Korea is the new cool

By Jeffrey Jones

There are so many wonderful events to be celebrated in Korea these days. We just finished a major presidential election that was won by the narrowest of margins and yet the results are accepted without rancor or dispute by the candidates and their parties and the citizens who fervently supported these candidates.

This is in sharp contrast to the recent presidential election in the U.S. It is quite inspiring to witness the acceptance by the political leadership and the citizens of Korea to democratic principles of fairness, transparency and the rule of law and it is an example to the world.

It is not just in politics that Korea is doing so well. Korea leads the world in commitment to education with the globe's highest levels of literacy and high school and college graduation rates. Korea is the world's 10th-largest economy in 2022 by GDP rankings despite being ranked 22 in the world measured by the size of its population.

Korea is the world's leading supplier of the most critical products needed for economic growth to include semiconductors, cellular phones, automobiles, steel, etc.

Korea has one of the largest networks of free trade agreements in the world with more than 58 free trade pacts giving the country a tremendous global trading advantage.

Many are surprised by the strength of the Korean passport. Today, the Korean passport is one of the most widely accepted in the world permitting Korean passport holders to go visa free to more countries than any other passport.

Korea is also very fortunate to have one of the best cellular and internet networks in the world delivering speed and reliability giving the country a tremendous advantage in respect of e-commerce, research and education.

Korea has some of the toughest consumers in the world demanding high quality and excellent service making Korean products even more competitive on the world stage.

Many foreign companies bring their new products to Korea as a test bed given the sophistication and demands of Korean consumers. The new buzzword in consumer products is “if you can sell it in Seoul, you can sell it anywhere.”

Government and private services are delivered to the population with greater speed and efficiency than any other location. Whether internet service, electricity, after sales service of products sold by private companies, etc., consumers are not required to wait weeks to have their requests satisfied.

It is often done in a matter of hours. Most foreign visitors and new residents to Korea are pleasantly shocked by the speed of delivery of a wide variety of public and private services.

And over the past several years, Korea is entertaining the world. Across all cultures and languages, fans of Korean music, dramas and movies have grown exponentially and Korean content, performers, writers and directors are receiving the most prestigious awards the world has to offer.

Following a recent BTS concert held in Los Angeles, a mother and her two teenage daughters who attended the concert were interviewed on U.S. television about their experience.

After their glowing comments about the event and the fun family experience they had at the concert, all three raised their hands to the shape of heart and cried out in unison “we love Korea.” There is no doubt that Korea is the new cool.

So what are we doing with this new found influence? We should of course continue to work very hard to maintain and grow the success achieved in education, culture, and the economy.

But it is my hope that the new administration will take this new influential power of Korea and build upon it in the critical areas of diplomacy and national security.

Gone are the days when Korea needs to use its “nunchi” tactics of waiting to see what other major powers are thinking and doing. The administration should be wise and careful, but they need to come up with a comprehensive strategy and agenda of what Korea wants to accomplish in terms of diplomacy and national security and then go out and persuade the world to accept this agenda.

Korea no longer needs to huddle in the back of the room and wait to see what others are doing. Korea needs to set the agenda and persuade the major economic and military powers of the world to accept this agenda. And, very importantly, the world is ready to be persuaded and accept Korea's agenda.

Never before has Korea enjoyed such acceptance and respect on the world stage. Korea has not only the respect of the world, but it also has the economic and cultural leverage to convince the world to buy into Korea's agenda.

Jeffrey Jones is chairman of a nonprofit foundation, Partners for the Future. He served five terms as chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea.