Martin Uden

A weekend expedition to old UK naval graves

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.

Posted at 11:03 28 October 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[1]

EU/Korea Free Trade Agreement

 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.

Posted at 16:21 15 July 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[2]

Freedom of Expression in the Digital Age

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…

Posted at 17:17 06 July 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[2]

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

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.  

Posted at 13:59 01 June 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[0]

Seoul is shocked - but not so much by the North

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.

Posted at 17:09 27 May 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[5]

One step closer to London

This week, we have a guest blog from Jeehyun Ahn, a Press and Public Affairs Officer at the British Embassy Seoul.  Jeehyun is blogging about her trip to London to work as a Media Delegation Liaison Officer at the London Summit.

One step closer to London

I work for the British Embassy in Seoul as a Press and Public Affairs Officer and I was sent to the London Summit to work as a Media Delegation Liaison Officer. My job at the Summit was to work with the FCO press department to assist the official media delegation from the Republic of Korea.

On 1st April, the team of 25 Media Delegation Officers, including myself, had a briefing from the FCO and a walk-through of the Media Centre at the Excel Centre. I was surprised to see just how tight the security was. Police had set up barricades and checkpoints within an 800 metre radius of the ExCel Centre and anyone without a pass was not allowed in. That night, all the Media Delegation Officers worked through the night in preparation for the next day!

At 6 am, the Summit itself began! I met the Korean delegation at 6 am at the Accreditation and Security point and escorted them to the Media Centre. After the VVIPs had arrived, the Media Centre where I was based started getting extremely busy. I had to assist all the Korean media with their requests and escort them to numerous media events. Over the course of the day, I was lucky enough to be involved in the bilateral meeting between US President Obama and Korean President Lee Myung-bak, an interview with Bob Geldof and the press conference of Prime Minister Gordon Brown. At the beginning, it was incredibly busy and slightly stressful; unexpected things happened throughout the day and we had to change our plans at the last minute. But everything turned out to be a real success at the end...

I found my experience at the Summit enjoyable and rewarding. Apart from the fact that I shared the most exciting three days in my entire life with good friends from 25 different countries, I also now feel closer to London and the FCO.

Posted at 17:51 09 April 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[0]

DPRK Rocket Launch

It was a tense weekend for Embassy staff as we waited for the DPRK to launch their satellite.  I was at the airport on Saturday morning waiting to welcome President Lee Myung-bak back from London when the DPRK’s Korean Central News Agency announced that all the preparations were complete for the launch.   But instead of launching then, it was Sunday before the launch went ahead. 

We had already discussed the proposed launch with the Korean government here at the highest levels: in a bilateral meeting with President Lee in London last week, Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke of the UK’s serious concerns over any launch by the DPRK. Regardless of whether the rocket carried a satellite or not, such a launch would be a clear breach of UN Security Council Resolution 1718, as it contributed directly to a ballistic missile programme.

When the launch did take place on Sunday, Foreign Secretary David Miliband released a statement  immediately condemning the launch, and colleagues in New York reacted to the Japanese request for a meeting of the UN Security Council.  Here in Seoul, we made sure of our facts, checked with various contacts and sent a short report to London.  For now, the main focus of action now is going to be in New York, but we will also need to continue to monitor and report local reactions here.

Posted at 17:22 06 April 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[0]

Guest Blogger-Peter Hughes, British Ambassador to North Korea

I am delighted to have been asked to contribute a few paragraphs about Pyongyang to Martin Uden's blog while he is away taking a well earned break.

