Korea has long been known as a "shrimp among the whales", boxed as it is among China, Japan, Russia and the United States in northeast Asia. While the divided Korean Peninsula's geopolitics continues to be shaped by the great powers, South Korea is rapidly emerging as a middle power to reckon with in Asia and beyond. South Korea has long been an economic powerhouse. What we are seeing today is Seoul's conscious search for a political and diplomatic role in Asia and beyond. Sustained high growth rates since the 1960s had transformed South Korea from a backward country at the end of World War II into the world's 12th largest economy (PPP terms) and 15th largest (nominal GDP) by 2012.
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