From Shrimp to Middle Power to Something More? South Korea as a Global Pivotal State

The South Korean government and the country’s firms started to invest heavily in R&D, and South Korea become one of the top two largest spenders in innovation among OECD countries, From Shrimp to Middle Power to Something More? South Korea as a Global Pivotal State | 143 along with Israel.4 As a result, the South Korean economy is now driven by innovation at the frontier and the country’s firms ar. [...] Therefore, South Korea is one of the few countries in the world and one of only two in Asia—along with Singapore—to have signed FTAs with the “Big 3” global economies of China, the EU, and the U. [...] This has helped to improve perceptions of South Korea overseas.23 And successive South Korean governments have made use of the success of Hallyu to help boost the sales of South Korean products, promote the study of Korean language, organize festivals and concerts to promote South Korea’s image, or support large-scale event bids (e.g., BTS and the Busan 2030 World Expo), among others. [...] From Shrimp to Middle Power to Something More? South Korea as a Global Pivotal State | 145 Considering all of the above, there is little doubt that the South Korea of 2023 is a middle power with formidable economic, diplomatic, military, and cultural capabilities, a far cry from the “shrimp” of the Cold War or even the emerging power of the late 1980s and early 1990s. [...] S.-led coalitions in the region.34 Even during the latter part of the Moon government, relations between Seoul and Beijing soured as South Korea joined criticism of China’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Seoul drew closer to the Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy via Moon’s New Southern Policy, and China became wary of South Korea’s military build-up.35 Since South Korea is likely to continue.