Korea has always required deft diplomacy to survive in a tough neighborhood. Geopolitical reality, as with Poland, has not been very kind to Korea over the centuries – placing it at the crossroads of several Great Powers. These Powers never hesitated to bully Korea and trample across its territory in their endless quests for regional hegemony.

Thus the ancient Korean proverb arose: “when whales fight shrimp get broken.” The key measure of any Korean leader has traditionally been to use diplomatic finesse as a shrimp to keep the whales swimming around Korean waters at bay.