India–South Korea relations

2021-06-26T22:24:11Z

142.116.160.137:

{{Short description|1=Diplomatic relations between the Republic of India and South Korea}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2013}}
{{Infobox Bilateral relations|Indian-South Korean|India|South Korea| mission1 = Embassy of India, [[Seoul]]
| mission2 = Embassy of South Korea, [[New Delhi]]
| envoytitle1 = Indian Ambassador to South Korea
| envoy1 = [[Sripriya Ranganathan]]
| envoytitle2 = South Korean Ambassador to India
| envoy2 = [[Shin Bong-kil]]
}}

'''India–South Korea relations''' ({{Lang-ko|인도-대한민국 관계}}; {{Lang-hi|भारत-दक्षिण कोरिया संबंध}}), also called '''Indian–South Korean''' relations, refers to the [[Bilateralism|bilateral relations]] between [[India]] and [[South Korea]]. 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.<ref name="IDSA">[http://www.idsa.in/publications/stratcomments/RohitPattnaik220906.htm IDSA publication] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216140030/http://www.idsa.in/publications/stratcomments/RohitPattnaik220906.htm |date=December 16, 2008 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="FICCI">[http://www.ficci.com/international/countries/korea/koreacommercialrelation.htm FICCI info] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080221061403/http://www.ficci.com/international/countries/korea/koreacommercialrelation.htm |date=2008-02-21 }}</ref> Korean companies such as [[Lucky Goldstar|LG]] and [[Samsung]] 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]].<ref name="FICCI"/> 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.<ref name="FICCI"/>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mea.gov.in/mystart.php?id=2001&pg=k|title=Sorry for the inconvenience.|date=April 2016}}</ref>

== Pre-modern relations ==
{{see also | Korean Buddhism | Silk Road transmission of Buddhism | Indianisation }}
[[File:Buddhist Expansion.svg|thumb|right|300px|[[Silk Road transmission of Buddhism|Buddhist expansion in Asia]], from Buddhist heartland in [[northern India]] (dark orange) starting 5th century BCE, to Buddhist majority realm (orange), and historical extent of Buddhism influences (yellow). [[Mahayana|Mahāyāna]] (red arrow), [[Theravada|Theravāda]] (green arrow), and [[Tantra|Tantric]]-[[Vajrayana|Vajrayāna]] (blue arrow). The overland and maritime "Silk Roads" were interlinked and complementary, forming what scholars have called the "great circle of Buddhism".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Acri |author-first=Andrea |date=20 December 2018 |title=Maritime Buddhism |url=https://oxfordre.com/religion/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-638 |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion |location=[[Oxford]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.638 |isbn=9780199340378 |doi-access=free |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219153342/https://oxfordre.com/religion/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-638 |archive-date=19 February 2019 |url-status=live |access-date=30 May 2021}}</ref>]]
[[file:Suriratna_2019_stamp_of_India.jpg|thumb|right|A commemorative [[Indian rupee|Rs.]] 25.00 postage stamp on Princess Suriratna (Queen Heo Hwang-ok ) was issued by India in 2019.]]
[[file:Queen_Heo_2019_stamp_of_India.jpg|thumb|right|A commemorative [[Indian rupee|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|proto three kingdoms period]] (100-669 AD).<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Glover|first1=Lauren|last2=Kenoyer|first2=J. M.|title=Overlooked Imports: Carnelian Beads in the Korean Peninsula|url=https://www.academia.edu/40404774|journal=Asian Perspectives|year=2019|language=en|volume=58|issue=1|pages=180–201|doi=10.1353/asi.2019.0009|s2cid=166339176|issn=1535-8283}}</ref>

=== Buddhism in Korea ===
Centuries after [[History of Buddhism in India|Buddhism originated in India]], the [[Mahayana]] Buddhism [[Chinese Buddhism|arrived in China]] through the Silk Route in 1st century CE via [[Tibet]], then to Korea peninsula in 3rd century during the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea|Three Kingdoms Period]] from where it [[Buddhism in Japan|transmitted to Japan]].<ref name=camb1/> The [[Samguk yusa]] records following 3 monks among the first to bring [[Buddhist]] teaching, or [[Dharma]], to [[Korea]]: [[Malananta]] (late 4th century) - an [[India]]n [[Buddhist]] monk who brought Buddhism to [[Baekje]] in the southern [[Korea|Korean peninsula]], [[Shandao|Sundo]] -a Chinese Buddhist monk who brought Buddhism to [[Goguryeo]] in northern Korea, and [[Ado (monk)|Ado]] - Chinese Buddhist monk who brought Buddhism to [[Silla]] in central Korea.<ref>"Malananta bring Buddhism to Baekje" in ''Samguk Yusa'' III, Ha & Mintz translation, pp. 178-179.</ref><ref name=autogenerated9>{{Citation
| last=Kim
| first=Won-yong
| title=An Early Gilt-bronze Seated Buddha from Seoul
| journal=Artibus Asiae
| volume=23
| issue=1
| year=1960
| pages=67–71
| doi=10.2307/3248029
| jstor=3248029
}}, pg. 71</ref> In Korea, it was adopted as the state religion of 3 constituent polities of the Three Kingdoms Period, first by the [[Goguryeo]] ([[Geumgwan Gaya|Gaya]]) in 372 CE, by the Silla in 528 CE, and by the Baekje in 552 CE.<ref name=camb1>Lee Injae, Owen Miller, Park Jinhoon, Yi Hyun-Hae, 2014, Korean History in Maps, Cambridge University Press, pp. 44-49, 52-60.</ref>

