NIGERIA-SOUTH KOREA RELATIONS IN THE POST COLD WAR ERA: 1990 - 2005

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page

Certification­

Dedication­

Acknowledgement­

CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

Notes and References ­

CHAPTER TWO

Political and Diplomatic Relations ­

Notes and References-

CHAPTER THREE

Social-Cultural Relations  

Notes and References

CHAPTER FOUR

Economic Relations 

Notes and References

CHAPTER FIVE

Summary

Conclusion

Bibliography

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Present -day Nigeria is a creation of British colonialism. The history of the country can conveniently be divided into three eras viz: Pre-Colonial, Colonial and Post - Independence. The pre-colonial history of Nigeria might have started over 4,000 B.C years ago when the earliest inhabitants led the way in peopling the region. Waves of migration at different dates helped to increase the population in subsequent years and by the late stone age every part of the country had been Inhabited, The indigenous people led their life until the advent of European scramble for colonies in West African, which began in earnest in the latter half of the 19^th century and culminated in the British Colonization of Nigeria. With the fostering of British in Nigeria however, the colonial authorities naturally initiated series of socio­economic and political policies which ensured the well-being of Are Metropolis, but ran at tangent to the interest of the Nigerian people. What inevitably derived from the British attitude was Nationalist Aggression - which particularly gathered momentum after the Second World War and was to facilitate the way to Nigeria's independence on October 1, 1960. Although industrialization has been taking place in Nigeria with varying degree of success since independence, the nature of the country's economy remains largely that of a colonial one which is preponderantly based on the export of primary produce like cocoa, oil palm, groundnut and crude oil to essentially Europe and North America, and the import of manufactured goods from these regions.

The Republic of Korea, commonly referred to as South Korea forms the southern part of the Korean peninsula, in eastern Asia. To The north, Separated by a frontier which roughly follows the 38th parallel, is the country's only neighbour, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea i.e. North Korea. To the West is the Yellow Sea, to the South is the East China Sea, and to the east is the Sea of Japan.  

The Republic of Korea is a post-Second World War creation, which came about owing principally to the ideological differences of the Americans and the Soviet. To be sure, Korea had been ruled by a single government for almost thirteen centuries, after Shilla absorbed its two neighbours; Koguryo and Paekche, into its administrative domain and unified the peninsula in the Seventh Century. Korea subsequently remained an independent monarch until it was occupied by Japanese forces in 1905 and formally annexed by Japan in 1910, when the Korean Emperor was deposed. However, owing to the fact that the Japanese Government was mainly interested in the economic exploitation of Korea, a number of repressive and obnoxious policies were formulated and executed in Korea, which immediately stimulated the growth of nationalism among Koreans. It is interesting to note nonetheless that the independence movement in Korea was not actually successful, because it was due to Japan's surrender in August 1945, ending the Second World War, that Korea in fact became freed from the Colonial yoke of Japan.

Korean liberation did not however translate into immediate independence for the Koreans because their efforts to establish an independent state and government which will have under its control the whole of the Korean peninsula were frustrated by the US in the South and the Soviet Union in the North. Consequently, Korea was divided at latitude 38° N, and the Southern half was proclaimed the Republic of Korea on August 15, 1948, with Dr. Syngman Rhee as the Country's first President. Though sharing colonial experience with Nigeria, South Korea's Post-Independence economic development follows a completely different path from that of Nigeria. Over the last three decades the Republic of Korea has achieved what is widely acclaimed as the "economic miracle on the Han-gang River. Since Korea embarked on economic development in earnest in 1962, its economy has grown at one of the fastest paces in the world. As a result, South Korea which was for a long time one of the World Societies, has emerged as an upper middle income industrializing country and fast.

OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between Nigeria and South Korea especially in the areas of political, economic and social relations. This work will also be used to enlightened and bring to focus the relationship between the two countries and will also suggest more way of strengthening the relationship.

SCOPE OF STUDY

The scope of the study will critically examined the following areas:

The scope of this study shall cover between 1985 and 2000 which marked an era of an unprecedented co-operation between Nigeria and the Republic of Korea covers:

i.                  Origin of Nigeria- South Korea relations.

ii.               Aspects of socio-political and economic ties.

iii.            Seeking better ways of improving the Nigeria - Korean political, economic, cultural and social ties.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In the course of the research, materials will be collected from both primary and secondary sources. The primary source will rely more on oral interviews conducted to get the opinion of renowned personalities on the issue of resource control or from individual in the region.

Similarly too, secondary source of information will equally be adopted in the study. These include information and data generated from library research, published and unpublished materials, official gazettes, government publications, academic journals, newspapers, and periodical among others,

LIMITATION OF STUDY

This study is limited to available materials and facts as at the time of this study. Also financial difficulties and the constraints of time due to deadline may add to the limitations.

LITERATURE REVIEW

George Obiozor's work Nigeria and South Korea: 1980 - 1985, appears to be the only study to date that specifically and comprehensively treats Nigeria's Economic, Cultural and Political relations with South Korea. Although the work covers the period between 1980 and 1985, it remains a fact file on Nigerian - South Korean relations. The author started by briefly making mention of the Korean miracle that makes South Korean attractive to many Third World Countries, including Nigeria. Nigeria - South Korea relations in the five years examined by Obiozor's article, have three distinguishable characteristics: The first being economic, the second is socio-cultural and the third is political, in that order of importance. In fact, the greatest emphasis in the relations between the two countries was on economic ties.

According to Segun Johnson in his work he argued that within the first five years of the relationship, a number of trade and economic agreements were concluded between Nigeria and South Korea, and the volume of trade rose geometrically. Also, a Korea-Nigeria Joint Commission to facilitate Economic and Technical Cooperation was inaugurated, as well as the initiation of joint projects between Korean businesses and Federal and State Governments of Nigeria and some private businessmen, and these projects run into millions of dollars.

In the area of Cultural ties, the work pointed out the significance of socio-cultural relations between countries went and on to cite examples of such important and useful aspect of International relations in Nigeria's relations with Korea. Both countries are said to have engaged in the exchange of Sport and traditional dance groups, and there was the invitation of several Nigerian personalities, including scholars and cultural or sports leaders to South Korea at different times, and there has been an instance of a Korean being honoured with a chieftaincy title in Oyo State. Finally, the work dwells on the political and diplomatic relations between Nigeria and South Korea. It was shown that relations in this area preceded the first two i.e. economic and cultural, but it was later overshadowed by the first two. For instance, the high point of the political and diplomatic relations between the two countries was reached in August 1982, when President Chun Doo-Haven of the Republic of Korea paid a four-day official visit to Nigeria.

As mentioned already, the work explicitly gives a comprehensive and up-to-date account of Nigerian South Korea economic, cultural and political relations in the period it considered. However, one would like to add that the work inadvertently left out an important aspect of Nigeria's economic relations with South Korea, that is, Korea direct investments policy in Nigeria. This Korean policy has led to establishment of various Korean outfits in Nigeria, which have provided invaluable goods and services for Nigerians, provided employment and training for some others, and have served as sources of revenue to the Nigerian Government.