AN ASEAN summit hosted by South Korea earlier this month will provide “new momentum” in relations with Myanmar, the South Korean ambassador, Mr Park Key-chong, said last week.

Mr Park was referring to a bilateral meeting that took place as part of the summit held on Jeju Island in early June to commemorate the 20th anniversary of South Korea’s dialogue partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

“I think the bilateral summit meeting on Jeju Island will provide a new momentum to promote bilateral relationships,” Mr Park said in an interview on June 16.

The bilateral summit had enabled both sides to discuss ways to improve cooperation, with the Myanmar side expressing interest in economic, technological and financial assistance, he said.

More concrete ways of continuing bilateral cooperation were likely to be discussed in the future, the ambassador said.

He said there had been a steady improvement in bilateral ties since South Korea and Myanmar established diplomatic relations in 1975, with the relationship focusing mainly on economic cooperation and cultural exchanges.

Mr Park said he was “optimistic” about prospects for a further expansion of investment, mainly because of Myanmar’s competitive advantage in labour costs against other countries in the region.

“More and more Korean people are visiting Myanmar to study investment opportunities” and are mainly attracted by the competitive advantage of labour costs compared to other countries in the region, he said.

Mr Park said he was aware that South Korean firms in China and Vietnam were paying workers about US$300 and $100 a month, respectively, adding that “obviously, some Korean business people find it difficult to do business at those wage rates”.

“So some labour intensive industries want to do business in Myanmar rather than China or Vietnam; the competitive advantages with the quality of labour and wage rates provides a competitive edge to Korean business people,” he said.

Labour intensive industries included those involved in the garment sector, which already account for about half of the South Korean companies in Myanmar.

Mr Park said there were about 100 South Korean companies operating in Myanmar, including those that involved 100 percent foreign direct investment, joint ventures or investments made through a Myanmar partner.

Daewoo Exploration and Production is the biggest single investor from South Korea, which overall ranks ninth among foreign countries investing in Myanmar, the ambassador said.

Mr Park said official South Korean figures show that the value of bilateral trade in calendar 2008 was $360.1 million, of which exports to Myanmar accounted for $243.8 million and imports were worth $116.3 million.

The figures show that the value of Myanmar exports to South Korea has doubled since 2005, when they were valued at $56.3 million. Imports over the same period have also doubled, from $120 million.

Turning to cultural understanding, Mr Park referred to the popularity of South Korean television dramas, which he said had even played a positive role in his position as an ambassador since taking up his posting just over two years ago.

“Korean TV dramas are popular with Myanmar people, the ambassador said.
“I wondered what makes Korean TV dramas so popular here and I came to the conclusion that it is because we share a long tradition as agricultural societies.”

Mr Park said agricultural societies placed great emphasis on family values and on showing respect to elders and on saving face.

As well as focusing on family values, another attraction of the television dramas was the quality of performances by actors and actresses and high production standards.

His favourite of the dramas screening on Myanmar television?

“I like ‘Jumong’, a historical drama focusing on one of the oldest Korean dynasties,” Mr Park said.