[Opinion] Central Asia as a Litmus Test for South Korea's Advanced Nation Diplomacy

In 1904, Halford Mackinder highlighted the importance of the region now known as Central Asia, including Russia, by referring to it as the Heartland in a paper submitted to the Royal Geographical Society of the United Kingdom. He argued that whoever controls the Heartland would dominate the crescent-shaped World Island region surrounding it, and notably, the British Empire was located precisely in that World Island region. His claim originated from the idea that the rapidly advancing land transportation of the time, such as railroads and roads, would bring revolutionary changes to the power dynamics among great powers across the vast Eurasian continent. Over time, Mackinder's influence grew not only in modern geography, which he founded, but also in international politics and international security. He became recognized as a pioneer of geopolitics.

In 1990, South Korea established diplomatic relations with Russia, and two years later, in 1992, with several countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), including the five Central Asian countries. This was 86 and 88 years after Mackinder’s famous paper was published, respectively, and after the Soviet Union had disappeared like melting snow in spring. Communism, which had sought to unify overseas Koreans under a single ideology, retreated, and nationalism returned, giving rise to several new countries. Western countries, which had been unable to cross the Iron Curtain of the former Soviet Union, rushed to extend their hands to the CIS countries. South Korea also seized the opportunity to reconnect with the other half of the globe, which had been cut off for decades, under the name of the Northern Policy.

It has now been nearly 30 years since South Korea established diplomatic relations with the CIS countries, including the five Central Asian nations. During this time, Korea has maintained close, partnership-based relations with these countries across all fields?politics, economy, society, and diplomacy. In particular, economic cooperation with Central Asia has advanced both quantitatively and qualitatively since the promotion of the “New Northern Policy.” In terms of trade volume, South Korea ranks as the fifth most important trading partner for Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Recently, trade has expanded beyond a simple structure of raw material imports and intermediate and final goods exports to include manufacturing and services sectors. Our investment in Central Asian countries is also showing a meaningful increase.

However, the current level of cooperation has not yet fully realized the potential of these countries, considering their economic levels and growth potential. To elevate the cooperation level with these promising countries, it is urgent to ensure steady private-sector cooperation and establish a mutually beneficial cooperation foundation. Furthermore, in this era of great transformation brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the shift to a so-called “digital economy” and “green economy” is seen as a demand of the times, and we need to actively utilize this as an opportunity to raise cooperation to the next level.

Why must we strengthen cooperation with the “Heartland”? It is not simply because both parties have not fully utilized the potential for cooperation. Mackinder’s strategic thinking originated from the perspective that Britain was the leading advanced country dominating the world at that time. If a country’s diplomacy is an effort to expand its policy space, then strengthening cooperation with Central Asia is a cornerstone of South Korea’s new diplomatic strategy as an advanced country seeking to expand its policy space beyond the Korean Peninsula-centered mindset. That is why it is important.

Kim Heung-jong, President of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.