In 526 CE, Korea monk [[Gyeyul|Gyeomik]], went to India to learn [[Sanskrit]] and study the monastic discipline [[Vinaya]], and founded the [[Gyeyul]] ({{Ko-hhrm|hanja=戒律宗|hangul=계율종|rr=Gyeyuljong}}) branch of Buddhism that specializes in the study of Vinaya which derives directly from the Indian ''Vinaya School''.<ref>The Buddhist Religion: a historical introduction. [[Richard Robinson (Buddhism scholar)|Richard H. Robinson]], Willard L. Johnson, Sandra Ann Wawrytko. Wadsworth Pub. Co., 1996</ref>

A 2005 government survey indicated that about a quarter of South Koreans identified as Buddhist,<ref name=koreastats>According to figures compiled by the South Korean [[National Statistical Office (South Korea)|National Statistical Office]].{{cite web|url=http://kosis.nso.go.kr:7001/ups/chapterRetrieve.jsp?pubcode=MA&seq=292&pub=3 |access-date=August 23, 2006 |work=NSO online KOSIS database |title=인구,가구/시도별 종교인구/시도별 종교인구 (2005년 인구총조사) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060908233718/http://kosis.nso.go.kr:7001/ups/chapterRetrieve.jsp?pubcode=MA&seq=292&pub=3 |archive-date=September 8, 2006 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jb0rCQD9NcoC&q=atheism |last=Kedar |first=Nath Tiwari |year=1997 |title=Comparative Religion |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |isbn=81-208-0293-4 }}</ref> 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.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071013201130/http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/country/?CountryID=37 Religious Intelligence UK Report]</ref><ref>[http://geography.about.com/od/northkorea/a/northkorea.htm] North Korea, about.com</ref>

The fact that people on the [[Indian subcontinent]] were familiar with Korea's customs and beliefs is amply testified by the records of the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, [[Yijing (monk)|Yijing]] 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]] dynasty.<ref>[https://www.ekoreajournal.net/issue/index2.htm?Idx=328# Korea Journal Vol.28. No.12 (Dec. 1988)]</ref>

In 2001, a [[Memorial of Heo Hwang-ok, Ayodhya|Memorial]] of [[Heo Hwang-ok]] from 48 [[Common Era|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.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1205728.stm Korean memorial to Indian princess], 6 March 2001, [[BBC]]</ref> In 2016, a Korean delegation proposed to develop the memorial. The proposal was accepted by the Uttar Pradesh chief minister [[Akhilesh Yadav]].<ref>[https://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/India/20160301/2806883.html UP CM announces grand memorial of Queen Huh Wang-Ock], 1 March 2016, WebIndia123</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Choe |first1=Chong-dae |title=Legacy of Queen Suriratna |url=https://m.koreatimes.co.kr/pages/article.asp?newsIdx=219704 |access-date=5 October 2020 |publisher=The Korea Times |date=12 July 2016}}</ref> [[Kim Jung-sook]], first lady of South Korea inaugurated the groundbreaking of Queen Heo Hwang-ok memorial with chief minister of Uttar Pradesh [[Yogi Adityanath]] in November 2018 which is planned to be completed on year 2020.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ahuja |first1=Sanjeev K |title=Coming soon, Musical on Queen Huh of Korea; Princess Suriratna of Ayodhya |url=https://www.asiancommunitynews.com/coming-soon-musical-on-queen-huh-of-korea-princess-suriratna-of-ayodhya/ |website=Asian Community News |access-date=9 October 2020}}</ref> [[Gimhae]] which already has a tomb and [[pagoda]] of Queen Heo Hwang-ok is now constructing a 3000 square meters of museum and exhibition hall.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ahuja |first1=Sanjeev K |title=Korea to have first museum of Indian princess Suriratna |url=https://www.asiancommunitynews.com/exclusive-korea-to-have-first-museum-of-indian-princess-suriratna/ |website=Asian Community News |access-date=9 October 2020}}</ref>

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]] during the early 20th century.

