ABSTRACT
South Korea’s new comprehensive and independent diplomacy has achieved considerable success in enhancing security and establishing economic and political interests throughout the world. It is expected that South Korea’s foreign relations will continue to grow, in breadth as well as depth. The South Korean government must conduct its foreign relations in a way that will, first and foremost, gain the active support of a majority of its people. In the years since 1980, when South Korea was an initiating member of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference, it has sought to secure its economic interests in the Pacific Rim and break out of diplomatic isolation. South Korea perceives itself as playing several roles in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. South Korea’s increased economic strength has brought it remarkable diplomatic success in its policies toward China, the Soviet Union, and other communist countries.
