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Seoul recently hosted Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Teodor Melescanu. His visit came after Moon Hee-sang, the speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, visited Bucharest last month. The reason for these bilateral visits is something that, unfortunately, few Korean or Romanians are aware of: 2018 marks the 10th anniversary of the signing of the strategic partnership agreement between the Republic of Korea and Romania, which opened a new chapter in bilateral relations between the two countries.
Romania, the seventh most populous member of the European Union (EU), signed a strategic partnership with Korea even before the EU did, being one of Korea's first such European partners. The Republic of Korea was also Romania's first strategic partner in Asia and is still its only such partner in the Asia-Pacific. The two countries share many commonalities: they are both market economies and democracies, but with a history of authoritarianism; U.S. military allies, hosting U.S. troops and missile defense systems; and being important geopolitical actors in their respective regions.
Because of the communist regime that ruled Romania throughout the Cold War, the history of these bilateral relations is rather short. Romania established diplomatic relations with the Republic of Korea in March 1990, just three months after the Romanian revolution that brought down the Ceausescu regime, which had strong relations with North Korea. But this three-decade history hasn't stopped Romania and Korea from reaching a high level of cooperation.
Since 1990, relations quickly developed, especially in the economic field. Daewoo acquired an automotive factory in the Romanian city of Craiova and a shipyard in Mangalia, at the Black Sea. Unfortunately, because Daewoo's financial difficulties over the past two decades, it had to sell both assets, the Craiova factory now assembles Ford vehicles. But Romania hosts other important Korean investments, from companies such as Samsung, Doosan and Hyosung.
Andrei Lungu (andrei.lungu@risap.ro) is president of the Romanian Institute for the Study of the Asia-Pacific (RISAP).
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