Sadae: Attendance to the Great

"A shrimp among the whales” described Korea’s position in East Asia, especially being caught between 2 East Asian power - China and Japan. To survive, the Koreans relied on diplomacy by courting the immediate and closest power - China. Such became the cornerstone of Korea’s centuries-old doctrine known as Sadae (Attendance to the Great).

Sunshine Policy

Kim Dae-Jung

The Sunshine Policy was a program of reconciliation between North and South Korea under President of the Republic of Korea, Kim Dae-jung. It began a process of acceptance and interaction between the two Koreas. Ultimately, the policy resulted in many historic events.

Nordpolitik: Engaging with the Communist Bloc

The Republic of Korea engaged with the communist countries in the 80s under then-South Korea's President Roh Tae Woo's Nordpolitik or Northern Policy. It rooted from the Détente of the 1970s where South Korea shifted from ideologically-based diplomacy to practicality. It paved the way for the country's growing global presence with the aim of isolating the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) or at the very least, bring them to the negotiation table.

Pres. Roh Tae Woo