Spring seems to have arrived in Pyongyang, much the same as I suppose it has in Seoul. The weather during the weekend was relatively warm and sunny for the elections of  the 12th Supreme People's Assembly that took place on Sunday 8 March. There was a very festive atmosphere throughout the city. Many people were walking to or from the polling stations, or thronging the parks to have picnics or just stroll. Most of the ladies were dressed in the colourful traditional hanguk pokshik and the men in their best suits. Outside the central polling stations there were bands playing and people dancing and singing to entertain the queues of voters waiting patiently to select their representatives in the country's unicameral legislature. The booths selling drinks and snacks were very popular with the crowds and everyone seemed to be having a good time. The list of successful candidates was published on Monday. There was a reported turn-out of over 99% of the voters and all the candidates, including Kim Jong Il, were elected with 100% approval. In a few weeks time the Supreme People's Assembly will open for business which will include voting for the Chairman of the National Defence Committee (presently Kim Jong Il), and drawing up the budget for the coming financial year.

The city has returned to normal since the weekend, and people are going about their business much as they usually do. However, the sunny weather and warmer temperatures have encouraged the parks and roadside verges to begin turning green again after the long winter. During the afternoons, long columns of schoolchildren can be seen marching through the streets in their blue uniforms with red neckerchiefs, carrying red banners and flags that encourage the people to launch a "general offensive in response to the Party's call to make a historic leap on all fronts, and sounding the advance for opening the gate to a strong, powerful and prosperous nation in 2012, the centenary of the birth of the Great Eternal Leader Kim Il Sung". The children sing songs and chant slogans as they either walk gaily hand in hand, or march solemnly by.

There has been a lot of activity preparing the small plots of land around blocks of apartments for sowing a spring crop of vegetables and herbs, and last week the government announced a nationwide 'reforestation' programme under which millions of saplings are to be planted throughout the country. The people in Pyongyang have taken this programme very seriously and have planted young trees every six metres or so along all the pavements, and within the apartment complexes. Every evening people can be seen tending the saplings they put into the ground just a few days ago, while at intervals ladies are sitting selling cigarettes or sweets from small tables they have set up by the roadside.

Posted at 15:28 13 March 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[29]

A break from politics

This weekend saw a trip out of Seoul, down to Geoje island – just off the south coast of Korea, oddly enough almost exactly the same size as the Isle of Wight.  Geoje, however, is home to a vibrant shipbuilding industry with two large shipyards – Samsung and DSME (Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering) – and some smaller ones.  This in turn means a fair-sized population of engineers and surveyors overseeing some of the work.  Lloyd’s Register gets a good part of this work, and in keeping with a long engineering and shipbuilding tradition a good number of the employees are Scots, which means a good reason to celebrate there the 250th anniversary of the birth of Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns.  My wife and I had duly celebrated the anniversary the previous week in Seoul, and this time we went down to Geoje by bus, a journey a bit over four hours. In fact there were more people celebrating Burns’ Night in Geoje than there had been in Seoul, but both were excellent parties.

One of the abiding fascinations of bus and train rides in Korea is the ever-present reminders of the enormous population density.  The UK always seems pretty packed, and at 246 people per sq km, it’s second only to the Netherlands in European countries (excluding city states and islands) but South Korea, with a high proportion of its land too mountainous for habitation, has 498 per sq km.  You’re hardly ever out of sight of human habitation.  But aside from signs of the living, in Korea you’re also hardly ever out of sight of signs of the dead.  Almost every hill (and there are really a lot of them in Korea) has one or more grave mounds, taking over the hills as soon as the gradient or the soil makes cultivation impossible.  I have taken a photo shot of some of the burial mounds from one of the coach rest stops. You’ll see that the graves are not walled away and often forgotten as they are in the West, but rather are an ever-present reminder of ancestors and continuity.

Posted at 15:50 09 February 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[0]

Calling for Young Climate Change Ambassadors!

The British Embassy and British Council have launched a campaign to recruit Young Climate Change Ambassadors to work with us to encourage Koreans to take an active role to tackle climate change. The successful young ambassadors will be sent to Japan to take part in training on how to develop solutions to the problem of climate change. They will also work on British Embassy-funded projects to mobilise Korean students to 'go green' throughout 2009.

