A taste of South Korea

Recently I spent a week in South Korea as a guest of the Korea Foundation – an organisation established by the South Korean National Assembly with the aim of enhancing the image of Korea in the world and promoting academic and cultural exchange. Although just a week long trip, it gave me an excellent insight into this rapidly developing Asian economy.

Korea’s evolution into a robust democracy was a bumpy one following the end of the Korean War and the National Assembly is occasionally a “robust chamber” but there is no doubt that South Korea is emerging as an Asian power and our relationship with that country will be extremely important in the future. Prime Minister Key and President Lee signed a heads of agreement in advance of FTA negotiations, and while those negotiations stalled earlier this year, excellent progress has been made with our Prime Minister recently describing a bilateral FTA as “within touching distance.”

I was particularly interested in their health funding and service delivery and had access to senior members of their Ministry of Health and Welfare. I also visited the Seoul National University Hospital and the Samsung Medical Centre. Samsung was built just 15 years ago and is one of the most modern hospitals I have seen. They have a fully electronic medical record that our hospitals would be very envious of. Interesting to note that Korean hospital cost structures are considerably lower than ours notwithstanding their advanced economy.

Environmental and sustainability issues are challenging South Korea as much as any Western country. Although not signatories to the Kyoto Protocol, South Korea has nevertheless made excellent progress in developing green technologies through their Green Growth strategy and some of the technologies being developed by their industry, including hydrogen and electrical cars and home appliances designed to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions, are very exciting developments.

Of all the experiences, the one that will live longest in my memory was the visit to the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) – the border between North and South Korea. It really is an extraordinary place. Part Orwellian, somewhat comical posturing, but nevertheless extremely tense as underscored by the shots that were fired across the border just 24 hours after my visit.

I look forward to contributing to strengthening the relationship with South Korea and visiting that country again in the future. In the meantime, if you want to see photos of the trip go to my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/album.php?aid=2094143&id=1316784109

Not a Facebook friend of mine? Become one by visiting http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/profile.php?id=1316784109