South Korea amid US-China strategic competition: strategy and limitations of a middle power

Revista CIDOB d'Afers internacionals, 141
Publication date: 12/2025
Author:
Just Castillo Iglesias and Paula Martínez Gual
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Back to Index: Asia in transition: beyond the hegemonic rivalry between the United States and China

Just Castillo Iglesias, profesor Lector de Política y Relaciones Internacionales de Asia Oriental, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Just.Castillo@uab.cat. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2258-1400

Paula Martínez Gual, traductora de coreano y graduada en Estudios de Asia Oriental por la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. paulagual1@gmail.com. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7025-0925  

This is an analysis of the evolution of South Korea’s foreign policy amid intensifying US-China strategic competition. From a neoclassical realist framework, it examines the strategies of the Lee, Park, Moon and Yoon administrations (2008-2025), considering both systemic constraints and domestic factors shaping their decisions. The study shows that Seoul has developed diplomatic, economic and discursive instruments typical of middle powers to raise its global profile in areas such as health diplomacy, technology and development. Yet these advances have not crystallised into a coherent middle power strategy. The restrictive security environment has narrowed the scope for “strategic ambiguity”, particularly in relations with the United States and China. South Korea’s foreign policy reflects the structural tension between the ambition to project itself internationally and the limitations imposed by its regional environment.

Keywords: South Korea, middle power, foreign policy, geopolitics, strategic ambiguity, agency, international relations

How to cite this article: Castillo Iglesias, Just y Martínez Gual, Paula. «Corea del Sur ante la competencia China-Estados Unidos: estrategia y límites de una potencia intermedia». Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals, n.º 141 (diciembre de 2025), p. 65-90. DOI: doi.org/10.24241/rcai.2025.141.3.65

Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals, nº 141
Quadrimestral (Octobe-December 2025)
ISSN:1133-6595 | E-ISSN:2013-035X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24241/rcai.2025.141.3.65

Reception date: 08.04.2025 ;  Acceptance date:  22.09.2025

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