I'm delighted to say that Dr Yi So-yeon, the Korean government's own Green Ambassador, will be joining me on the judging panel of this competition. We also have the support of UNEP, Aveda Korea and Korea's Ministry of the Environment. We all share a commitment to preventing dangerous climate change, one of the most serious challenges faced by our planet this century, and I am very much looking forward to working with our Young Green Ambassadors in 2009.

2009 is a crucial year for us ahead of the UN Copenhagen Climate Conference in December. This is the year when we need to agree an ambitious, binding international deal on climate change so that we stand a chance of tackling the threat that it presents to our world. If we don't seize this opportunity to settle on an effective global response to the prospect of accelerating climate change, the problem may soon run out of control, with disastrous consequences.

Posted at 16:56 22 January 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[1]

"Blood and Bamboo"

A bit unusual to do a book review in my blog, but I received a copy of James Church’s latest Inspector O novel, “Blood and Bamboo,” before Christmas and have only just finished it.  Church is apparently a “former Western intelligence officer” – and I can honestly say that’s all I know about his identity.  

This is his third mystery about a North Korean police inspector, but this is the first I’ve read.  I’m told that this isn’t a bad place to start, since chronologically this one is set back in the 90s during the severe famine that hit North Korea and so gives some background to the other stories.  The Inspector is sent to various places to piece together a mystery surrounding the murder of the wife of a North Korean diplomat.  A lot of the plot takes place in Geneva, centring on negotiations then going on between the DPRK and the USA on missile proliferation. The image of the leader of the DPRK negotiations trying to find anybody in his team who was awake and listening to a particularly tedious part of the talks is all too realistic.  But what impressed me most about the book was just how credible a picture it painted of Pyongyang and the grim struggle for survival that must have been the reality of North Korea during the 90s.

I'd be very interested in your thoughts about the book, or Church's other two novels.  Especially if you have been to North Korea, do they strike you as realistic, or should we just take them as decent thrillers instead of thinking we are learning anything about Pyongyang from them?

Posted at 04:52 16 January 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[1]

2009 workplan

It’s never a bad thing at the beginning of a new year to look at hopes and fears for the next 12 months.  Perhaps all the more so when times are quite as uncertain as they are now.  From the Embassy’s point of view, I’d pick out three issues right now – the financial crisis, climate change and the EU/Korea FTA.

The crisis is having enormous effects on the economies of both the UK and Korea.  That in itself is cause enough for the Embassy to have it as the highest priority, but the fact that the UK currently chairs the G20 process and the Republic of Korea will do so in 2010 means that the two countries will be working together on an important part of the international response to the crisis.  Already we have had senior visits between London and Seoul to coordinate positions, and there are bound to be more before the London Summit on 2 April, which President Lee is planning to attend.

Climate Change has been a key issue for the Embassy since 2007. 2009 will be crucial for international and Korean efforts to avoid its catastrophic effects.  After a fine start with encouraging announcements coming out of the Korean government (above all, building on the President’s vision of a low carbon, green growth economy), we are promised in 2009 a clear target for Korea’s planned greenhouse gas reductions.  I look forward to seeing good policies emerge that will show a clear commitment to delivering this vision. 

In addition, the international process to negotiate a successor to the Kyoto protocol reaches a conclusion in Copenhagen in December.  Lord Stern, author of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, has called it the most important international meeting since World War II.  As such we should all feel a sense of responsibility in ensuring a comprehensive global agreement is reached.  We will be working through the year to encourage bold ambition on the part of the Korean government.

The last issue by contrast may sound almost parochial. But if we can achieve a successful conclusion to the EU/Korea FTA negotiations in the next few weeks, as both sides have indicated they want to, it would be an important signal that the EU and Korea remain determined to reject any calls for protectionism and instead are going to open up their markets to each other. 

As usual, some of the most important issues have been left till last, so we can’t guarantee success in this ambitious timeframe, but, especially for trade and investment flows between the UK and Korea, it could be a tremendous shot in the arm and should open up opportunities of mutual benefit.  That will be all the more important as we try to overcome the financial crisis.

Posted at 22:03 08 January 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[0]