Martin Uden

Remembrance Service in Seoul

2009-11-09T03:13:56+00:00

Our annual Remembrance Service in Seoul is simple but moving. It remains an important part of the rhythm of our year, especially because it often happens - as this year - that we are joined by a Veteran of the Korean War who reads the act of remembrance from Laurence Binyon's, "For the Fallen." It is also for us very much a Commonwealth occasion, when we are joined by other Commonwealth Ambassadors, and the Veteran who read was from Canada.

from http://www.gettyimages.com/

Tape-cutting

2009-11-02T01:46:32+00:00

It's by no means uncommon for me to use my tape-cutting skills, but a bit unusual to have to carve up three tapes in three days. On Thursday, I helped to open an exhibition for DAKS, celebrating its cooperation with LG Fashion, with a display of fascinating items from the DAKS' archive. Then on Friday, we opened (this time with my wife in the scissors line-up) a British goods promotion at the Shinsegae department store, and finally on Saturday, I helped open the British Council's annual UK University Fair for prospective students.

A weekend expedition to old UK naval graves

2009-10-28T02:03:39+00:00

One of the few places in Korea I’ve always wanted to get to, but somehow never managed to was what is often called Port Hamilton, but more properly known as Geomundo. (For some background, the Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komundo is a fair introduction.) But this weekend, I finally made it (but only just!) with over 20 friends from the Korea Britain Society in Seoul. These islands are a fair way off the south coast of the Korean mainland and at the best of times involve a ferry ride of around 3 hours. We were extremely lucky that the Korean Navy was happy to help with arrangements and took us there on Saturday afternoon, in a journey lasting 2 ½ hours. That journey itself was hardly calm, but the forecast for awful for the Sunday, so we had to cut short our stay and come back the same evening. This time the journey took 4 ½ hours and for many of the travelers a fish dinner we’d had on Geomundo proved to be a very short-term investment.

The reason for me to go was to pay respect at the graves of ten UK sailors and marines buried there. Most of them had died in accidents during the British occupation of the islands from 1885-87. Some years back the graves had been in a sad state of repair and it was a continuing concern of the Embassy how to ensure their proper upkeep. But in fact the islanders are proud of their connection with the UK and the Korean Navy is likewise respectful of fallen comrades. So between them and occasional visits by passing Royal Navy ships (the latest only in August) the graves are now superbly maintained. Indeed, a more tranquil and fitting resting place for them could scarcely be imagined, overlooking glorious clear seas and enchanting islands while herons circle overhead.

I hope you’ll look at some of the photos we took while there. Aside from Geomundo, they also show a wonderful old house in Yeosu which we visited on the Sunday morning. These old gentlemanly houses are few and far between now in Korea, but the owner of this one fiercely protects it for the sake of the eleven generations of his family who lived there before him, and for the sake of future generations.

A ridiculously busy week

2009-10-26T07:38:24+00:00

Sometimes in spite of whatever planning you might attempt, visitors do have a habit of coming all at once. So it was this week. I realized at the end of it, that in the space of seven days, I didn’t have a single normal breakfast to myself, I managed one lunch at home and ate every dinner out or with guests at home. But it was all worth while.

The visitors were first the British Ambassador from Pyongyang, Peter Hughes. He’s been there for over a year now and this was his first opportunity to get to Seoul to exchange views and information about the DPRK, in a way that is hardly possible in Pyongyang. So he saw a good mix of governmental, military, academic and diplomatic contacts in a crowded three-day programme.

Overlapping with him was Mr Quentin Davies, who is the Minister for Defence Equipment and Supply at the UK Ministry of Defence. The main reason for his visit was the Seoul Air Show, and he also saw his opposite numbers and gave a speech about the procurement of defence equipment.

In fact, all three of the visitors were here on the Wednesday of the week, so I was a bit torn three ways. The final visitor was Professor Alison Richard, the vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University. Of course the Embassy wasn’t responsible for organizing her programme in the way we did for the other two, but I hosted a reception at my house for Cambridge alumni and attended two other events with the vice-Chancellor.

There can be times that diplomacy can appear to be a high-class travel agency, catering and hotel business. Those aspects actually are important to be sure visitors get the most out of their time overseas, but it’s always important to keep in mind just why and how visits like this contribute to the Embassy’s objectives. This week
• we’ve learned more than we did before about how the Republic of Korea currently assesses the stance of the DPRK and what the next moves might be in relations between North and South Korea;
• we’ve explored the possibilities of further partnerships between the UK and Korea in the defence sector, including some projects with European and US partners;
• we’ve encouraged Cambridge alumni to remember their alma mater in the year of its 800th birthday, reminded many influential Koreans of the excellence of UK science and academic endeavour and persuaded young Koreans to consider studying at Cambridge – including through the joint scholarship scheme announced last week with the FCO’s Chevening programme.

from gettyimages

Meet The President

2009-10-20T14:35:09+01:00

An unusual couple of days, seeing President Lee Myung-bak on both of them. First it was the annual Garden Party held in the grounds of the Blue House for the diplomatic corps. Sadly there are simply too many people there for us all to be able to have much of a talk with the President, but all his advisers are there and a lot of senior Koreans, so a great opportunity to network. I find that the President’s advisers see it much the same way, and hunt me out, just as much as I search for them in the crowds.

