India and the Republic of Korea

Examining the underlying logic of the strategic and economic partnership between the Republic of Korea and India, this book is the first detailed study of the numerous facets — cultural, economic, people-to-people, and strategic — of blossoming relations between two major Asian democracies. This comprehensive survey documents the interaction between the two governments, relying on facts and hitherto unpublished original records provided by India’s Ministry of External Affairs; offers an illuminating account of India’s active role as a neutral party in the post-Second World War events of the Korean War and the division of the Korean Peninsula; and provides a vision of the future direction of India–Korea relations. The author also shares candid observations of Korean society and its people during his service as Ambassador of India in Seoul.

The work will be useful to policy makers as well as students of politics and international relations, strategic studies, economics, and contemporary world history.

Skand R. Tayal is Visiting Professor at the Department of East Asian Studies, University of Delhi, and former Ambassador of India to the Republic of Korea.