOREA Narayanan Kannan KOREA, ESSENTIAL BACKGROUND KoreaislocatedinEasternAsia,borderingRussia,ChinaandJapanbetween theYellowSeaandtheSeaofJapan.Koreawasanindependentkingdom formuchofthepastmillennia.FollowingitsvictoryintheRusso-Japanese Warin1905,JapanoccupiedKorea;fiveyearslateritformallyannexedthe entirepeninsula.AfterWorldWarII,aRepublicofKorea(ROK)wasset upinthesouthernhalfoftheKoreanPeninsulawhileacommunist-style governmentwasinstalledinthenorth(theDemocraticPeople’sRepublicof Korea—DPRK).DuringtheKoreanWar(1950–53),U.S.troopsandUN forcesfoughtalongsidesoldiersfromtheROKtodefendSouthKoreafrom DPRKattacks,supportedbyChinaandtheSovietUnion.Anarmisticewas signedin1953,splittingthepeninsulaalongademilitarizedzoneatabout the38thparallel.Thereafter,SouthKoreaachievedrapideconomicgrowth withpercapitaincomerisingtoroughlyfourteentimesthelevelofNorth Korea.In1993,KimYo’ng-sambecameSouthKorea’firstcivilianpresident followingthirty-twoyearsofmilitaryrule.SouthKoreatodayisafully functioningmoderndemocracy.InJune2000,ahistoricfirstNorth-South summittookplacebetweentheSouth’sPresidentKimDae-jungandthe North’sleaderKimJongIl. ThepopulationofROK,accordingtoJuly2006estimation,is48.8 millionandDPRKis22.7million(2004survey).1 Sincetheearly1960s,theRepublicofKoreahasachievedrapideconomic growth,aphenomenonsometimesreferredtoasthe“MiracleontheHan 18RisingIndia.indd301 8/28/085:38:19PM 302 Narayanan Kannan River”andemergedasoneoftheleadingindustrialandtradingpowers, whichhaveturneditintoamajorfactorofpoliticalandeconomicstability ofAsia.Anoutward-orientedeconomicdevelopmentstrategy,whichused exportsastheengineofgrowth,contributedgreatlytotheradicaleconomic transformationofSouthKorea.Theareasofstrongestdevelopmenthavebeen shipbuilding,semiconductorsandconsumerelectronics,theautomobiles, textiles and steel.Today ROK’s GDP per capita is comparable to the economiesoftheEuropeanUnion.From1962to2004,SouthKorea’sGross NationalIncome(GNI)increasedfromUS$2.3billiontoUS$777billion in2004,withitspercapitaGNIincreasingtoaboutUS$14,162lastyear. SouthKoreaistodaytheeleventh-largesteconomyintheworld.Thecountry isnowfocusingonknowledgebasedeconomicdevelopmentmodelwith emphasisonbiotechnology,nano-technology,IT,environmentaltechnology, etc.Moderateinflation,lowunemploymentandanexportsurpluscharacterize theSouthKoreaneconomytoday.2 North Korea’s (DPRK) overall economic performance remains unimpressive(seeFigure18.2).Agriculturalproductionhasfallensharplyand famineispossible.Whilethereissomeevidenceofgrowthinthenon-farm sector,NorthKorea’seconomicperformancewillbemarginalatbestwithout moredecisiveDPRKactionstoimplementafreemarketeconomicstrategy. Whilecontinueddonorlargessisneededtokeeptheeconomyafloat,IMF andWorldBankadviceandassistanceisalsoneededtomovetheDPRK economyintherightdirection.4 RelationsbetweenIndiaandDPRKhavebeengenerallycharacterizedby friendship,cooperationandunderstanding.AsmembersoftheNon-Aligned Movement,thereisacommonalityofviewsbetweenthetwoonmany internationalissues,forexample,disarmament,South-Southcooperation, etc.Bothsidescontinuetoworkcloselyatinternationalforaandsupport eachotheronvariousissuesofbilateralandinternationalinterests.However, bilateraltradebetweenIndiaandDPRKhasdeclinedduringtherecent pastmainlyduetothelatter’sinabilitytocarryonforeigntradedueto financialcrunch.India’sexporttoDPRKhasfallenfromUS$170million in2001–02toUS$115.35millionin2003–04.India’simportfromDPRK alsofellfromUS$19millionin2001–02toUS$1.07millionin2003–04. In2002–03,India’sexportstoDPRKstoodatUS$157.86millionandgoods worthUS$4.66millionwereimportedfromDPRK.TheIndianpresencein DPRKisminimal,accordingtotheembassyofIndiainDPRK.Onlytwo personsfromIndiaandonepersonofIndianoriginhavebeenworkingin UNmissionsinPyongyang.Hence,thischapterwillfocusmoreontheROK whereIndianpresenceis...