Welcome to 
The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Singapore!



Ambassador Mr OH Joon 

Welcome to the website of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea.

Korea and Singapore have enjoyed excellent bilateral relations since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1975.  The most recent exchange of high level visits includes Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s visit to Korea in June 2009, and Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s visit to Singapore in November 2009.  Economically, Singapore and Korea are among the top ten trading partners of each other.

In addition to these strong diplomatic and economic ties, mutual interest and cultural enthusiasm between our peoples are growing fast.  The number of Korean residents in Singapore has risen steadily over the years to reach 16,000.  Korean pop culture, commonly referred to as Hallyu, or the Korean wave, continues to increase in popularity in Singapore, with more and more people loving Korean dramas, films and music.

In 2010, we look forward to more events of importance for the two countries, such as Korea’s hosting of the G-20 Summit and Singapore’s Youth Olympic Games.  As the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Singapore, I am sure that the relations between our countries will become even more vibrant and fruitful through our engagement with each other.

I hope you will find our website useful in getting information on Korea and Korea-Singapore relations.  We always welcome your suggestions and feedback. 

Oh Joon 
Ambassador


- May, 2010 -


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The Straits Times

Jun 2, 2010

What S'pore, S. Korea can learn from each other 

By Oh Joon 

HALF a century ago, South Korea, emerging from the ashes of the Korean War, was one of the poorest nations in the world. In 1961, the Republic of Korea's per capita gross domestic product was a mere US$82.

In that year, I was attending a kindergarten affiliated with a Christian church in Seoul. Every day, we were given milk and cornbread from containers bearing the United Nations or US government emblems. Their images are still linked in my memory to the taste of warm milk.

From 1948 to 1995, Korea received a total of US$13 billion in foreign aid. Making good use of this assistance and a small accumulation of capital from exporting light industry goods, Koreans devoted themselves to economic development.

In 2007, Korea's per capita GDP passed US$20,000, making it the 14th largest economy in the world. Last year, it became the first recipient-turned-donor country by joining the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Development Assistance Committee.

In 1965, Singapore's per capita income was US$512. Though this was quite high among Asian economies in those days, the country's future was unclear. As the late Dr Goh Keng Swee once noted: 'Besides sand and granite, Singapore had no natural resources and the domestic market was too small to support import substitution manufacturing.'

Singapore might have taken a slightly different approach from Korea - taking more foreign direct investment than foreign aid - but Singaporeans now enjoy one of the highest per capita incomes in the world: US$37,600 in 2008.

Both Singapore and Korea have come a long way. Describing them as 'miracles' or 'dragons' has become a cliche. In both cases, their success has been attributed to excellence in human resources development, national governance and development strategies. The right combination of these attributes is said to have enabled the translation of national predicaments into motivations for growth. Nowhere was this clearer than in the resilience of both economies in the recent global economic crisis.

Where are our two countries heading? I believe both are at a critical stage, with their economies moving up the ladder of competitiveness to a more advanced phase of globalisation. Naturally, we are finding it increasingly difficult to pursue economic growth along traditional lines. While it is important to maintain our advantages in manufacturing and services, progress will not be achieved merely by concentrating on what has been our forte, nor by more investment in conventional factors of production.

To make another significant 'leap' forward, we need to re-examine the way we think and act. My view is that, more than ever before, it matters now how open and connected we are to the world and how much creativity and innovation we can bring to our productive efforts.

For Korea, Singapore can offer an example of the effect of economic openness and connectedness to the world. Its steadfast policy of opening up to multinational enterprises and foreign talent has been pivotal in building up its economy. At the same time, Singapore's 18 bilateral and regional free trade agreements, including one with Korea, has contributed substantially to its large trade volume.

Singapore, in turn, may want to take note of how Korea has been able to nurture competitiveness in areas requiring creativity. For example, Korea's pop culture, typically in the form of movies and pop songs, is growing in popularity in Asia and beyond. Last year alone, the revenue credited to the export of the 'Korean wave' totalled US$6 billion (S$8.5 billion).

There are several explanations for this phenomenon but I would like to attribute it to the expanded room, by the mid- 1990s, in Korean society, allowing for creativity to flourish. With social changes encouraging more creative minds, coupled with the explosive spread of information technology and the Internet, Korea has ended up with more 'crazy young people' who do not mind spending days and nights in studios and workshops, even when it is obvious there is not much immediate gain in what they are doing. Without such passion, Korea's advancement in pop culture, as well as in IT products such as mobile phones, or in cyber games, would not have been possible.

Today, both Singapore and Korea are turning their national spotlight on culture, arts and design. There is a growing awareness of the immense economic and social potential of what might be loosely called the 'creative industries'. Both governments have set out strategies to strengthen the sector. Development of the creative industries can have a positive impact on innovation in other areas. A variety of collaborations are under way between the two countries in this area, including between Singapore's Media Development Authority and the Korea Creative Content Agency.

Later this week, Korean President Lee Myung Bak will make his second visit to Singapore in eight months, during which he will have a bilateral meeting with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. This would be a timely opportunity for both countries to reaffirm their commitment to broadening cooperation and strengthening engagement between our peoples. Now is the time for us to further open our countries to mutual influences which are fertile and long-lasting.

The writer is the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Singapore.