South Korea amid the United States and China after the Global Financial Crisis

South Korea's adoption of the policy of hedging is the result of a strategic dilemma in which it has to maintain cordial relations with both the United States and China. Given the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and the sinking of the Cheonan, as well as the future uncertainties regarding Sino-American relations, South Korea has felt the need to enlarge the scope of its diplomacy in order to alleviate some of the dilemmas that it faces from the potentially adversarial Sino-American relationship. Thus, South Korea endeavors to strengthen its profile as a legitimate middle, as well as normative, power in an effort to escape the potential entrapment of the Sino-American power struggle and create alternatives for its hedging policy. The "Asian Initiative," South Korean government's new diplomatic strategy to expand its interests and activities into the ASEAN states, its commitment to host the G-20 Summit in Seoul in November 2010, and its plan to hold the Global Nuclear Summit in 2012 are exemplary initiatives reflecting South Korea's long-term strategy to safeguard its security and prosperity through the globalization of its diplomacy.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000282305700004&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Area StudiesInternational RelationsSSCI2ARTICLE3415-4384