[News Spotlight] Korea's 193rd Diplomatic Partner, 'Cuba'

Acknowledging Flaws in Socialist Economic System... Initiating Partial Reforms
Rising Inflation and Economic Hardship Lead to Increased Overseas Migration

On the 14th, Cuba became South Korea's 193rd diplomatic partner. Cuba is a Caribbean island nation famous as the leftist revolutionary land of 'Che Guevara' and 'Fidel Castro.' Domestically, it has been regarded as a 'brother country of North Korea' and the only country in the Latin American region without diplomatic ties for over half a century.

Cuba's land area is 110,000 km², similar to that of South Korea. It is also the largest island country in the Caribbean. The shortest distance to the north, to Florida in the United States, is about 160 km, and to the west, to Cancun in Mexico, about 200 km. To the east lies Haiti, and to the south, Jamaica. As of last year, the population exceeds 11 million, with about 65% of the total population being white. The per capita gross domestic product (GDP) was $2,280 in 2022.

During the period when Spain colonized most of Latin America, Cuba grew into a country most associated with sugar, the main commodity in international trade, and its related industries flourished greatly. Although it gained independence in 1898, it was under direct and indirect control of the United States after winning the war against Spain, and even after World War II, it was called the United States' 'sugar warehouse.' Until 1958, when the pro-American Batista military regime ruled, it was classified as a representative pro-American and pro-Western country.

However, after the socialist revolution led by Fidel Castro succeeded in 1959, Cuba became a strong anti-American communist state. Since then, exchanges with South Korea were cut off. As a communist country, Cuba established diplomatic relations with North Korea in 1960 and maintained a special relationship. Castro, who visited North Korea, expressed support for Kim Il-sung, saying, "There is only one Korea." In October 1962, when the former Soviet Union attempted to deploy nuclear ballistic missiles in Cuba, the United States and the Soviet Union came close to nuclear war, and Cuba was once considered a major threat to U.S. security.

Cuba openly sided with North Korea by not participating in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. For half a century, it stood with North Korea under the banner of anti-Americanism as a 'brother country,' but after the end of the Castro brothers' rule, who had close ties with the Kim Jong-il family, some analyses suggest that the relationship between North Korea and Cuba is no longer the same. On the other hand, the South Korean government has increased economic and cultural exchanges with Cuba, proposing direct diplomatic relations since 2000.

Monopolistic imports by state-owned enterprises, low-priced food rationing, and bureaucracy are social systems that continue in Cuba to this day. After Fidel Castro's death in 2016, his successor Ra?l acknowledged the flaws of the socialist economic system in 2021 and began partial policy shifts. Subsequently, President Miguel D?az-Canel initiated partial reforms, allowing private participation in most industries.

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and U.S. economic sanctions, the people have suffered from soaring prices, food shortages, and energy deficits, worsening the economic situation. The tourism industry, a major source of foreign currency, was also severely hit after COVID-19. According to World Bank data, Cuba's economic growth rate was -10.9% in 2020 and remained around 0 to 1% in 2021 and 2022. Inflation, which soared to 152% in 2021, recorded 76.1% and 62.3% in 2022 and last year, respectively.

As a result, large-scale anti-government protests erupted in 2021, and migration to the United States and Mexico surged. In 2022, more than 200,000 Cubans reportedly moved overland, and nearly 10,000 by sea, to the U.S. and Mexico border areas. While maintaining friendly relations with North Korea, Cuba's move to establish diplomatic ties with South Korea is interpreted as influenced by this economic situation. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, before COVID-19, about 14,000 South Koreans visited Cuba annually. Trade with Cuba in 2022 amounted to $14 million in exports and $7 million in imports.

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