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South Korea: Wired for communication, tied to Australia

A wet and dreary day in Seoul but it fails to dampen our mood. It is the first full day of our exchange so naturally we are excited. Monday is the most formal day for our programming of events, so its suits and ties and a half inch thick stack of business cards ready to swap.

After a quick run down of the week's program, we cross the road to the HQ of the Korean Press Foundation.

The KPF's Kim Young-Ju and Baek Minsoo take us through an overview of the Korean media scene. There are 182 daily newspapers in South Korea, including 11 national titles. There are 1231 weekly newspapers. In terms of broadcast media, there are four public TV channels, 11 private channels, 21 radio stations and 180 pay TV channels.

IN SEARCH OF AN UNDERSTANDING OF SOUTH KOREA

Our hosts tell us Korea is the most wired country in the world (coincidentally it was announced Korea wants to be the first country to roll out 5G wireless technology which means speeds of 100 gigabits per second - or movies downloaded within seconds). This has seen younger people consume their media through tablets and smart phones, although traditional papers have establised a strong online presence.


South Korea is covered by 182 daily newspapers and more than 1000 weekly newspapers.


A major topic of discussion was reporting of North Korea. South Korea's culture of free speech means media can report on matters freely and do not have to be propagandists. However it is illegal to report something that is factually incorrect about the dispute. Given the isolation of the Hermit Kingdom, South Korean reporters are often left relying on pofficial statements from the regime and international media reports to get an idea of what is going on in North Korea.

After lunch our next appointment is with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Suh Jeong-in, the Director-general South Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau, gave an interview about the relationship with Australia.

It is a country close to Jeong-in's heart. He spent a two year stint in Canberra as a diplomat and his son is studying in Melbourne. Jeong-in told us Australia is held in high regard in South Korea because of our troops involvement in the war.


North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Issues regarding North Korea can be reported, but there are restrictions on South Korean media. Picture: Reuters


That relationship had become even stronger over time because of business ties. Last year South Korea and Australia agreed to what is known in diplomatic parlance as 2+2 meetings, where the foreign and the defence ministers from both countries hold annual meetings similar to how we do with the AUSMIN talks with the US.

Only the US has a similar relationship with South Korea. Jeong-in was also very positive about the benefits of the Free Trade Agreement, which is yet to be ratified by the Korean National Assembly. There was also discussion about North Korea and the prospect of reunification.

Our final meeting was with Australian ambassador Bill Patterson and senior embassy staff. Mr Patterson explained that the relationship with South Korea was least understood of our major relationships. He was positive about the FTA's ratification and was confident the Abbott Government's New Colombo Plan would see more Australians choose to study in South Korea.

Finally, I thought I would share some food porn. We had Korean shabu shabu for dinner, which is basically a delicious and filling hotpot of beef, mushrooms and greens cooked in front of you. As you can see, more mushrooms than a Grateful Dead concert.

Andrew Tillett is in Korea for the Walkley Foundation as part of the 2014 Australian Journalists Exchange sponsored by the Australia Korea Foundation and the Korean Press Foundation.


Shabu Shabu, plenty on the menu. Picture: Andrew Tillett/The West Australian