India–South Korea relations
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India–South Korea relations are the
bilateral relations Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...
between
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
. Formal establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries occurred in 1973. Since then, several trade agreements have been reached: Agreement on Trade Promotion and Economic and Technological Co-operation in 1974; Agreement on Co-operation in Science & Technology in 1976; Convention on Double Taxation Avoidance in 1985; and Bilateral Investment Promotion/Protection Agreement in 1996. Trade between the two nations has increased greatly, from $530 million during the fiscal year of 1992-1993, to US$10 billion during 2006-2007.IDSA publication
It further increased to US$17.6 billion in the year 2013. India-RoK relations have made great strides in recent years and have become truly multidimensional, spurred by a significant convergence of interests, mutual goodwill and high level exchanges. South Korea is currently the fifth largest source of investment in India.
Korean companies such as LG,
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
and
Hyundai Hyundai is a South Korean industrial conglomerate ("chaebol"), which was restructured into the following groups: * Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested ** Hyundai Mobis, Korean car parts company ** Hyundai ...
have established manufacturing and service facilities in India, and several Korean construction companies won grants for a portion of the many infrastructural building plans in India, such as the
National Highways Development Project The National Highways Development Project (NHDP) is a project to upgrade, rehabilitate and widen major highways in India to a higher standard. The project was started in 1998 under the leadership of Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Nation ...
. Tata Motors' purchase of Daewoo Commercial Vehicles at the cost of US$102 million highlights India's investments in Korea, which consist mostly of subcontracting. The Indian Community in Korea is estimated to number 8,000. Their composition includes businesspeople, IT professionals, scientists, research fellows, students and workers. There are about 150 businesspeople dealing mainly in textiles. Over 1,000 IT professionals and software engineers have recently come to Korea to work, including in large conglomerates such as Samsung and LG. There are about 500 scientists and post-doctoral research scholars in Korea.


Pre-modern relations

A commemorative Rs. 25.00 postage stamp on Princess Suriratna (Queen Heo Hwang-ok ) was issued by India in 2019. A commemorative Rs. 5.00 postage stamp on Queen Heo Hwang-ok (Princess Suriratna) was issued by India in 2019.


Trade relations

Indian diamond drilled carnelian beads have been discovered in Korea dating back to proto three kingdoms period (100-669 AD).


