<p>Analyses of the European Union's bilateral relations are quite common nowadays. Moreover, EU-South Korea relations are but a small part of the EU's External Relations. Therefore, a whole book analysing the instruments (a Framework Agreement and a Free Trade Agreement) governing EU-South Korea relations might seem not to add much to the existing literature on EU External Relations. However, the legal framework governing the relations between the EU and South Korea is much more than that: it provides a clear picture of the trends and challenges that the EU faces as an international actor. For instance, one of the two agreements governing the relations between the EU and South Korea, the Free Trade Agreement (<a href="https://vlex.co.uk/vid/fair-trading-act-1973-808378269">FTA)</a>, is the reference point for any subsequent FTA that the EU might conclude. Moreover, the legal framework governing EU-South Korea relations provides a new way of approaching the relations between the EU and emerging countries, which favours the legalisation of relations over political cooperation. Finally, the EU-South Korea FTA represents a very important element in the battle between the EU and the US for hegemony in international trade.</p>
<p>The book is divided into three parts. The first part provides an overview of the legal framework of the EU-Korea Relations and sets the scene by providing the current context, the evolution of the relations between the EU and South Korea (chapter 1), and the legal and policy framework from both the EU (chapter 2) and the South Korean (chapter 3) perspectives. It is interesting to contrast the analysis laid down in chapters 1 and 2. While the first one provides an interesting overview of the relations, the second chapter delves into the EU framework of those relations. For instance, it is enlightening to observe the different perspectives on what it means to be a strategic partner of the EU: South Korea is now considered a strategic partner by the EU (ch 1). Yet, it appears that that upgrade of South Korea's status might not be derived from the “growing role and responsibility assumed by South Korea in the international community” (12) but from “solid economic considerations” such as market potential and the level of existing tariff and non-tariff barriers (25). This becomes especially relevant with the analysis of the two agreements, and the obligations and especially the enforcement mechanism enshrined in them. The level of co-operation in trade issues is much more intense than the co-operation established...</p>