A rich merchant from the [[Ma'bar Sultanate]], 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]] China, married a Korean woman and received a job from the Mongol Emperor. His wife was formerly married to [[:zh:桑哥|Sangha]], a Tibetan,<ref>[http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp110_wuzong_emperor.pdf Shaykh 'Âlam: the Emperor of Early Sixteenth-Century China], p. 15.</ref> and her father was Ch'ae In'gyu during the reign of [[Chungnyeol of Goryeo]], recorded in the [[Dongguk Tonggam]], [[Goryeosa]] and Liu Mengyan's Zhong'anji.<ref name="Schottenhammer2008">{{cite book|author=Angela Schottenhammer|title=The East Asian Mediterranean: Maritime Crossroads of Culture, Commerce and Human Migration|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GSA_AaRdgioC&pg=PA138|year=2008|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-05809-4|pages=138–}}</ref><ref>SEN, TANSEN. 2006. “The Yuan Khanate and India: Cross-cultural Diplomacy in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries”. Asia Major 19 (1/2). Academia Sinica: [http://www2.ihp.sinica.edu.tw/file/1445ZBWAkRi.pdf 317.] [https://www.jstor.org/stable/41649921?seq=17 JSTOR].</ref>

==Modern relations==
[[File:Korea-India summit on the sidelines of the G20 Osaka summit in Japan (2).jpg|thumb|Indian Prime Minister [[Narendra Modi]] and South Korean President [[Moon Jae-in]] holds a summit on the sidelines of [[2019 G20 Osaka summit|G20 Osaka Summit]], in [[Osaka]], [[Japan]].]]
During the [[1997 Asian financial crisis]], South Korean businesses sought to increase access to the global markets, and began trade investments with India.<ref name="IDSA"/>

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]], 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.<ref name="blue house">[http://www.president.go.kr/cwd/kr/archive/popup_archive_print.php?meta_id=diplomacy_2004_03_1&id=e40ef57671fb72a4b3269f7d Blue House commentary] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930015633/http://www.president.go.kr/cwd/kr/archive/popup_archive_print.php?meta_id=diplomacy_2004_03_1&id=e40ef57671fb72a4b3269f7d |date=2007-09-30 }}</ref> 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]] to encourage further investment between the two countries.

There was a State Visit to Korea by Indian President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, in February 2006 that heralded a new vibrant phase in India-Korean relations. It lead 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 Shri Anand Sharma at Seoul on August 7, 2009.

Korean President Lee paid a landmark visit to India, as Chief Guest at India's 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 Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil came on a State Visit to Korea from 24–27 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-06-10/india/32155479_1_mines-mcmvs-warships|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140218132655/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-06-10/india/32155479_1_mines-mcmvs-warships|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 February 2014|work=[[The Times of India]]|title=India to buy 8 warships from South Korea for Rs 6,000 crore|access-date=29 April 2016}}</ref>

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh paid an official visit to Seoul from 24–27 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]] visited India in 2014.

In July 2018, South Korean President [[Moon Jae-in]] and Indian Prime minister [[Narendra Modi]] jointly inaugurated [[Samsung Electronics|Samsung Electronics's]] smartphone assembly factory in [[Noida]], the largest such factory in the world.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/339982-samsung-opens-worlds-biggest-smartphone-factory-in-india|title=Samsung opens world's biggest smartphone factory in India|access-date=2018-07-19|language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{div col |colwidth=15em}}
* [[Korean_Buddhism|Buddhism in Korea]]
* [[Hinduism in Korea]]
* [[Indians in Korea]]
* [[Koreans in India]]
* [[India – North Korea relations]]
* [[History of Korea]]
{{div col end}}

==Further reading==

* Cultural relations of India and Korea / Raghuvira. In: Vivekananda, ., & [[Lokesh Chandra|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 ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Relations of India and South Korea}}
* [http://www.nbr.org/publications/element.aspx?id=530 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)
* [http://news.biharprabha.com/2015/05/list-of-agreements-signed-between-india-and-south-korea-during-pm-modis-visit-in-may-2015/ 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]], 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)

{{Foreign relations of India}}
{{Foreign relations of South Korea}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:India - South Korea Relations}}
[[Category:India–South Korea relations| ]]
[[Category:Bilateral relations of India|Korea, South]]
[[Category:Bilateral relations of South Korea]]
[[Category:India–Korea relations|South]]

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India–South Korea relations