The following day, I again met the President when we were in attendance for the opening of the new Incheon Bridge, a prominent sight when you land at or take off from Incheon airport. The bridge is the longest in Korea, and in the top ten in world, and the reason for my involvement is that AMEC, the UK engineering and project management company, was the lead contractor and is justly proud of its achievement in delivering a landmark construction on time and on budget. They headed up what was the first public/private partnership in Korea to be led by a foreign company. Samir Brikho, the company’s CEO, was there as well and has a clear concept of the potential importance of Korea for AMEC, especially in terms of partnerships in the energy field. I was able to read out a message from Gordon Brown congratulating all concerned with the bridge. So much of our work to help British business is quietly done behind the scenes, and it’s nice to be able to show good public support in this way.

British Embassy Offers Chevening Scholarships

2009-10-19T06:20:50+01:00

This time of year is when the Embassy starts to seek applications for Chevening scholarships. These scholarships offer talented graduates and young professionals from Korea the chance to study for postgraduate qualifications at the UK's leading universities. They cover the costs of one year's postgraduate study in the UK. Over 800 Koreans have benefited from the scheme over the past 25 years and many have risen to very senior positions on their return to Korea. Indeed, Prime Minister Chung Un-chan studied in the UK on a Chevening award.

For the first time this year, we are also seeking applications from Korean students who want to study at the University of Cambridge for a special Chevening Cambridge Scholarship jointly funded by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Cambridge Overseas Trust.

The deadline for applications for both schemes is December 7th 2009. Please visit this website to apply: www.britishcouncil.or.kr/chevening

Teaming Up With ‘Flower Boy’ On Climate Change

2009-10-16T01:42:51+01:00

To mark Blog Action Day today, the British Embassy in Seoul is launching an online climate change campaign on Cyworld (Korean Facebook) with the support of the British Council, and Korean celebrity, Mr Kim Beom. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the importance of low carbon living and calls for action from world leaders at Copenhagen this December. As part of the campaign, Mr Kim will visit London in two weeks to film a documentary about what the UK is doing to encourage low carbon lifestyles. I hope that Koreans will learn lessons about what works (and what doesn’t work) after watching the final product.

Kim Beom, also known throughout Asia as ‘Flower Boy’, is passionate about climate change and committed to showing Koreans what they can do to reduce their carbon footprint. And it’s important that Korea does act, given the size of its economy and its dependence on carbon fuels. According to a recent report from the International Energy Agency, Korea is the world’s ninth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases and saw the fastest rise in CO2 emissions per capita of all the OECD countries from 1990 to 2007.

I hope that our Cyworld campaign and this blog help to persuade Koreans of the urgency of acting to prevent dangerous climate change. You can also visit our Korean Cyworld site and leave a message for Korean leaders. And English-speakers can visit the Act on Copenhagen website to pledge support for an ambitious, effective and fair deal at Copenhagen. Make your voice heard!

Mandelson makes an impression

2009-10-13T04:12:09+01:00

I have missed writing my blog, having been away on leave and on business and then just recently catching up with what I'd missed and then preparing for a visit by Lord Mandelson. He was in Korea on 6-8 October in his capacity as the UK Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. I've been hoping to secure a visit from one of the Ministers in his department ever since I arrived, because the work that the UK Trade and Investment part of the Embassy does here is tremendously important and it can get a great boost from a well-timed and well-prepared visit. Of course we did have a visit by the Duke of York in October last year, but politicians can do some things that members of the Royal Family can't do, and vice versa.

