INTERVIEW Belgium to build on 2019 royal visit, 120 years of Korean ties

Commemorative programs on deck to mark diplomatic treaty on March 23, 1901

By Yi Whan-woo

The Embassy of Belgium in Korea is celebrating the 120th anniversary of bilateral relations, with a year-long set of programs aimed at revisiting milestone moments and also helping Koreans get to know more about Belgium.

“The anniversary of bilateral relations in 2021 will be an opportunity to get Belgium back in focus again after the Belgian economic mission in 2017 and the state visit of the King and Queen of the Belgians in 2019,” Belgian Ambassador to Korea Peter Lescouhier told The Korea Times in an interview, March 16.

He noted that the state visit of King Philippe and Queen Matilde in March 2019 boosted cooperation in diplomacy, politics, economy, trade, green energy, digital technology, academia, culture and other areas before it was slowed down by the COVID-19 crisis.

Royal state visits are rare and happen only once every 20 or 25 years, according to the ambassador.

For instance, Korea saw the first of two state visits from the Belgian royal family in October 1992. King Baudouin led the delegation back then.

The rarity of its royal state visits suggests that Belgium takes into account various factors in organizing a state visit and is extremely selective in choosing a destination.

“My ambition, once we can return to normal lives, is to make use of the network created by the state visit to accelerate related initiatives, especially with respect to sustainable development,” Lescouhier said. “We have to capitalize on it to the maximum level and build added value as much as possible.”

The Kingdom of Belgium signed the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation with the Korean Empire in 1901. The treaty was short-lived as the Korean Empire was vulnerable to outside powers and lost its diplomatic sovereignty to Japan in 1905.

In 1948, Belgium became one of the first nations to recognize the nascent Republic of Korea.

The early stage of their friendship is characterized by Belgium extending a helping hand to Korea, as witnessed in the 3,172 soldiers who fought with U.N. forces during the 1950-53 Korean War, as well as nurse Therese Cambier and Father Didier t'Serstevens.

Cambier dedicated her life to care for lepers in the post-war period, while Father t'Serstevens did the same for handicapped people.

Known by the Korean name, Ji Jung-hwan, t'Serstevens was also the pioneer of the local cheese industry. He opened a cheese factory in Imsil, North Jeolla Province in 1967, which later led to the creation of Korea's first cheese-making village and expanded distribution of Imsil Cheese nationwide.

Belgian support continued during the Asian financial crisis. In May 1998, Belgium participated in the bailout by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

This bilateral cooperation in diplomacy, economy and trade flourished as Korea went from rags to riches.

They include an agreement to elevate the level of diplomatic envoys to ambassador in May 1961, ratification of the European Union-Korea Free Trade Agreement (EU-Korea FTA) in December 2015, and of course, the two state visits by the royal family.

The calendar of events organized by the Embassy of Belgium in Korea or relevant groups is in accordance with the COVID-19 situation and require level of social distancing measures.

The ones in the first half of 2021 are either online or small-scale events, while those in the second half are taking place in open spaces.

On Jan. 27, the ambassador organized an event at the U.N. Memorial Cemetery in Busan to commemorate the first landing of the Belgian troops in the middle of the Korean War in 1951. Of the 3,172 soldiers who were dispatched throughout 1953, 106 were killed and 358 were badly wounded.

A permanent exhibition on the history of the first Belgian diplomatic mission is on view at the Nam-Seoul Museum of Art, which was formerly the Belgian consulate.

Later this year, the first stone will be laid for the memorial hall of Father t'Serstevens in Imsil.

Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sophie Wilmes will come to Seoul to enhance political and diplomatic dialogue.

