There’s an oft-repeated anecdote that circulates amongst the more cynically minded foreign policy analysts in Seoul – if you understand how to sell washing machines, you understand South Korea’s foreign policy.
Australia, just like the US, needs to start paying much more attention to South Korea and its role in an uncertain strategic environment.
If the Australia-Korea relationship is to grow to a level that can shoulder the highs and lows, and negate the need for “windows of opportunity,” there needs to be a serious rethink.
On both sides of politics in South Korea, Australia’s currently seen as little more than a mine, farm, beach, or a place to learn English – its relevance increasing only momentarily because of tighter resource markets and Australia’s increasing appetite for military hardware.
Australia and South Korea need to first build a stronger shared narrative in order to understand what each other means by the term “strategic”.
Australia and Korea signed a billion-dollar weapons contract, but it is only a very small step - there is much more to do to build the relationship.
For an author who was an early advocate for South Korea to fulfil its role as a middle power in international society, it’s hard to say - stop!
The Australia - Korea bilateral relationship is successful but lacks the foundations upon which stronger relationships are built, including people-to-people, cultural and education links.
The “essence” of diplomacy is not lost, it’s just frozen on a poor video connection. For diplomats, innovators, and students of diplomatic studies, it’s time to think beyond the video conference.
Can you be an expert on a place without speaking the main language? In the case of North Korea, of course, that means Korean, and whether an analyst can read, write and speak Korean.