[Photos show, from clockwise top right: Lord Mandelson meets Korea's President Lee Myung-bak; breakfast meeting with Korean business leaders; meeting Korea's Minister of Knowledge Economy, Choi Kyung-hwan; and delivering a keynote speech to the British Chamber of Commerce Korea and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry]

For Lord Mandelson, the two major themes were the EU/Korea Free Trade Agreement and work on G20 issues. When Lord Mandelson was the EU Trade Commissioner he kicked off the negotiations for the Agreement here in Seoul, and now it is due to be initialed on 15 October, signifying that the negotiations have reached the point where both sides are happy with the text. But of course agreeing texts is one thing; making sure that they achieve the desired goal of encouraging and facilitating trade and investment between the EU and Korea is another. For that we need to be sure that EU and Korean businesses can see the opportunities and act on them. This is the message Lord Mandelson was sending, and is one we need to keep repeating to be sure UK business knows of the greater opportunities that will be available. We estimate that the FTA will generate up to 13 billion Euros(￡ 11.82 billion) for Korean companies, and generate exporting opportunities for EU goods and services of up to 19 billion Euros (￡17.27 billion).

The G20 continues to offer a great chance for the UK and Korea to work together to help forge what the G20 Leaders at the Pittsburgh Summit described as "the premier forum for our international economic cooperation". Now it is agreed that not only will Korea take over from us as G20 Chair, but it will also host a Summit here in November 2010. Korea will have a major role in the early days of this new forum, and if the UK can help in any way, I'm sure we will. Not only will we see ministerial interactions like Lord Mandelson's, but President Lee has also accepted Gordon Brown's offer to have one of his closest advisers, Baroness Shriti Vadera, to act as a adviser for Korea in helping the transition from one Presidency to the next.

Korean's Midterm Target

2009-09-15T07:05:27+01:00

Recently the Korean government announced three possible scenarios for carbon dioxide emission reduction targets. This is a welcome and important development. Korea is among the first countries in the world to commit to such a target. I welcome Korea's announcement and believe that this will be a positive catalyst for the upcoming United Nations climate change negotiations in Copenhagen.

To prevent catastrophic climate change all nations need to limit the global average temperature increase to no more than 2 degrees Celsius. To accomplish this challenging, but vital, goal the total emissions from all countries must be cut to less than half of their 1990 level by 2050. In the UK we have legally binding targets to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, in the long term by at least 80% on 1990 levels by 2050. To set us on the right track we have short term targets set at 34% reductions by 2020. And it's working as emissions have fallen steadily since 1990 while GDP has increased.

When I have the opportunity to meet Korean Government representatives I continue to support an ambitious mid-term target. I have been impressed by the current Administration's efforts on low carbon green growth. A quick transition to a low carbon economy is in all of our interest, and these targets are an important part of that evolution.

Help us to make our blogs better

2009-09-01T20:07:50+01:00

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We want to know what you like and dislike about our blogs, what you’d like to see our bloggers writing about, and how you feel about the style of our articles.

To get your feedback we’ve created a short survey. It should only take a few minutes to complete and it will really help us to understand your thoughts and feelings.

Please help us to make this blog better and take the survey.

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Kim Dae-Jung

2009-08-26T01:47:21+01:00

Korea has truly lost one of its greatest sons. Kim Dae-jung passed away on 18 August after a lifetime of struggling for democracy and human rights in Korea and in Asia. By his own account, he escaped death five times as successive governments in Korea sought to silence him. To much of the world, he was most famous for the sunshine policy towards North Korea, but my memories of him - formed because they coincided with my time in Korea - were of his conviction for sedition and his death sentence in 1980 and then as an opposition politician in the 1990s before becoming President in 1998. Without him (and this is not to say he fought alone: there were many other heroes, famous or not) Korea would not have made the transition to the vibrant democracy it is now. And also among his many achievements we should not forget the decisive and effective action he took as President to bring Korea out of the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. But certainly my most vivid memory of him will be seeing him in early July and being struck by how passionate he was - even though he was clearly not at all strong physically - about human rights in Burma. He never stopped fighting for causes he believed in.

A sad duty

2009-08-14T01:38:33+01:00

Former President Kim Dae-jung has been in hospital in Seoul for about two weeks now, and is now in intensive care. I felt I had to go to the hospital to offer any support I could to the family, especially given the links they have with the UK - the President lived in Cambridge in the early 90s and had been host to the Queen during the State Visit of 1999. Readers may recall I called on him in early July to talk about Burma.

I met members of his staff and Mrs Lee Hee-ho, the former First Lady, and spent a few minutes with them. It was good to see that bringing back memories was some comfort.

It happened that I visited the hospital on the anniversary of the day that President Kim returned from Japan 36 years previously after surviving an assassination attempt. He saw this as one of a series of miraculous escapes from death. I can only hope that there will be a repeat of that escape.

Ex-US Presidents visit the Korean peninsula

2009-08-07T01:32:52+01:00

Rather to my surprise, while on holiday in California recently I met somebody I knew here in Korea. He told me that he was helping to organize a trip to Korea for President George W Bush and asked if I'd like to meet him. And when he told me that it would be in Andong, where (eager readers of this blog might recall) I had been in April, I was more than happy to go down for the day.

