India and the Republic of Korea: Engaged Democracies by Skand R. Tayal

At a time when the Republic of Korea (South Korea) occupies considerable space in India’s foreign policy, particularly in its ‘look east’ policy, it is incongruous that there is no corresponding awareness among the people about the country and the India–Korea relationship. Knowledge and understanding about the Korean peninsula and India’s engagement with the region are limited to academia and the miniscule endangered scholarly tribe in elite universities like Jawaharlal Nehru University or Delhi University. It is against this backdrop that the book India and the Republic of Korea: Engaged Democracies by Skand R. Tayal is a valuable addition to the very scanty knowledge on the subject. It is a comprehensive book that puts India’s involvement with the Korean peninsula into a historical, strategic, economic and cultural perspective.