South Korea–Vietnam relations

South Korea – Vietnam relations

South Korea	Vietnam

South Korea and Vietnam established formal diplomatic relations in 1992, though the two countries had already had various historical contacts long before that. According to Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Văn Khải, "The Republic of Korea is a very important partner of Vietnam and a good model for Vietnam to expand cooperation and exchange experiences during its development process."

Although South Korea and Vietnam are run under two totally different systems, when South Korea is mostly pro-US and a republic, while Vietnam is a one-party state espousing communism; nonetheless, South Korea is being considered as a major ally of Vietnam. Vietnam is also the only communist country to ally with South Korea. Due to the Chinese factor in both two countries, they have been aiming to work further together.

The last remaining survivors of the Lý Dynasty had fled to Korea following Trần Thủ Độ's total massacre of the Lý family. One of famous Lý survivor was Lý Long Tường, who later helped to defeat the Mongols and halted total Mongol occupation of Korea for many years, even later Korea was forced to become vassal.

The two Korean states: North and South Korea lent material and manpower support to their respective ideological allies during the Vietnam War, though the number of South Korean troops on the ground was larger. Then-South Korean president Syngman Rhee had offered to send troops to Vietnam as early as 1954, but his proposal was turned down by the U.S. Department of State; the first South Korean personnel to land in Vietnam, 10 years later, were non-combatants: ten Taekwondo instructors, along with thirty-four officers and ninety-six enlisted men of a Korean Army hospital unit. In total, between 1965 and 1973, 312,853 South Korean soldiers fought in Vietnam; Vietnam's Ministry of Culture and Communications estimated they killed 41,400 North Vietnamese Army soldiers and 5,000 civilians. South Korean troops were hampered by their lack of command of any of the major languages in the country or among their allies. They were also accused of war atrocities, and are known to have left behind thousands of children of mixed Korean and Vietnamese descent.

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Wikipedia