It was a low-key affair, with the President giving a talk to students at a High School, followed by a little tourism and lunch. I particularly liked one of his answers to the students. When asked for a single piece of advice for students, he said simply, "Read!". I hadn't realised that during one of his White House years he read 92 books, which he explained was possible because he didn't watch television or play video games. Reading was his main leisure pursuit.

As a keen collector of old books on Korea, I have to agree with the President. While there may be no substitute for personal experience in many ways, reading allows you to draw on other people's experience and learn of things that you have no chance to visit personally - above all the past! I certainly would not know anything like as much about Korea and the Far East if I hadn't been able to read so extensively about the region.

I find it interesting, incidentally, to realise that for a short time there will have been two ex-US Presidents on the Korean Peninsula - Clinton in Pyongyang and Bush in Seoul.

Manchester United's visit to Seoul

2009-07-27T05:47:35+01:00

In so many ways, one of Britain’s greatest strengths from Chaucer onwards has been its culture. In recent times that has become an economic and export driver. The latest Harry Potter film is a very clear example of this, but so too was the tour to the Far East, including Korea, by Manchester United. Their worldwide commercial success has been remarkable, quite apart from their achievements on the football field. It was the same last Friday. In front of a capacity crowd at Seoul’s World Cup stadium, Man U beat FC Seoul 3-2 in what turned out to be an exciting match.

For me it was also fascinating that the team takes such great care to foster its public image and was accompanied by two of the great names of the team’s past – Sir Bobby Charlton and Bryan Robson. But for the Seoul crowd, there was really only one name on their lips – Park Ji-sung. Although he didn’t start the match, he came on in the second half, which was really what the crowd wanted to see. He is such a well-known figure in Korea, and the nation is very proud of his achievement in playing for Man U.

One other footballing issue that both countries share is that both Korea and England are bidding to stage the World Cup in 2018/2022. It’s clear that both countries have tremendously strong bids, based above all on the strong fan base and the high standard of the home leagues.

EU/Korea Free Trade Agreement

2009-07-15T08:21:03+01:00

The EU and Korea managed to make sufficient progress in the last week on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations to be able to say that we have a deal. There are always formalities to go through – and the example of the US/Korea FTA shows clearly that these are not always pure formalities – but it does look as though we’re there. Certainly at some points in the two years of negotiations it almost looked as though we had run out of steam, but the concept of an agreement between two such important trading partners always made a lot of sense. For both the EU and Korea, once it’s in force it will be the largest FTA (in terms of trade volumes) for both countries.

I haven’t seen the complete deal as yet, but bringing down tariffs in so many areas is bound to increase trade for both sides which will be good news for consumers, whether of Korean electronic goods in the EU, or European beverages in Korea. There are also a wide range of other measures designed to make it easier to trade and do business on both sides. The opportunities the agreement will offer will be a very important area of business for the Embassy in the coming months - and for all the EU Embassies in Seoul, I’m sure.

Looking for Yoghurt

2009-07-13T01:52:08+01:00

There aren't that many UK theatre companies that come to Korea, so when they do, I'm only too happy to go along and support them. Although I'm not really the target audience - it's a children's show - it was still fun to see "Looking for Yoghurt" which was directed by Peter Wynne-Wilson from Birmingham and it's already played in the Birmingham Rep. What makes it all the better from my point of view is that it brings together Korean, Japanese and British characters, all of whom speak their own language yet still manage to communicate with each other. A great metaphor in so many ways. It's playing at the Daehangno Arts Theatre and goes to Kapyong and Yeoncheon before going on to Japan. http://www.hanyong.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk gives some of the background to this collaboration; http://cafe.daum.net/joyfultheatre gives details of the performances in Korea.

And it's great fun. Certainly the children in the audience very clearly - and vocally - enjoyed it.

Freedom of Expression in the Digital Age

2009-07-06T09:17:13+01:00

A few things came together to inspire us in the Embassy to arrange a seminar on “Freedom of Expression on the Internet”, which took place last Friday. First was the anniversary of British journalist, Ernest Bethell’s death (see my blog of 11 May for details about him), then the case of ‘Minerva’ in Korea, a blogger on trial (and subsequently found not guilty) for spreading false information with harmful intent, and more generally some work we’d done last year on the 60^th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

The dilemmas posed by the internet and its relatively unregulated nature are things that I feel would have attracted Bethell. It’s also a live issue in both the UK and Korea and we have experiences and ideas to share with each other. Both the Korean Ministry for Culture, Media and Sports and the Korea Communications Commission agreed to co-organise the seminar, and the Embassy brought out two expert speakers from the UK (Derek Wyatt, MP, Chair of the Parliamentary Group on Communications, and Dr Ian Brown of the Oxford Internet Institute – for their presentations, click here). In addition, the Korea Press Foundation and the Netherlands Embassy helped with sponsorship.

