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Malaysia–South Korea relations (Korean: 말레이시아–한국 관계 ; Malay: Hubungan Malaysia–Korea Selatan) are the bilateral foreign relations between the two countries Malaysia and South Korea. Malaysia has an embassy in Seoul, and South Korea has an embassy in Kuala Lumpur. The two countries established relations in 1960.
Movement of people
The number of South Korean expatriates in Malaysia nearly tripled between 2005 and 2007, reaching 14,934 individuals, and is expected to continue to grow rapidly. Furthermore, around 200,000 South Korean tourists came to Malaysia in 2006; Kota Kinabalu was their most popular destination.
Malaysians in South Korea form a much smaller community. The Malaysian ambassador to South Korea, M. Santhananaban, estimated in 2005 that there were 400 Malaysian international students in the country. Their presence in South Korea is an outgrowth of Mahathir Mohamad's "Look East" policy, which encouraged Malaysians to learn from and emulate the attitudes and work ethic of Japan and South Korea. In 2008, the South Korean government gave out scholarships totalling RM8 million to forty-one Malaysian students to support their pursuit of master's degrees, doctoral degrees, or other post-graduate research in South Korea.