Korea to fly above the radar

By Kim Ji-myung

A new book on Korea is always welcome, especially when it is in English and even more so when it is written by a foreigner. I do agree that the latest tome “Korea, the Impossible Country,” by the Economist correspondent Daniel Tudor, serves Korea by opening her secrets to the world.

The author notes that existing English-language literature about this nation has done little to dispel misplaced assumptions and gross misunderstandings about it.

It is true that Korea is one of “Asia’s least-known countries” and foreigners’ ideas about Korea tend to be “heavily stereotypical” despite all the recent fuss by local media over the hallyu (Korean Wave) phenomena around the globe.

In most parts of the world, ordinary people cannot tell South Korea from North Korea.

A survey I conducted two years ago of some 100 scholars of Korean studies revealed that main images of Korea were limited to kimchi, Taekwondo, K-pop singers and TV dramas.

As a member of the small community of writers about Korea in English, I feel somewhat responsible for this reality, and so I have tried to analyze the problem.

What have we, the Korean government and people, done wrong so far?

How could we have let Korea keep “flying under the radar,” protecting her secrets from being widely known in the global community? Especially, after spending so much public money to promote our country and improve her image?

There are public organizations such as the Korea Foundation, the Korea National Tourism Organization and the Korean Culture and Information Service that have actively published fancy books and magazines on Korean culture and history in many languages, including English. Many ministries and local governments print luxurious promotional periodicals in English.

We even established the unique Presidential Committee for Nation Branding to sell our country’s image abroad, although it recently disappeared into history.

A French advisor for former president Lee Myung-bak advised Korea to change its communication policy, and to adopt a more “strategic” approach. How would that be accomplished? His answer was to employ a best foreign PR agency and let them do the job as Japan has done. That may well be the most efficient and cost-effective way; as most government officials are not communication specialists.

If I were asked to suggest critical solutions to get Korea’s message across to the world’s people, “back to the basics” would be my answer. Let people in the PR trade handle the issues – and not government officials.

This happened last year at an advisory meeting on Romanization of Korean names.

“The name of a person should be written as Hong Gildong” said an official. “But Hong Gil-dong is the standard style now; all English newspapers use this style,” I pointed out. “Oh, that is against the government’s Romanization rules,” she said. “The Presidential Office writes Lee Myung-bak, and not Lee Myungbak, you know,” I said. “Well, then, I should write a letter of protest to the presidential office,” she officiously replied.

I don’t think she really sent a letter to the Blue House. But I definitely know that her job does not require her to read anything written in English.

Many policy issues involving the use of the English language – establishing the Romanization rules for Hangeul the Korean alphabet, publishing the government’s promotional materials, managing official websites in English, posting street signs and producing interpretation texts for cultural heritages in English–are handled by those non-English-minded officials. Sometimes experts interfere in the decision-making process, but their roles are marginal.

English has two faces in Korea. As a subject of education it is the ultimate dictator. No one denies English is critical; without proficiency in it, you cannot enter a good college, nor get a middle-class job.

Therefore, parents don’t spare money if it is for the children’s English scores, which has led to English-education-related business becoming a gigantic national industry. Among the first Korean words that foreigners learn here must be “hagwon,” a private after-school institute, mostly for learning English skills.

On the other hand, English for practical utilization in our society is an unwelcome, burdensome headache, an extra task or even a formidable enemy to conquer. Replacing the ancient position of Chinese characters, written and spoken English is now widely required as Korea becomes globalized not only economically but in its composition of population.

However, any issue that requires communicating in English is perceived to be “of secondary importance” and instantly placed on the back burner. Not many heads of public organizations, including those smartest and most intellectual guys, seem to pay due attention to presenting themselves in English.

Translation of documents and speeches of ministers, mayors and CEOs for international gatherings takes the least importance, and gets lowest priority.

I have always wondered how the problem of shortages of budget and time for translation work stays here with us like an incurable disease.

I don’t know exactly why, but the only official English television channel for national promotion, “Arirang,” is assigned to a three-digit channel. Who will remember “channel five-hundred-something” and watch it?

But perhaps I should only ask, as the Norwegian journalist/ translator Terje B. Englund wittily said in his “The Czechs in a Nutshell,” how Korea has promoted herself this much, instead of asking about the many problems we still have?

The writer is the chairwoman of the Korea Heritage Education Institute (K*Heritage). Her email address is Heritagekorea21@gmail.com.