On the day, hundreds turned up to listen to, and debate with, experts from government, business, media and regulators. The presentations were of a very high standard and brought out just the issues that I hoped would get an airing, from the balance between protecting privacy and maintaining freedom of expression, to the question of legislation versus self-regulation. Obviously, these are sensitive issues, and different countries will try to resolve them differently, but that’s why it’s good to look at them in an international context.

A fascinating day and this issue won’t go away any time soon…

Meeting Kim Dae-Jung

2009-07-02T09:19:28+01:00

I normally don't say much about the many private meetings that I hold in Seoul, but this morning I called on Kim Dae-jung, former President of Korea and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. I went to see him to thank him for his continued attention to the imprisonment of his fellow Peace Prize recipient, Aung San Suu Kyi, and specifically for his contribution to the website set up for ASSK's 64th birthday.

We discussed Secretary-General Ban's visit to Burma tomorrow and the sad fact the ASSK's trial is to resume the same day. It was encouraging to see the very clear focus that President Kim has on the plight of ASSK and his strong support for pro-democracy elements there. Coming from a man who did so much to bring democracy to Korea, I found it truly heartening.
President Kim kindly agreed that I could mention our conversation and his staunch support for the people of Burma.

Korean War Lives On…

2009-06-26T08:14:39+01:00

25 June is more than a date in South Korea - it's part of the language. To refer to the Korean War, you simply say 6.25, the day that North Korea invaded the South. This year is the 59th anniversary of that day, and by happy close coincidence, the British government has decided to hold the first UK Armed Forces Day on 27 June.

This meant that we decided to hold our local celebration of Armed Forces Day on 24 June. There is real poignancy here in remembrance of fallen service personnel since over 1,100 British servicemen lost their lives in the Korean War. And the Republic of Korea itself is enormously generous in supporting the veterans (of all the states that sent forces to the UN Command) during re-visits. They really set a fine example in honouring the contribution of the sending states, but even more importantly of the individual servicemen, who all made enormous sacrifices and many of whom paid the ultimate sacrifice. I should recommend just such a story in one of the Korean English-language dailies (Joongang Daily) about one of the British servicemen who died and how the Korean government helped his family to visit his grave in the UN cemetery in Busan.

British Ambassador, Martin Uden, and Defence Attaché, Brigadier Matthew O'Hanlon, mark the first UK Armed Forces Day with Lieutenant General Eui-don Hwang, Director of Korea's Defence Intelligence Agency.

I'll be interested to see how the first ever Armed Forces Day is received in the UK itself. It certainly made enormous sense here.

Korea marks 64th birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi

2009-06-19T08:03:41+01:00

To mark the 64th birthday of Burmese pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, I joined National Assembly Representatives (MPs) today to condemn her detention and call for her release. Representative Song Young-gil, a prominent MP in Korea, is passionate about promoting human rights in Burma and he organised a petition for MPs to sign. As I write this, over 40 MPs have signed the petition and many more are expected to add their names throughout the day.

With Ambassadors from the European Commission and Czech Republic, I also gave a statement condemning her arrest and calling for the release of all political prisoners. You can see the full text here.

Earlier this week, 14 former Korean political prisoners joined with over 100 former political prisoners from around the world to call for Suu Kyi's release and for the United Nations Security Council to establish a global arms embargo on Burma/Myanmar.

Former President and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Kim Dae Jung, and Grand National Party Representative, Park Geun-hye also added their personal messages to Suu Kyi on the website www.64forsuu.org.

It's important for National Assembly Representatives from both sides of the political spectrum to stand up for this issue. It's also encouraging to see more and more countries in Asia protest strongly about the ongoing brutality of the Burmese military dictatorship. After over 47 years of a repressive regime, the Burmese people are tired of waiting for democracy, and the international community no longer wants to have to deal with the military junta.

Oxfam, Korea, Vietnam and the UK

2009-06-16T09:46:55+01:00

I little knew that Oxfam would be the link to bring together Korea, Vietnam and the UK, but I was delighted to take part in a small celebration of a joint project this week.

A charity here called the Beautiful Store has a very similar approach to Oxfam in the UK, raising funds through second hand shops and using the money raised for projects in Korea and overseas. It does not run the overseas projects itself, but instead donates money to Oxfam to help their work. In fact, I had been involved with Beautiful Store here, donating various things to it, but not realising this connection with Oxfam GB. Beautiful Store has donated over £250,000 for Oxfam’s projects in South Asia, and has pledged a further £150,000 this year.

