[Opinion] Korea's New Diplomacy

[Asia Economy] As confirmed at the recent Korea-US summit and the Group of Seven (G7) summit, Korea is a highly attractive country equipped with advanced technology, an orderly democracy, diverse cultural content, a stable quarantine system, and strong military power.

Korea has created something out of nothing, accumulated capabilities, and built trust. Korea is increasingly becoming a key member of the international community.

However, Korean diplomacy must create new attractions where none exist, yet it fails to fully demonstrate its existing appeal and does not inspire sufficient confidence even within ourselves. As the name suggests, a new diplomacy, or Shin Diplomacy, is needed.

First, Shin Diplomacy must have the dignity befitting our status. We must first recognize how much we have changed and how the outside world views us. We need to acknowledge our capabilities and affirm our role ourselves.

We must raise national prestige, protect national interests, and meet the expectations of the international community. We must do what must be done, say what must be said, and keep what must be kept. Through cooperation, mutual growth, contribution, and dedication, we should become a respected and admired nation.

Second, Shin Diplomacy must go beyond the Korean Peninsula geographically, psychologically, and substantively. Until now, any diplomacy attempting to move beyond the Peninsula has returned to square one whenever North Korean issues arose.

Now, with our national power and status changed, we must overcome the psychological inhibition toward North Korea rooted in the 1960s and 1970s.

In other words, we must move from a Korean Peninsula peace process to a Korean Peninsula prosperity process. We must expand beyond the New Southern and New Northern regions to the Middle East, Africa, and South America. We must embrace multiculturalism and move toward multilateralism.

Third, Shin Diplomacy should not approach issues with short-term interests but with a long-term strategic perspective. Korea has long felt psychological pressure to maintain balanced diplomacy.

The character 균 (gyun) in 균형 (balance) means evenness without bias. However, it is neither possible nor necessary to maintain a perfect 5-to-5 balance every time. Rather, diplomacy should be about equilibrium. Equilibrium is not a form but a substantive balance. Decisions should be made with a long-term view of national interests depending on the issue and situation.

Fourth, Shin Diplomacy should be a mitigator, not a provocateur, of conflicts between the US and China. The international community needs a new kind of order, and it should be an emerging international relationship, not a new type of international relationship.

The "new type" international relationship proposed by China has a connotation and content that downgrade the US-led order as an old order. In contrast, the emerging international relationship recognizes the US-led order while including China’s role and envisions the development of the entire international community together.

While US-China relations have many competitive aspects, there is also much room for cooperation. We should play a buffering role, not an ambiguous middleman between the US and China. Korea should be a positive facilitator for the US.

Cooperation with China, which has been limited to economic relations and North Korean nuclear issues, should also be developed into substantial cooperation on a strategic partnership basis over the mid to long term at a global level.

Finally, Shin Diplomacy must contribute to coexistence with the international community. COVID-19 has revealed underlying illnesses in the international community. Following existing economic polarization, the international community is also exposed to polarization in quarantine measures.

Shin Diplomacy means that as our stature grows, so must our heart. We must not spare humanitarian aid at least to maintain livelihoods and achieve liberation from disease. By practicing global altruism, we must contribute to the global community.

Hwang Jae-ho, Professor, Department of International Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies