A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF TURKISH AND SOUTH KOREAN FOREIGN POLICIES AND INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES

BERDAL ARAL

ABSTRACT

This presentation intends to analyse the normative perspectives and key political
choices of Turkey and South Korea respectively with regard to the outside world in the
aftermath of the Second World War. The choice of this subject of enquiry may at first
sight seem rather arbitrary and even unnecessary for a variety of reasons: Turkey is a
Middle Eastern country and is overwhelmingly Muslim, whereas South Korea is an East
Asian country and is home to Buddhists, Christians and others. There is hardly any
historical or cultural connection between the two countries. The trade between them
is not necessarily impressive. Turkish participation into the Korean War of 1950-53 in
support of the United States (US) and South Korea seems to be about the only thread of
any significance that binds the two nations together. However this does not alone justify
the investigation of the topic at hand. We shall therefore, try to present in this paper a
deeper analysis of this issue.