The celebration I mentioned was to mark a project in Vietnam to improve education for girls and minority groups in Lao Cai, a remote region near the border with China. My Vietnamese colleague and I made short speeches to thank Beautiful Store, although for the most part I spoke about the great work that Oxfam has done over the years and continues to do.

You can read more about the project here. It really is such a turn-around that within a generation Korea has moved from being an aid recipient to become a supporter of other countries less prosperous than itself – and that Koreans themselves support ventures like Beautiful Store, which after just seven years in existence now has over 100 stores country-wide.

Studying in the UK

2009-06-12T08:50:17+01:00

This week, the Embassy has launched a quiz competition for Korean students who are looking to apply for a visa to study in the UK. You can visit it here.

A new visa application system for the UK was introduced on 31 March this year called the Points-Based System. Applications from overseas students must now meet a certain number of points to be successful, based on whether they have a complete visa letter from a certified educational institution in the UK and whether they have sufficient finances to complete the course.

The new system is intended to make the visa process simpler and quicker. But we have received reports from students that they are finding it difficult to get to grips with the new requirements. Our new competition website has lots of useful information on how to complete a successful visa application, so please do visit it if you’re looking to apply for a visa.

We are very keen to ensure that students from Korea are able to come to the UK to study. Our universities are world famous and part of their success is because of their international nature. I believe British students benefit hugely from mixing with students from other countries by sharing experiences and building good relationships with international partners in what is truly a global age. And of course, the UK benefits economically from hosting international students too.

Will Korea stand up for the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner?

2009-06-01T05:59:52+01:00

Today marks the first day of the Republic of Korea-ASEAN Summit in Jeju Island, just off the south coast of Korea. Leaders from the ten ASEAN countries are meeting with Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak to review their 20 years of official diplomatic relations and to strengthen existing ties.

I will be watching the proceedings of the Summit particularly closely, but not just because this is one of largest diplomatic summits ever hosted by Korea. As an ASEAN member, Burma’s leader, Prime Minister General Thein Sein, is attending the Summit, which coincides with the last day of the trial in Rangoon of opposition leader and Nobel laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi. Both Korea’s Foreign Minister and ASEAN leaders have already publicly expressed concern about the treatment of Suu Kyi, who was arrested on May 19 and put on trial following the intrusion of a US citizen into her home, where she was under house arrest. Her arrest came just over a week before she was due to be released from years of house arrest.

I sincerely hope Summit attendees will take the opportunity in Jeju of continuing to condemn her recent arrest and trial, and urge General Sein to step back from such counter-productive steps. It is important at this crucial time to keep the eyes of the international community focused on Burma and its human rights abuses.

The world’s public are also ramping up the pressure on Burma’s military leaders. Last week, a website was launched to campaign for her release. Huge numbers of the public are adding their messages of support, including many celebrities and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. You can read the messages of support, add your own and find out more about the campaign at www.64forSuu.org. One feature is that you can add your own 64-word message – something not only our Foreign Secretary, but also David Beckham has done. And so have I!

In addition, our Ambassador in Rangoon is writing a fascinating series of articles for The Guardian newspaper about the trial – really worth a look at http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2009/may/28/aung-san-suu-kyi-trial-ambassador.

(Photo: Demonstration for democracy in Burma, A peaceful demonstration in front of the Burmese Embassy in Seoul calling for the release of Burmese pro-democracy activist, Aung San Suu Kyi in 2008. )

Seoul is shocked - but not so much by the North

2009-05-27T09:09:37+01:00

Even though it was a Bank Holiday in London, it didn't seem anything like a holiday here. We first had the tragic death of former President Roh on the Saturday, and then the DPRK exploded a nuclear device on Monday morning, followed in the afternoon by three short-range missiles, with more missile tests subsequently.

As with messages expressing condolences for former President Roh, London was very quick to react to the nuclear test. Both the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary David Miliband very quickly issued statements condemning the test, and then our team in New York took part in the UN Security Council discussions and continue to work for a strong, unified international response. The FCO Minister, Bill Rammell, was in Hanoi at the time for the EU/ASEM meeting and so was able to speak to regional players there. He also phoned the DPRK Ambassador in London to convey our strong opposition to the test; he is also expected to call in the DPRK Ambassador when he returns to London to explain our position in person.

The entire international community appears united on the issue and is intent on sending a very clear message to Pyongyang. If the DPRK wants to play any part in international society, it cannot continue to pretend that only the US and the Republic of Korea are opposed to its nuclear plans. China and Russia are making their opposition clear as well. The EU has made a very strong statement of condemnation.

