Korea and India share a long history of interactions dating back to the first century of the

Common Era. According to a popular legend recorded in the 13th-century Korean history book

‘Samguk-Yusa’ or ‘The Heritage History of the Three Kingdoms’, a princess named Heo

Hwang-ok from the kingdom of Ayodhya sailed to Korea and married King Suro of the Gaya

Dynasty. Later, in the fourth century, the introduction of Buddhism to Korea via China forged an

enduring link between our two peoples. After Buddhism took root in Korea, a number of Korean

monks started visiting India. One of these monks, Hyecho, traveled to India in the eighth century

and wrote a travelogue of his journey called “Wang ocheonchukguk jeon” or “Memoir of the

Pilgrimage to the Five Kingdoms of India”. His memoir offers insight into the prevailing social

and political conditions during that era in ancient India.

Relations were renewed in the 20th century, when independence movements were underway in

both countries. Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of non-violence was a great inspiration for the

Korean independence movement. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, India was one of the

22 countries that joined the international effort to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula. India

sent its medical contingent, the 60th Parachute Field Ambulance Platoon, to provide

humanitarian aid.

Korea and India established consular relations in 1962 and diplomatic ties in 1973. In early

1990s, India’s economic liberalization coincided with Korea’s search for new avenues of

growth. This provided an ideal environment for economic and commercial exchanges between

Korea and India, and bilateral relations began to blossom.

The year 2010 was the real turning point. The implementation of the Comprehensive Economic

Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in January 2010 opened a new chapter in our economic and

commercial relations, and the upgrading of the bilateral friendship to a Strategic Partnership lent

fresh momentum to bilateral defence and security cooperation.

President Park Geun-hye’s State Visit to India from January 15 to 18, 2014, marked yet another

milestone in the already buoyant relationship between our two countries. During the visit, both

national leaders laid out a joint future vision to advance the Korea-India Strategic Partnership for

the next 40 years. The two countries envisaged several measures in the Joint Statement to

reinforce cooperation in strategic economic and cultural fields.

Today Korea and India are important partners in all sorts of endeavours. Bilateral cooperation

continues to expand and deepen with frequent reciprocal high-level visits, growing trade and

investment ties, and expanding people-to-people contacts.

In the political arena, many high-level visits have taken place—for example, President Lee

Myung-bak’s visit to New Delhi in January 2010, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to

Seoul in March 2012, and President Park’s visit to New Delhi in January 2014. President Park

met Prime Minister Modi on the sidelines of the ASEAN/EAS meeting in Myanmar in

November 2014, and the two leaders committed themselves to working together to take bilateral

relations to even greater heights. Also, the eighth Korea-India Joint Commission Meeting took

place in Seoul on December 28th and 29th, 2014, and the two countries agreed to explore new

possibilities for a stronger strategic partnership.

In the economic arena, trade volume between the two countries has shown a sharp increase since

the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) entered into force in 2010. In

2011, just a year after its implementation, bilateral trade surpassed 20.6 billion U.S. dollars.

Korean investment in India also showed a remarkable increase. More than 400 Korean

companies are currently operating in India, and the products of major Korean companies have

become household words.

In the cultural arena, about 100,000 Koreans visited India in 2014, and there were 150,000

visitors from India to Korea. The Korean Cultural Centre in New Delhi and the Indian Cultural

Centre in Seoul are playing laudable roles in introducing various aspects of their respective

cultures to each other’s people. Korean TV dramas are gaining popularity among Indians, and

more Koreans are enjoying Bollywood movies. In 2013, Korea and India marked the 40th

anniversary of diplomatic relations with a series of events, with particular focus on strengthening

people-to-people links. These events significantly enhanced mutual understanding and brought

the two peoples closer than ever before.

Cooperation, not conflict, defines Korea-India bilateral relations. With immense

complementarities in the entire gamut of bilateral relations, the two countries are destined to be

best friends. President Park and Prime Minister Modi are committed to co-authoring a glorious

future for Korea-India relations.