The Sunday Mail
Kuda Bwititi Diplomatic Brief
Zimbabwe and South Korea are celebrating 25 years of diplomatic relations this year and the South Korean Embassy in Harare recently held a musical concert to commemorate the silver jubilee. The Sunday Mail Chief Reporter Kuda Bwititi spoke to South Korean Ambassador to Zimbabwe, His Excellency Cho Jaichel, to gauge the current state of relations between Harare and Seoul.
Question: Zimbabwe and South Korea are celebrating 25 years of diplomatic relations. Can you unpack for us the major highlights of relations between the two countries over the past two decades?
Answer: The 25 years are not too long compared to other countries; the reason was that North Korea entered Zimbabwe earlier than us. Because of our differences with North Korea, my country was late in setting up diplomatic relations. But during these 25 years, my country has tried to enhance diplomatic co-operation between the two countries at government level and people-to-people level.
Q: You recently held a concert to celebrate the milestone. What was its significance?
A: The concert was very symbolic. I deliberately chose the group “Beautiful Mind Charity” from Korea to perform because they are very special and they symbolise a lot of great things. The name itself “Beautiful Mind” symbolises the intention that we have for our relations with Zimbabwe. The essence of my mission is to build beautiful and harmonious relations with Zimbabwe. The arts and entertainment sector is very important in our relations and I am happy that there are currently three Korean dramas that are showing on ZTV.
The “Beautiful Mind” group was led by Kim Kyeongmin on the piano. He has a beautiful story in that although he is physically disabled, he is an internationally renowned pianist who defied the odds to make a name for himself globally.
He is a character who has a strong will to survive and succeed. He has overcome his physical handicap and that element of strong will is what I wanted to share with the Zimbabwean people; that despite your current economic challenges, you should have a strong will to succeed. I believe Zimbabwe has strong potential but the people need to have a strong will and unity to succeed. Only Zimbabweans can make their country better.
Q: What lessons can Zimbabwe learn from South Korea given that your country emerged from being a poor country to an economic powerhouse?
A: During the Korean War in the 1950s, we had total destruction. We had to develop from the ashes. My country has been trying to share our experience with developing countries. I wanted, through this concert, to share our mind and give Zimbabwe some inspiration. When a country wants to develop, the precondition is that they should have a vision and strong belief that the future will be bright.
They should understand that in the long run they will succeed. All Zimbabwean people should have hope in the future and believe in their hope. Zimbabwe is experiencing a transition period, which is a very important phase. Koreans also experienced the same and in our case, there was a strong belief that the future would be bright.
We underwent economic reform and it is encouraging that Zimbabwe’s leaders are also speaking the language of reform. Every country has ups and downs. My strong belief is that Zimbabwe will overcome these challenges.
Q: What are the major areas of socio-economic cooperation between the two countries?
A: The economic co-operation is not too big, but it is increasing. More and more tourists are coming to Zimbabwe from South Korea, which is a good sign. Data from the tourism office of Zimbabwe shows that more than 33 000 Koreans visited Zimbabwe, in particular Victoria Falls, in 2018.This is a significant number and our plan is to increase the numbers and increase interest in Zimbabwe among Koreans back home.
Whenever Koreans visit Zimbabwe, they are moved by the hospitality, kindness and friendly nature of Zimbabweans. Also South Korea has adopted the free-market system and this gives a chance for Korean companies that are doing well to freely come to Zimbabwe.
I am playing my role in encouraging them to invest in Zimbabwe and the signs are encouraging. For the last three years, my Government has donated US$6 million for an ICT programme for three countries, which are Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Mozambique. This project is being conducted in conjunction with Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) and is contributing to ICT development.
I have visited many areas around the country such as Harare, Bulawayo and Masvingo, where this ICT project is being implemented, and it is yielding positive results. All the money for this project came from the Korean government. Next year, we are going to have a new project with Unicef (United National Children’s Fund) to help Zimbabwe in the area of health, particularly HIV.
Through the twinning agreement between Gyeongsangnam-do province and Mashonaland Central, a Saemaul Undong Village has been built in Bindura for skills transfer, especially in agriculture.
We know how much agriculture means to Zimbabwe and the effort being directed towards agricultural development. Korea is determined to share its agricultural experience. Korea has a population of 50 million people and only a quarter of land that Zimbabwe has, yet it is able to feed itself.
Zimbabwe should develop its agricultural productivity and Korea is keen to share its experience. In 2016, the Rural Development Administration, under the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Korea, established the Korea International Programme on Agriculture (KOPIA) Zimbabwe Centre.
The aim of KOPIA-Zimbabwe is to spread agricultural techniques among farmers, to increase productivity, increase income and improve the lives of small-scale farmers. Projects being implemented in the country like the chicken rearing and egg production project have increased egg production by 78 percent.
The potato-growing project has increased production by 50 percent and also the small grains that have increased production by 50 percent. Since KOPIA-Zimbabwe Centre was established, 20 Zimbabwean experts have been invited by the Rural Development Administration for skills transfer, and as an ongoing programme, the numbers are set to increase.
We also have a number of civil society organisations that have a presence in many areas around the country. The population of Koreans in Zimbabwe is very small, only about a 100, officially, but they have managed to do a lot. For example, there are 50 boreholes around Zimbabwe which have been built through Korea-funded projects.
Zimbabwean sculptors are also becoming increasingly aware of the Korean market. I know of more than eight sculptors that were recently sold to Korea from Zimbabwe. So these are Shona exhibitions that are running in Korean galleries and we want more of this to happen.
Q: What are the statistics of trade between the two countries and what are potential areas for expansion?
A: The trade is still very small and our last statistics for the period January to November 2017 recorded trade figures of US$34 million. Major products exported to Korea from Zimbabwe include tobacco, salt, plastic, trees and cement. Trade with Zimbabwe is very small considering the fact that Korea’s trade with other countries is over US$1 trillion.
One of the reasons is the distance between the two countries. Korea is very far from Zimbabwe. We are looking at ways of increasing trade with Zimbabwe because other Sadc countries such as South Africa and Angola have huge volumes of trade with Korea.
Q: What advice would you give to Zimbabwe for the country to enhance economic cooperation with South Korea?
A: I think the “Zimbabwe is Open for Business” message is very good. You should also look at improving your rankings on the ease of doing business ranking. It will be good for Zimbabwe to improve its ranking quickly.
Q: What plans are in place to enhance people-to-people exchanges between Harare and Seoul?
A: Every year, our government provides funding for scholarships to Zimbabweans. The alumni of Zimbabweans who have studied in Korea on government programmes currently has over 300 members. They are also under the Korea International Corporation Agency (KOICA) alumni, which holds several events around the year for interaction and also for charity.
My country is inviting Government officials and students to study in Korea. I think it’s a good sign that my countrymen have a big belief in the future of your country. Next month, there is going to be Korea-Africa Youth Camp and from Zimbabwe, some young boys and girls from several local schools will 0attend.
Q: Your parting words Ambassador?
A: I have been here for just over two years and I have made many friends. One of my friends is Alick Macheso, and I have also fallen in love with the Zimbabwe Warriors football team. Last time I wrote a column in The Herald to wish the Warriors well and they won the Cosafa Cup.
Maybe if I had written another column your country would have done better at the Africa Cup of Nations (chuckles). On a serious note, I believe there are many other areas where we can cooperate and I look forward to increasing my country’s friendship with Zimbabwe.