In Seoul itself, both these issues are of course getting enormous attention. But I would say that the average Korean is more concerned about the death of former President Roh than about North Korea. To some extent, the nuclear test and short-range missile firings are things they have seen before - and although Koreans know how serious these developments are, they don't have the same emotional resonance as the suicide of a former President. Looking at the long lines of people just outside our Embassy waiting to pay their respects at an altar set up outside the Doksu palace, it is clear that particularly young people feel the loss of President Roh very deeply and want to find ways to express their sorrow. We should remember that whatever the circumstances are that surround his death, President Roh was a generational figurehead for many and had been the democratically elected Head of State of a modern nation that is well respected around the world; it really is a sad loss.

In Remembrance of President Roh Moo-hyun

2009-05-25T03:29:49+01:00

I first heard about President Roh’s death when my wife telephoned me minutes after it was announced on Saturday morning. She was in Namdaemun market and she said an eerie quiet was descending over the entire market as people got messages on their cell phones and then rushed to watch the nearest TV. The sense of shock was almost palpable. Whatever problems he was facing, his apparent suicide (and the TV news on Saturday morning vacillated for some time as to how to describe it) left people stunned.

Both HM The Queen and Gordon Brown sent condolence messages quickly over the weekend. President Roh’s visit to London in 2004 was in fact the first ever State Visit by the President of the Republic of Korea to the UK and was a real (and overdue) milestone in the relationship between the two countries. For the Embassy as a whole, there was another personal feeling of loss since the President’s daughter, Jeong-yeon, worked here before her father was elected. Our hearts go out to the entire family.

(Photo: HM The Queen and former President Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 State Visit to the UK)

World’s Mayors Meet in Seoul to Tackle Climate Change

2009-05-20T07:56:30+01:00

Right now in Seoul, the City Government is hosting a meeting of Mayors on climate change, now known as the C40. The first meeting was held in London in 2005, the second in New York two years ago, and the third is going on now. Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, has been here for the meeting and came out a day in advance so that he could look at Seoul’s Olympic sites from 1988 and bang the drum for investment in London and for the Olympic and Paralympics Games of 2012.

Interesting to see how Boris recorded his visit on Twitter and through his new ‘phlogs’. I think he certainly found food for thought from the way Seoul has kept its Olympic sites alive and vibrant. The swimming pool was amazing. Both the 50 metre pool and the diving pool were simply packed – hundreds of swimmers doing laps – and apparently it’s like that all day from morn till late at night. There was a BBC London team filming him – worth a look at the coverage.

It was interesting to hear Bill Clinton give the keynote at the start of the C40 conference. Although Al Gore has become identified rather more with the climate change theme, Clinton was clearly just as passionate about it. As Boris said on his tweets, Clinton was very complimentary about some of the projects in London – and of course the whole idea of a conference like this is to exchange best practice among the cities.

Events like the C40 are important for showing that there are people around the world who are serious about the risks and opportunities presented by climate change. Bill Clinton particularly stressed the imperfections of the Kyoto Protocol and the need – as we get closer to the crucial UN meeting in Copenhagen in December – to work together to generate momentum for an ambitious agreement.

London Mayor Boris Johnson

A Carbon-Neutral Queen's Birthday Party

2009-05-19T02:00:40+01:00

It is customary around the world for Embassies to hold a grand annual event celebrating their national day. So the USA mark 4 July, France 14 July and so on. The United Kingdom celebrates Her Majesty’s Birthday and British diplomatic missions normally mark it in June to coincide with the celebrations in London where the highpoint is the Trooping of the Colour.

In most places and for most Embassies, the Queen’s Birthday Party has been an occasion to invite a wide range of important contacts for a suitably impressive affair. That has also been the practice here and generally we have held a large party on the lawn of the Residence, which anything up to 400 people attend.

This is just what we did last year, but I was not entirely sure it represented the best value for money for the UK taxpayer, nor indeed enabled us to fully welcome and thank our many and varied contacts. Even though 400 is a lot of people, inevitably there were still many important contacts who could not be invited, and with so many people at the party it was tough to do business with those we did invite. So this year, we have decided to go for a smaller affair in early June and to concentrate on the diplomatic corps and Korean foreign policy community – so guests from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, National Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee, relevant think tanks, and so on. We will try to ensure that our valued contacts from other areas are invited to other events more tailored to them as well. And that there continue to be opportunities for British Businesses and the wider British Community in Korea to enjoy our wonderful Residence and gardens.

