Due to the great distance between Latin America and Korea, one would have guessed that diplomatic relationships between these areas have only been established fairly recently. But would you ever have guessed that Chile was the first country to sign a Free Trade Agreement with The Republic of Korea? As a matter of fact, Korea and Chile first established diplomatic relationships in 1962 – making 2022 the 60th anniversary of the establishment of these ties.

In order to celebrate this exceptional occasion, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of both Korea and Chile, the University of Chile, and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Chile organized the international seminar “Democratic Dialogue Between Korea and Chile.” The event took place on the past 6th of September, with multiple guests from the Busan University of Foreign Studies, Kyunghee University, and the University of Santiago. Moreover, we had a special representative from Jeju National University: Professor Kang Kyeong-Hee.

Professor Kang currently teaches at the Political Science and Diplomacy Department, and her main field of interest is Latin American regional studies. After living in Mexico for a couple of years, she got a Ph.D. from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in the same field. Thus, her expertise ranges from International Development Cooperation, Women’s issues, and Colonialism from both the perspective of South Korea and Latin America.

Her insight was important during the first panel of the seminar. The topic of discussion was ‘Transition and democracy in Korea and Chile,’ as both countries share a short history of being involved in democracy. Professor Kang presented the process of building democracy in Korea: from the fight against dictatorship and the significance of the year 1987 to the empowerment of the civil society and the current problems that Korean democracy face. On the other hand, Chile’s ambassador, Fernando Reyes Matta brought to light Chile’s side of the story, as it shared many similarities to Korea’s history. In 1989 Chile celebrated its first democratic elections after the ending of the military dictatorship.

The second panel addressed the 60 years of bilateral relations between the countries, and how diplomacy should promote collaboration in new fields such as the digital economy and green energy. Finally, the Third panel dealt with future challenges that these countries could collaborate in, such as fields like energy and food.

This democratic exchange is proof that Korea and Latin America share deeper political, historical, and cultural ties. Valuable people like Professor Kang promote Global Citizenship, allowing people from different cultures or countries to establish long-lasting friendships.