Page 67 - AEI Insights 2020 - Vol. 6, Issue 1

Rosland, 2020

The first consideration is scope of influence. In the past, the influence of Korea in ASEAN or
vice versa reached out to limited audiences on certain fields only. For instance, people in
ASEAN countries usually associate Korea with popular culture such as K-drama, the famous
‘Winter Sonata’ story or K-pop, ‘Gangnam Style’ song. On the other hand, people in ROK
associate the term ‘Southeast Asia’ with multicultural, ethnicity, and perceiving ASEAN in
distinct context. Therefore, it is important to create policies that promote ASEAN-ROK in a
larger scope. Take sport as an example, it may serve as one target for additional attention.

The second suggestion to consider is reciprocity. Compared to the perception of and affection
for Korean culture of ASEAN, Korean’s knowledge and attention to the culture of ASEAN is
relatively lower. In future, this imbalance should be addressed to achieve reciprocity. Southeast
Asia as a region owns not only splendid traditional culture, such as Angkor Wat in Indonesia
and Borobudur in Indonesia, but also showcases a great deal of exotic intangible cultural
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heritage as listed by UNESCO, such as Wayang , Batik , Sbek Thom and Nhã nhac .
However, many Koreans have little knowledge about this cultural heritage; not because these
products are not attractive, but rather few opportunities are provided for them to engage with
such things. Therefore, it is important to provide an institution that introduces and teaches
ASEAN cultures and languages as well as the concept behind ASEAN itself to Koreans.
Similarly, Korean Culture Centers should be established in several ASEAN countries. For
example, Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) in Malaysia operates to promote ROK heritage
and tourism information. Likewise, AKC operated in Seoul does the same promotional efforts
on ASEAN. Initial step towards this goal is the establishment of ASEAN Culture House in
Busan in 2017 during ASEAN-Korea Cultural Exchange Year. This shows the importance of
assessing the past and current development of socio-cultural cooperation between ASEAN-
ROK.
The final point to be taken into account is sustainability. Large eye-catching events and
exhibition are good ways to introduce both ASEAN-ROK culture to the people. However, if
these remain only as one-time events, their significance will have limitation in the long run.
AKC have conducted various events starting from school children to youth and adults. Long-
term projects should be continued rather that one-off events. For example, the establishment of
‘ASEAN and Korea’ modules in prestigious universities of ASEAN and Korea would assist
students in both parties to better understand one another.

Undeniably, ASEAN-ROK have been good partners to each other for almost thirty decades.
However, both sides need to maintain their efforts to strengthen this friendship in the future.
Governments have played a pivotal role in establishing and facilitating the friendship between
ASEAN-ROK but it is the people of these regions who must encourage the friendship to
flourish and thrive. It is wise to learn that the socio-cultural element should not disregard as
additional or minor element in ASEAN-ROK relationship. This partnership is built on the
sharing of same history and tradition and can be developed further for stronger and longer ties.

Acknowledgement

The paper acknowledges the support of the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence project (Project
Number: 586907- EPP-1-2017-1-MY-EPPJMO-CoE). The article is part of the project paper
written by the author for International Masters in ASEAN Studies, University of Malaya.

39 Shadow puppet
40 Wax-resist dying technique for making clothes
41 Shadow Theater
42 Court music

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