Buddhism in Korea

Centuries after Buddhism originated in India, the
Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...
Buddhism arrived in China through the Silk Route in 1st century CE via
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
, then to Korean peninsula in 3rd century during the
Three Kingdoms Period The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...
from where it transmitted to Japan. The
Samguk yusa ''Samguk yusa'' () or ''Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms'' is a collection of legends, folktales and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, duri ...
records following 3 monks among the first to bring
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
teaching, or
Dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...
, to
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
:
Malananta Malananta (fl. late 4th century) was an Indian Buddhist monk and missionary who brought Buddhism to the southern Korean peninsula in the 4th century. Multiple romanizations of Malananta's name may be found, including Meghananda (मेघा ...
(late 4th century) - an
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
monk who brought Buddhism to
Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder Jum ...
in the southern
Korean peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
,
Sundo Sundo - also known as Kouk Sun Do (국선도) - is a Korean Taoist art based on meditation, and which aims at the personal development of its practitioners, both at the physical, mental and spiritual levels. Through the practice of meditation ...
-a Chinese Buddhist monk who brought Buddhism to
Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most ...
in northern Korea, and Ado - Chinese Buddhist monk who brought Buddhism to
Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...
in central Korea., pg. 71 In Korea, it was adopted as the state religion of 3 constituent polities of the Three Kingdoms Period, first by the
Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most ...
(
Gaya Gaya may refer to: Geography Czech Republic *Gaya (German and Latin), Kyjov (Hodonín District), a town Guinea * Gaya or Gayah, a town India *Gaya, India, a city in Bihar **Gaya Airport *Bodh Gaya, a town in Bihar near Gaya *Gaya district, Bi ...
) in 372 CE, by the Silla in 528 CE, and by the Baekje in 552 CE.Lee Injae, Owen Miller, Park Jinhoon, Yi Hyun-Hae, 2014, Korean History in Maps, Cambridge University Press, pp. 44-49, 52-60. In 526 CE, Korea monk Gyeomik, went to India to learn
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
and study the monastic discipline
Vinaya The Vinaya (Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) is the division of the Buddhist canon ('' Tripitaka'') containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). Three parallel Vinaya traditions remai ...
, and founded the Gyeyul () branch of Buddhism that specializes in the study of Vinaya which derives directly from the Indian ''Vinaya School''. A 2005 government survey indicated that about a quarter of South Koreans identified as Buddhist,According to figures compiled by the South Korean
National Statistical Office The following is a list of national and international statistical services. Central national statistical services Nearly every country in the world has set a central public sector unit entirely devoted to the production, harmonisation and dissemin ...
.
though including the people outside of the practicing population who are deeply influenced by Buddhism as part of Korean traditions, the number of Buddhists in South Korea is considered to be much larger. Similarly, in officially atheist North Korea, while Buddhists officially account for 4.5% of the population, a much larger number (over 70%) of the population are influenced by Buddhist philosophies and customs. The fact that people on the
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
were familiar with Korea's customs and beliefs is amply testified by the records of the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim,
Yijing The ''I Ching'' or ''Yi Jing'' (, ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zhou ...
who reached India in 673. Yijing writes that Indians regarded Koreans as "worshipers of the rooster". This concept about Koreans was grounded in a legend of the
Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...
dynasty. In 2001, a
Memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...
of
Heo Hwang-ok A commemorative Rs. 25.00 postage stamp on Princess Suriratna (Queen Heo Hwang-ok ) was issued by India in 2019. A commemorative Rs. 5.00 postage stamp on Queen Heo Hwang-ok (Suriratna) was issued by India in 2019. Heo Hwang-ok, also known a ...
from 48 C.E, who is believed to be a princess of Indian origin named Suriratna, was inaugurated by a Korean delegation in the City of Ayodhya, India, which included over a hundred historians and government representatives. In 2016, a Korean delegation proposed to develop the memorial. The proposal was accepted by the Uttar Pradesh chief minister
Akhilesh Yadav Akhilesh is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Akhilesh Das (1961–2017), educationist, professor, Indian politician and philanthropist * Akhilesh K. Gaharwar (born 1982), Indian academic and Professor at Texas A&M University * ...
.
Kim Jung-sook Kim Jung-sook ( ko, 김정숙; born 15 November 1954) is a South Korean Classical music, classical singer who served as first lady of South Korea from 2017 to 2022, as the wife of the 12th president of South Korea Moon Jae-in. Overview Kim' ...
, first lady of South Korea inaugurated the groundbreaking of Queen Heo Hwang-ok memorial with chief minister of Uttar Pradesh
Yogi Adityanath Yogi Adityanath (born on 5 June 1972 as Ajay Singh Bisht),
in November 2018 which is planned to be completed in 2020.
Gimhae Gimhae () is a city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the seat of the large Gimhae Kim clan, one of the largest Kim clans in Korea. The Gimhae Kims claim descent from the ancient royal house of Geumgwan Gaya, which was based in Gim ...
which already has a tomb and pagoda of Queen Heo Hwang-ok is now constructing a 3000 square meters of museum and exhibition hall. A famous Korean visitor to India was Hyecho, a Korean Buddhist monk from Silla, one of the three Korean kingdoms of the period. On the advice of his Indian teachers in China, he set out for India in 723 CE to acquaint himself with the language and culture of the land of the Buddha. He wrote a travelogue of his journey in Chinese, Wang ocheonchukguk jeon or "An account of travel to the five Indian kingdoms". The work was long thought to be lost. However, a manuscript turned up among the
Dunhuang manuscripts Dunhuang manuscripts refer to a wide variety of religious and secular documents (mostly manuscripts, but also including some woodblock-printed texts) in Chinese and other languages that were discovered at the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China, durin ...
during the early 20th century. A rich merchant from the
Ma'bar Sultanate Ma'bar Sultanate ( fa, ), unofficially known as the Madurai Sultanate, was a short lived kingdom based in the city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu, India. The sultanate was proclaimed in 1335 led by Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan declared his independenc ...
, Abu Ali (P'aehali) 孛哈里 (or 布哈爾 Buhaer), was associated closely with the Ma'bar royal family. After falling out with them, he moved to
Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...
China, married a Korean woman and received a job from the Mongol Emperor. His wife was formerly married to Sangha, a Tibetan, and her father was Ch'ae In'gyu during the reign of
Chungnyeol of Goryeo Chungnyeol of Goryeo (3 April 1236 – 30 July 1308) was the 25th ruler of the medieval Korean kingdom of Goryeo from 1274 to 1308. He was the son of Wonjong, his predecessor on the throne. Chungnyeol was king during the Mongol Invasions of Jap ...
, recorded in the
Dongguk Tonggam The Dongguk Tonggam (''Comprehensive Mirror of the eastern state'') is a chronicle of the early history of Korea compiled by Seo Geo-jeong (1420–1488) and other scholars in the 15th century. Originally commissioned by King Sejo in 1446, it ...
,
Goryeosa The ''Goryeosa'' (), or ''History of Goryeo'', is the main surviving historical record of Korea's Goryeo dynasty. It was composed nearly a century after the fall of Goryeo, during the reign of King Sejong, undergoing repeated revisions between ...
and Liu Mengyan's Zhong'anji.


