Hungary Fetes 20-Year Ties With Korea

Hungarian Ambassador to Seoul Miklos Lengyel

By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter

The establishment of diplomatic ties between Hungary and Korea on Feb. 1, 1989 couldn't have been more symbolic, and the two countries this year celebrate their 20th anniversary.

What's most memorable is that Hungary was the first communist country to initiate a diplomatic relationship with Korea.

With the Cold War still hovering, the announcement surprised many. The New York Times reported it as "South Korea Woos Communist; Move to Full Ties With Hungary."

Twenty years later, details and anecdotes are found in a book "Testimony for Truthful History," by Park Chul-un, a former minister of sports, who led the negotiation.

A nephew of former President Roh Tae-woo, he was assigned to lead a secret delegation to Hungary to open diplomatic relations with the communist state, a potentially controversial move during the Cold War.

Negotiations in Budapest and Seoul in the two months before the Seoul Summer Olympic Games came to an end on Sept. 13, 1988, when the two countries announced permanent representatives. Five months later, the two nations announced official diplomatic ties.

Ambassador Miklos Lengyel said the occasion deserves much more credit.

"Most people (in Korea) didn't seem to realize that their lives had changed significantly.

"Because it changed in a gradual process at a peace manner, people don't really understand what they have done," he said, praising the Roh administration, Park and officials for what they did behind closed doors to make history.

The author also considers the occasion historic.

"We had diplomatic relations with almost 100 nations, but, regrettably, only with capitalist states in the Western world. The glorious work of President Roh and my team solemnly opened the door to a new era of diplomacy," Park wrote. After Hungary, Korea established ties with Poland, the former Soviet Union and China.

Lee Sang-hyup, a professor in the Hungarian Department of the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, said diplomatic ties with Hungary were an impetus for extending diplomatic ties with other communist countries.

When asked why Korea chose Hungary, Lee said that in the 1980s, Hungary was the "Most progressive and reformative state in the Eastern bloc.

"It was 1956 when the first anti-communist movement erupted in Hungary, diminishing Soviet influence."

The United States and Western European states were already diplomatic partners of Hungary when the country opened ties with Korea.

Also in 1989, the Hungarian government opened its western borders to East German refugees who were residing in Hungary, which eventually helped lead to German unification.

The ambassador said diplomatic ties with Korea occurred when Hungary's desire for democracy was ripe and Hungary had no reason to refuse.

"There was no reason not to consider Korea as a diplomatic partner," Lengyel said, particularly given that Korea was on the rise economically to the point of being able to host the Summer Olympic Games.

Once the diplomatic relationship was announced, Hungary was left to face North Korea's reaction. The ambassador working at the Hungarian Embassy in Pyongyang was one of the few people who felt the North Korean response directly.

He described the reaction as "harsh." "They (North Koreans) called it an act of betrayal."

Lengyel also left Pyongyang, where he was a diplomat, in 1989.

The incident was the beginning of the deterioration of Budapest-Pyongyang relations.

Within three days of the announcement, North Korea expelled the residing Hungarian ambassador, the last envoy ever sent to North Korea.

Additionally, North Korea closed its embassy in Budapest and opened one in Bulgaria, but it wasn't long until it was once again "betrayed," as Bulgaria and South Korea established diplomatic ties in 1990.

Hungary maintains an embassy building in Pyongyang, yet empty. The Hungarian ambassador to China is accredited to North Korea, but responsibilities will be tossed to Lengyel soon.

When asked to evaluate the 20 year bilateral relationship, the ambassador said it's a "process" that will take much longer than 20 years to be judged.

There've been achievements, he said, noting trade has increased 543 times ― from $4.6 million in 1986 to $2.5 billion in 2007. Visits of high-level officials have become regular; cooperation in technology and science are off the ground; and a governmental joint committee is in operation.

Increasing cultural exchanges is a top future priority. Hungarians who travel to Korea and Koreans who visit Hungary will be messengers and spread culture when they return, he said.

This is the envoy's third posting on the Korean Peninsula, after one posting in the North and another in the South. He has a strong command of the Korean language, acquired through education and field experience. Still, he continues learning, with the help of a volunteer who visits his office every week.

In addition, he can discuss the history of Korean politics in-depth and offer his own insights without difficulty.

As part of celebration, the embassy plans to hold various cultural events, including the first Franz Liszt piano competition in Korea. The Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and musicians such as violinist Roby Lakatos and conductors Ivan and Adam Fischer are also scheduled to perform for Korean audiences this year.

skim@koreatimes.co.kr