Canada: South Korea’s underestimated friend

Rhee Tshang-chu, president of the Korean Global Foundation

The head of a Seoul-based group called on the governments of South Korea and Canada to forge a stronger partnership, saying their bilateral relationship is underutilized.

Rhee Tshang-chu, president of the Korean Global Foundation (KGF), noted that the significance of this relationship has been understated probably because the two Koreas are technically at war, prompting the South to rely heavily on the United States for security.

“Canada has strong potential and could attract Korea’s attention over the years to come. I am pretty optimistic about the bilateral ties in the near future,” he told The Korea Times.

The KGF will host a global forum to seek answers as to why South Korea-Canada ties are underdeveloped in time to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

Rhee said the Korean community in Canada may play a role in bringing bilateral ties closer in the future.

“Vancouver has attracted an increasing number of Koreans, both young and adult. I believe some 110,000 Koreans living in the greater Vancouver area could prompt the Korean government to take an interest in Canada,” Rhee said.

Some of these Koreans are so-called “goose families,” referring to mothers who accompany their children to Canada, while their fathers stay in Korea to earn money to send financial support to their loved ones in Canada.

People-to-people exchanges between South Korea and Canada are active including about 5,000 Canadians who teach English in this nation.

Canada is a popular destination for South Korean work and travel visa holders under the so-called Working Holiday program. In 2011, nearly 4,000 young Koreans explored Canada with the exchange program. The North American country is also a popular tourism destination, too.

South Korea’s ties with Canada go far beyond people-to-people exchanges. The North American country sent nearly 26,000 troops during the Korean War (1950-53) to defend South Korea against its communist northern neighbor. More than 300 of these young Canadians, mostly 18 or 19 years old, died and some 1,100 were wounded during the war.

Rhee said the KGF is now preparing for its annual global seminar highlighting 50 years anniversary of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Canada as one of five topics. Scholars, analysts, politicians from South Korea, China, Japan, Canada and Europe will join the 14th Global Korean Forum slated for June 24 and 25 at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver.

Under the five separate sessions, the participants will exchange ideas on the Asia-Pacific era, the changing security environment on the Korean Peninsula and Korean Diaspora in Canada and its role to boost bilateral ties.

Professor Ross King at the UBC, which has a strong Korean studies program, will join the seminar to address his assessment on the role of the Korean government in promoting the Korean language in North America.

Rhee said he was keen to listen to expert views on Korea-Canada ties and issues that can foster bilateral relations in the future. <The Korea Times/Kang Hyun-kyung>