Moving Beyond Hermit Kingdoms. Korea in Burma’s Foreign Policy
Moving Beyond Hermit Kingdoms. Korea in Burma’s Foreign Policy

Summary/Abstract: This paper deals with the problem of the Burma-Korea relations. It starts from the intriguing factthat both Burma and Korea, despite not having much in common, have been called the HermitKingdoms. This paper asks whether this “hermit” similarity has had any effect on their relations andwhat the place of Korea in Burma’s foreign policy has been. After describing the hermit heritage inthe Burmese and the Korean political cultures, this papers concludes that Korean issues have notbeen central to the Burmese policy. They form an important, though a secondary, dimension. As forthe place of Korea(s) in Burma’s foreign policy, the answer is equally unimpressive. The politicalrelations between Burma and both Korean states have not been strategic. Two events attracted theworld’s attention to the Burmese-Korean relations – the assassination in Rangoon and Burma’snuclear affair with North Korea – but both turned out to be mere incidents. North Korea – Burmarelations stalled, or hibernated, after Burma started its reforms and opening up to the West in 2011.For the same reasons of reforms, however, Burma has become even more interesting for South Korea.Myanmar may become a place for massive South Korean investments soon. It is the economicdominance of South Korea that makes the Burma-Korea relations asymmetric. It’s a “normalizedasymmetry”, however, one where both sides are confident of fulfilling their basic interests andexpectations of mutual benefits. This “normalized asymmetry” makes the Burma-South Korea relationsbound to develop in the future.

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