My few days in the Republic of Korea

N.P.Upadhyaya

Take a glass. Fill it half with water. Add to it some hundred milliliter of DEDICATION. Then pour a few drops of HONESTY in the glass. Stir the mixture. Later sprinkle a few milligrams of HARD-LABOUR into the mixture. Stir it again so that it could dissolve all the ingredients put into the glass. Add now few elements of STRONG LEADERSHIP. Stir the glass again. Finally mix few particles of ZEAL.

The cocktail is thus ready. The cocktail thus prepared is today's Republic of Korea. A perfect combination of the ingredients mentioned above has thus made Korea, which stands tall in the comity of nations. This is what I collected from my short but yet highly educative and informative trip to this ancient land which has a history of more than five thousand years.

In effect I was advised by Ambassador Park to visit Korea early January. However, due to some technicalities, I had not been able to make the trip. Nevertheless, this time I got an excellent opportunity to be in Korea to learn the traditions, culture and the growth of its economy.

I left Kathmandu on 31st October last month and stayed till the late evening of 6th of November, 2004.

My journey to Korea began from Thai airlines flight to Bangkok on the last day of October, last moth, as stated earlier. I had a nice time in the Thai aircraft as some of my fellow passengers were no less that Madhav Kumar Nepal and his colleagues namely Bhim Rawal and J.N.Khanal who were, I was told, to a trip to Norway to attend to a party invitation extended to the UML stalwarts by their Norwegian counterpart.

Later at the Bangkok airport, Mr. Nepal and myself had a long chat over the Nepali political situation. The maverick communist leader (many doubt the UML's communist credentials in truest sense of the term) offered his own explanation on why he had been pressing the Deuba government to continue with a ceasefire for a longer period. But then yet he said that change of governments in quick succession would do more harm than good to Nepal.

Yet another Thai flight took me to Incheon airport in Korea in the early hours of November 1st. At the airport a young Korean university undergraduate student Mr. Seung Jun Oh in his early twenties received me at the airport. Seoul metropolis is located some hundred plus kilometers from the Incheon airport.

My brain began crumbling when I could see the flat but solid highway leading to Seoul and the countless numbers of cars and heavy goods loaded trucks that were plying in the road to Seoul. The iron and concrete bridges that we crossed on the way to Seoul did amply speak of the growing economy of the country, at least in the first hand assessment.

I was bit worried and annoyed by the Korean authorities who did not provide me even two three hours of my entrance to the KOREANA Hotel where I was lodged for few days. I had to rush to catch the very first appointments at the Foreign ministry with the red and swelling eyes because of the sleepless night inside the plane. My problem is that I am scared of height and hence have to devise certain mechanisms to keep me asleep. But the fact is that no mechanism makes me to sleep. I feel sorry for myself.

At 11am Korean time, I was inside the Korean ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to be greeted first by Mr. Kee Jong Chung, the Deputy Director, Public relations Division, who provided me with my impending meetings in Korea. Mr. Chung to me looked like a fine personality with all the qualities that are demanded of a gentleman. He was a modest diplomat, I should say.

Later, I was greeted by LEE Kyun-dong, the Deputy Director general looking after the Asia Pacific Affairs Bureau.

Mr. Lee briefed me in details about Nepal-Korea ties and the future prospects of our bilateral relations.

According to the foreign ministry diplomat, top priority was given to Korea-Nepal ties and that to provide a new impetus to our bilateral relations, one of Korea's finest Ambassadors was sent to Kathmandu. He was hinting of Ambassador Park, the Korean representative in Nepal.

"We have a relation of more than thirty years and both Nepal and Korea had some common denominators in the sense that both were developing countries. We the Koreans are Mongoloid and we are told that Nepalese people too resemble the Mongolian faces", said the Deputy Director general.

Some religious elements too bind Korea and Nepal strongly. Buddhism was transmitted to Korea more than two thousands years ago. We the Koreans know that Lord Buddha was born in Nepal. Lumbini is a place in Nepal where all the Korean Buddhists would like to pay a pilgrimage, continued the diplomat.

He was also very much appreciative of nepali support to the question of unification of the two Koreas. "Nepal has played a significant role in the international arena wherein Nepal and Korea have common views on certain international events", added the foreign ministry diplomat.

He informed me that Nepali labor minister was recently in Korea who held extensive talks on how to manage jobs for Nepali workers' in Korea. He expressed his happiness over the celebration of 30th anniversary of Korea-Nepal diplomatic ties.

Talking on the support that Korea has extended to Nepal, Mr. Lee opined that they had been assisting Nepal by providing trainings to some medical experts and through volunteer services. One Taekandoo coach, according to the diplomat, was still in Kathmandu training Nepalese in this field. Modi Khola power generation is being assisted by Korea, it was learnt.

"Nepal has asked from us support in the sector of Broad band Tele System but due to some technical differences, we have so far not been able to finalize on how to proceed with the nepali requests", explained Mr. LEE.

Talking on the possible direct flights that would link Kathmandu to Seoul and vice versa, Mr. LEE maintained that after the idea gets ratified by the Korean parliament, airflights could be initiated.

As regards cultural relations, Mr. LEE said that drafts were being made and exchanged for each other's approval.

He nevertheless lamented over the absence of any Nepali representative mission in Seoul.

On my part, I told him that Kathmandu was thinking on this line seriously and time permitting a Nepali diplomatic mission would be established in Seoul. (To be continued)

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