Three Decades of Relations between Seoul and Tehran

Iranian women vote in the parliamentary and Experts Assembly elections at a polling station in Qom, 125 kilometers (78 miles) south of the capital Tehran, Iran, Friday, Feb. 26, 2016. Polls opened Friday in Iran’s parliamentary elections, the country’s first since its landmark nuclear deal with world powers last summer.(AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

These days, a lot of positive news about cooperation between Seoul and Tehran has been released in Iranian media. The relations between Iran and Korea can be reviewed in 3 phases.

Before the Islamic revolution in Iran

After the division of Korean Peninsula, the northern part was inclined to Soviet Union of Russia, which led to patterns of socialism, while the southern part was inclined to United States of America, which led it to the free market economy. After the Second World War, and the beginning of Cold War, both Koreas were a competition field for the U.S. and Russia. Since the Pahlavi Regime was inclined toward the West and the U.S., the relations between Seoul and Tehran began. At that time, the will of both countries was based on developing the economic connections. Korea was interested in manufacturing automobiles in Iran. Little by little, the relations between Tehran and Seoul grew till a street in Tehran was named after Seoul and one of the most important streets of Seoul was named after Tehran.

After the Islamic revolution in Iran

After the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979, the relations between Iran and the U.S. led to a dark period, but the economic relations between Iran and Korea continued. After the 8-year war between Iran and Iraq, Iran tried to develop the country taking inspiration from growth patterns of Asian countries like South Korea. During this time, Korea was developing its economy and turning into a model of a successful modernized country. In this period, Hyundai entered the Iranian market for the first time. Now Iran is a big market for Korean products like LG and Samsung.

Iran after sanction

This period could be entirely different from the past. During the period of sanction, economic situation entered a hard phase. Iran and Korea kept their economic exchange in low possibilities. Korea could only buy a limited amount of Iranian oil. In 2014, Rohani won the election. The message of his government was ‘moderation’. Diplomacy of Iran in this period is interaction. It seems that the policy of the latest government in Iran is to reconstruct the base of economy by making use of the Korean model because of its proven success in development of the country. On the other hand, there is a market of 80 million people who trust in Korean products. This trust has been made during two decades of trade between Iran and Korea. By signing a contract of 5 trillion Euros between Tehran and Seoul, the connection between the two countries will enter a new phase.