But another factor I had in mind was a wish to be sure that events like this are consistent with our approach to climate change. And so this year’s event will – for the first time ever – be carbon neutral. Simply having a smaller event will mean a reduction in the carbon footprint of the event, and so too will holding it at lunchtime on the lawn, so not the same need for air conditioning and lighting that we’d need in the evening indoors. We’ve looked at the catering arrangements to reduce emissions there and, where possible, are using locally produced, in season produce. Of course, the waste from the event will be recycled. We have asked guests not to send floral tributes (quite a big thing in Korea) but instead to make a donation to charity. And we encourage guests to use public transport to travel to and from the event to make a significant saving in carbon emissions. We’re also using a guide from the Korean Ministry of the Environment for more ideas and to calculate what we need to purchase as offsets to make the event carbon neutral overall.

I hope we’ll be able to succeed in this – but still allow ourselves to throw a good party for Her Majesty.

A British activist for Korean liberty

2009-05-11T08:30:07+01:00

This week saw a commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the death of Ernest Bethell, a name all but unknown in his homeland, but truly revered in Korea. He was a British journalist who came to cover the Russo-Japanese War in 1904 for the Daily Chronicle and stayed on to found Korea’s first independent newspapers – the Daehan Maeil Shinbo and its English-language sibling the Korea Daily News. The role of a foreigner was crucial at the time since although Japan had established a protectorate over Korea and so controlled the press for the most part, Britons such as Bethell were subject to British law thanks to the then-common extraterritorial provisions of treaties between Korea and foreign powers. The Japanese therefore couldn’t stop his newspapers and the criticism of Japanese rule that was printed in them. The close relationship at the time between Japan and Britain, however, eventually meant that a British consular court did take action against him, although to my predecessor’s eternal credit (the British Consul-General at the time, Henry Cockburn) he left Korea soon after the case and resigned from the Foreign Service.

A lot of historical background, but the freedom of the press is far from just a historical issue. The ceremony I took part in to honour his memory was graced by memorial wreathes sent by the Korean President and Prime Minister and UN Secretary-General Ban. Even if Bethell is not much known back in Britain, he is certainly respected here as a true Korean patriot and a leader in Korea’s struggle for independence and for freedom of expression.

Visit by Rotherham Borough Council

2009-05-01T08:48:05+01:00

In many countries, there are plentiful civic linkages and partnerships with regular visits back and forth between the towns. But, not surprisingly, sheer distance between the UK and Korea means that there are very few such tie-ups between us. So it was nice to get a note from Denis MacShane, MP, telling me that the Borough Council in his constituency of Rotherham was sending a delegation to a city close to Seoul. I was able to have a long talk with them towards the end of their visit.

They had all found the visit truly worthwhile. As so often, they discovered many things to admire and would hope to emulate in Korea, but also found reasons to be proud of what they do back in Rotherham. I was able to point them towards the excellent Korean faculty nearby in the University of Sheffield, but we also hope that the connections made can lead to an increase in trade, investment and scientific links between Korea and Rotherham. We will be able to follow up with someone from our UK Trade and Investment team visiting them to get down into more detail.

It was a long way to come for these local representatives, but I think they are so wise to appreciate that although the answers to many problems can be found at home, the insights gained from looking outside can often make those answers easier to find. It’s also far from likely that the UK can pull itself out of the current economic crisis without exploiting our skills in international trade and investment. I’d be delighted to see more visits like this.

Hahoe remembers HM Queen Elizabeth

2009-04-27T09:01:59+01:00

In April 1999, Her Majesty’s birthday fell during her State Visit to Korea, and on that day, she visited the traditional Korean village of Hahoe, which is close to the city of Andong. The villagers are enormously grateful for this visit since it propelled their small village (population a little over 300) into something of an international spotlight. Since 1999, over 10 million tourists have visited Hahoe, giving it some real prosperity at a time when many villages – and Hahoe itself – find it hard to retain their younger generations, with smaller family sizes and the attractions of urban life.

I had never been to Hahoe before and I was delighted to be invited to attend the tenth anniversary celebrations of the visit last week. Hahoe’s distance from Seoul is no doubt part of the reason why it has kept its character, and it was almost a four-hour trip by train and car to get there: but well worth it. A really charming place although work has clearly been done to accommodate the touristic influx. But unlike most folk villages in Korea, this is not an artificial creation, but owes its continued existence in part to its remoteness, and in part to the fact that the Ryu clan regard it as their ancestral home, and that the Ryus are determined to keep it as their home. As was explained to me, they don’t keep their houses in the traditional way for tourists’ benefit, but because that’s the way they always have.

So a lovely day, but sadly for me I had to go straight to hospital when I got back to Seoul. I’d been in quite some discomfort, especially sitting on the floor over lunch, and apparently I am currently having an attack of bursitis in my hip. Since the life of a diplomat involves not just a lot of sitting at a desk, but also sitting at formal meals, speeches and the like, I hope it clears up quickly…