Among other anniversary programs are special screenings of Belgian director Chantal Akerman's films at the Busan International Short Film Festival (April); an exhibition of a vintage toy collection from the Toy Museum of Brussels (April-July); participation of Belgian performers at the Busan International Performing Arts Festival (June); the Daegu International Jazz Festival (August); special screenings of Belgian films at the Seoul International Extreme-Short Image and Film Festival (September); a special exhibition of the Royal Museum of Art and History in Belgium's Korean artifact collection at the National Palace Museum in Seoul together with the original copies of the first treaty in French and Chinese (September), a screening of Belgian animation at the Bucheon International Animation Festival, in cooperation with the ANIMA Brussels Cartoon and Animated Film Festival (October); the Belgian Festival (October); a Belgian dance performance at the Seoul International Dance Festival (October-November); a concert by the Crossbones Trombone Collective and the jazz band, Volpe, in cooperation with the Korea Foundation (November); a joint stage adaption of Man Booker International Prize winner Han Kang's novel, “The Vegetarian,” (November-December); a concert by the Brussels Philharmonic (December); and a photo exhibition of Belgian photographer Frederik Buyckx (December-February).

In particular, Lescouhier expected the Belgian Festival in October to make up for travel in the COVID-19 era. It will be held in KOTE, a cultural complex in Insa-dong, central Seoul.

The ambassador noted that visitors can enjoy widely-known Belgian chocolates, fries, waffles and beers, as well as other culinary delights that are less known here. On the cultural side, jazz and other street artists will perform.

“It will be an ideal way for Koreans to get to know more about Belgium, especially considering they will not be able to travel to Belgium until the pandemic is over,” he said.

Carbon-free economy, multiculturalism, equality, and dealing with colonial past

Asked about joint goals in the future, Lescouhier picked the carbon-free economy, based on the fact that the two countries are committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

For Korea, green energy, along with digital technology, are the two pillars of the Korean New Deal announced by President Moon Jae-in in 2020 to revive the pandemic-hit economy.

“Nobody knows what's going to happen in the next 120 years. But certainly for decades to come, if we can look to 2050, that would be far enough,” the ambassador said.

Noting his four-year term will last until 2022, he added, “The sustainable development goals are things that we can work on in the future and something I will try to promote as long as I am here.”

He especially encouraged Korean companies to invest in the world's first large-scale wind energy park off the shore of Zeebrugge harbor. Construction is underway for a 25-megawatt industrial-scale installation.

“So if they want to work with European partners, they could come have a look at what's happening there,” the ambassador said.

He said that Korea may also consider joining the Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency launched by the EU this year to better implement the U.N. Sustainable Development Agenda 2030.

On digital technology, the envoy noted Belgium is home to Robert Cailliau, an engineer well-known ― along with British scientist Tim Berners-Lee ― for proposing a hypertext system for accessing documentation that led to the creation of the World Wide Web.

“It is not surprising that a country that counts among its citizens one of the co-inventors of the internet is a leading EU member state when it comes to digital technology,” he said, adding that the country is especially best performing with respect to electronic information sharing and use of cloud and big data.

The envoy said Belgium, however, is “a bit behind” in 5G technology because of national politics. The telecom companies in Belgium have decided not to use Chinese-made 5G products.

“So there are certainly opportunities for Korean companies to come in,” he explained.

In logistics, Belgium has been an international hub for a long time, with Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Construction Equipment and LG present there.

The country's reputation was spotlighted in the COVID-19 era, as it served as a distribution and transportation center for vaccines in cooperation with the World Health Organization.

Other leading industries include chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Asked how Brussel being the home of the EU can inspire Korea's vision to become a center of peace in Northeast Asia, Lescouhier said, “Be a strong and fearless defender of rule-based multilateralism.”

In relation to Korea's transition to a multicultural society, the ambassador explained how migrants in Belgium can expect to receive the same rights as Belgian nationals, and in return, they have the same obligations to follow.

The Belgian spirit to embrace equality was reflected during the 2020 Black Lives Matter campaign, when the statues of King Leopold II, who brutalized Central Africa during the colonial period, were removed.

Schools are now more committed to paying attention to colonialism, decolonization and imperialism in history lessons.

A parliamentary commission on Belgium's colonial past was set up last year, too, to make proposals for reconciliation among Belgians and citizens of former colonies such as Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

In 2020, the Belgian king expressed his deepest regrets in a letter to Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi over the colonial past.

“A new conscience of the evils of colonialism is now more common in Belgian public opinion … Although it can take a long time, it is necessary to deal with our colonial past. The removal of the statues of King Leopold II in public places is a symbolic manifestation of this,” the ambassador said.