South Korea's Growing Soft Power

When the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met in Thailand last month, South Korea was an important presence.

Quietly, South Korea has moved away from being defined by its problematic North Korean neighbor, and is becoming an important middle-ranking power in global affairs.

A South Korean is secretary general of the United Nations; Seoul will host next year's G20 summit; and the country has just reached a free-trade agreement with the European Union.

This was not always so. If geography is destiny, South Korea was dealt a weak hand. Wedged into an area where three giants ― China, Japan, and Russia ― confront each other, Korea has had a difficult history of developing sufficient ``hard" military power to defend itself.

Indeed, at the beginning of the 20th century, such efforts failed and Korea became a colony of Japan.