Modern relations

During the
1997 Asian financial crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998–1 ...
, South Korean businesses sought to increase access to the global markets, and began trade investments with India. The India-Republic of Korea Joint Commission for bilateral co-operation was established in February 1996, which is chaired by the External Affairs Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade from the Korean side. So far, six meetings of the Joint Commission have been held, with the last one held in Seoul in June 2010. In an interview by the
Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, t ...
, former Korean President Roh Tae-woo voiced his opinion that co-operation between India's software and Korea's IT industries would bring successful outcomes.Blue House commentary
The two countries agreed to shift their focus to the revision of the visa policies between the two countries, expansion of trade, and establishment of
free trade agreement A free-trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating states. There are two types of trade agreements: bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral trade agreements occur ...
to encourage further investment between the two countries. There was a state visit to Korea by Indian President
Abdul Kalam Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (; 15 October 193127 July 2015) was an Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and studied phy ...
in February 2006 that heralded a new phase in India-Korean relations. It led to the launch of a Joint Task Force to conclude a bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which was signed by Minister for Commerce and Industry
Anand Sharma Anand Sharma (born 5 January 1953) is an Indian politician and former Cabinet of India, Union Cabinet Minister in charge of Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India), Commerce and Industry and Ministry of Textiles (India), Textiles in the Governm ...
at Seoul on August 7, 2009. Korean President Lee paid a landmark visit to India during Republic Day celebrations on 26 January 2010, when bilateral ties were raised to the level of Strategic Partnership. An Indian Cultural Centre was established in ROK in April 2011 and the Festival of India in Korea was inaugurated by Dr. Karan Singh, President of Indian Council for Cultural Relations on 30 June 2011, to revitalise the cultural relations between the two countries. Indian President
Pratibha Patil Prathibha DeviSingh Patil (born 19 December 1934) is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the 12th president of India spanning from 2007 to 2012. She is the first woman to become the president of India. A member of the Indian National ...
embarked on a State Visit to Korea from 24 to 27 July 2011, during which the Civil Nuclear Energy Cooperation Agreement was signed. In June 2012, India, a major importer of arms and military hardware planned eight warships from South Korea but the contract ended in cancellation. Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...
paid an official visit to Seoul from 24 to 27 March 2012, pertaining to Nuclear Security Summits, which led to the deepening of bilateral strategic partnership that was forged during President Lee Myung-bak’s State visit to India. An agreement on visa simplification was signed on 25 March 2012 in the presence of the two leaders at the Blue House. A Joint Statement was also issued during the PM's visit. Former South Korean President
Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; often in English ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, until she was impeached and convicted on related corruption charges. Park was the fi ...
visited India in 2014. In July 2018, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Indian Prime minister
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
jointly inaugurated Samsung Electronics's smartphone assembly factory in
Noida Noida, short for New Okhla Industrial Development Authority, is a planned city located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Noida is a satellite city of Delhi and is a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) o ...
, the largest such factory in the world.


Trade


See also

*
Korean Buddhism Korean Buddhism is distinguished from other forms of Buddhism by its attempt to resolve what its early practitioners saw as inconsistencies within the Mahayana Buddhist traditions that they received from foreign countries. To address this, the ...
*
Hinduism in Korea Hinduism is a minority religion in Korea. There are 24,414 Indians in South Korea, most of whom are Hindus. Through Buddhism, it has also had an indirect impact on certain aspects of traditional Korean thought. The Four Heavenly Kings that can ...
* Indians in Korea * Koreans in India * India–North Korea relations * Korean wave#India * Korean drama#India * K-pop#India * Webtoon#India * Korean Cultural Center#Asia-Pacific * KOTRA#Overseas Offices *
Taekwondo in India Taekwondo is one of the most popular and practiced martial arts in India. It is characterized by punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, jumping spinning kicks, and fast kicking techniques. The literal translation for ...


Further reading

* Cultural relations of India and Korea / Raghuvira. In: Vivekananda, ., & Lokesh, Chandra (1970). India's contribution to world thought and culture. Madras: Vivekananda Rock Memorial Committee. * Jain, Sandhya, & Jain, Meenakshi (2011). The India they saw: Foreign accounts. New Delhi: Ocean Books. Vol. I contains material about Korean (and Chinese) Buddhist pilgrims to India. *Kumar, Rajiv (2018). South Korea's New Approach to India. Observer Research Foundation *Kumar, Rajiv (2015). "Explaining the origins and evolution of India’s Korean policy", International Area Studies Review, vol. 18(2), pp. 182–198. *Kumar, Rajiv (2015). "Korea’s Changing Relations with the United States and China: Implications for Korea- India Economic Relations," Journal of Asiatic Studies, pp. 104–133 (Asiatic Research Center, Korea University)


References


External links


Coping with Giants: South Korea’s Responses to China’s and India’s Rise
by Chung Min Lee, ''Strategic Asia 2011-12: Asia Responds to Its Rising Powers - China and India'' (September 2011)
List of Agreements signed between India and South Korea in May 2015
* Rajiv Kumar. "Explaining the origins and evolution of India’s Korean policy",
International Area Studies Review The ''International Area Studies Review'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by SAGE Publications on behalf of the Center for International Area Studies (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies) and the Peace Research Institute Oslo. It cov ...
, June 2015; vol. 18(2), pp. 182–198. * Rajiv Kumar. "Korea’s Changing Relations with the United States and China: Implications for Korea- India Economic Relations," Journal of Asiatic Studies, 2016 vol. 58(4), pp. 104–133 (Asiatic Research Center, Korea University) {{DEFAULTSORT:India - South Korea Relations
Korea, South South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its east ...
Bilateral relations of South Korea
South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...