South Korea's foreign policy toward China and the US

1 Annotation This bachelor thesis discusses South Korea's foreign policy toward China and the US during the administration of Lee Myug-bak and Park Geun-hye from the perspective of the middle power concept and its behavioral model. The thesis introduces the concept of middle power and its foreign policy and describes the development of South Korea's position as a middle power. The analysis of South Korea's relations with China and the US is put in context of the US and China's security and economic rivalry and discusses the diplomatic resolution of disputes concerning China and the US. The objective is to identify the elements of middle power policy in South Korea's behavior toward its key partners. In doing so, the bachelor thesis aims to reflect a link between normative and strategic action and focus on the effect of China-US rivalry on the South Korean foreign policy towards both countries and compare the administration of South Korean presidents in 2008-2017