Background
of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement
The Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA)
has been actively negotiated for the past two years. However, it
is in reality an extension of the long history of trade negotiations
between the two countries. A good understanding of the history of
the FTA is vital to the development of related steps toward creating
economic benefits not just for Korea but also for the U.S. The FTA
is not an end in itself but a tool for mutual benefit. Looking back,
this reporter first wrote about an FTA between Korea and the United
States on November 6, 1984, in an article entitled "U.S. Bids
Free-Trade Accord with Korea." The U.S. proposal for an FTA
at this point was part of its external trade strategies to maintain
the dominion of "Great America," along with Section 301
of the U.S. Trade Act, promotion of the WTO system, etc.
Global Standard: A Twin to U.S. Rules
The present KORUS FTA is widely viewed as a practical
tool to enhance trade relations via tariff reductions and the lowering
of non-tariff barriers. Behind the pact is the fundamental concept
that the world should travel the path of global standards. However,
the de facto author of global standards is the United States. From
this perspective, it is not surprising that American trade negotiators
have consistently emphasized the adoption of global standards. Meanwhile,
the real power behind the push for global standards are U.S.-based
multinational companies, which have a network of connections and
influence with U.S. legislators and administration officials.
Leverage Against China
In the 1970s and 80s, the United States struggled
to defend its leadership of the global economy against a stiff Japanese
challenge. Now China is emerging as the most formidable threat to
U.S. economic dominance. The KORUS FTA is one of the basic U.S.
strategies in dealing with competition from China, seeing in Korea
a valuable partner in the booming East Asian economy. The bilateral
trade agreement could provide for greater U.S. access to East Asian
markets and create new opportunities for American businesses. At
the same time, Korea can capitalize on its geographical position
and other advantages as a hub of Northeast Asia. However, to do
this, it has to be mindful of its triangular relationship with Japan,
China and the United States.
Korean Content is One Thing, English is
Another
Communication has been critical to the advance
of human civilization throughout history. In attempting to write
a new chapter in history with the Korea-U.S. FTA, Koreans face a
decided communication barrier, more specifically an English language
barrier. Going "all-out" to learn English means losing
time in the study of other important and critical subjects. Furthermore,
due to differences in practices and culture, the direct translation
of Korean press materials into English many times results in a loss
of meaning and misunderstandings.
For example, during the recent FTA negotiations,
Korean government officials publicized the potential benefits of
the trade deal for domestic purposes. Their published comments were
literally translated into English as "only praise for the FTA."
A Korean press release is one thing and an English press release
is quite another.
Korea's Challenge in the Era of Googlization
The theme of the 2006 Davos Forum was that the
era of globalization is evolving into the era of googlization. Google
is recognized as one of the most influential phenomenons in the
global economy today. Google's advance should be understood not
only from its successful development of hardware-oriented computer
technology but also from its sophisticated culture-related software
approach. This has serious consequences for Korea because of the
significant distortions of Korean-language content associated with
Google's automated translation of search results. Lost in translation
has taken on a whole new meaning, subjecting Korean content, and
consequently its image, to sometimes misleading, nonsensical and
inaccurate translations.
English Content Standardization Strategy
With the inevitability of globalization and the
arrival of the FTA era, voices proposing that English be adopted
as the nation? official language are growing louder. But this is
not a practical solution. All Korean schoolchildren already receive
English education from an early age. But even with this familiarity
with the language, they remain woefully incapable of developing
adequate English content. Communication content is the fusion of
language capability, knowledge and experience. Therefore, Korea
must emphasize the skill to develop communication content rather
than just language capability. In this regard, it is desirable that
the government establish a Board of English Content Standardization
(BECS) to be responsible for devising solutions to English language
barriers in the FTA era.
Beyond Knowledge: A Wisdom Kingdom
As urged in the foregoing discussion, change
is necessary to overcome the English-language bottleneck to achieving
full integration into the global village. The current language disadvantage
can be used as momentum to realize Korea's potential to join the
leading countries of the world by turning the language barrier into
a cultural movement with the goal of creating a wisdom kingdom.
Some 200 years ago, King Chongchong led the Korean
version of a cultural renaissance, based on the spirit of "ongojisin"(è®Íºò±ãæ),
learning from history and creating a new future, which is similar
in concept to value networking in today's digital era. "ongojisin"
was facilitated by the establishment of Kyujang-gak, a history and
policy research center, which today is the library of Seoul National
University. We need to learn from the pages of history in establishing
BECS as a data and research center along the lines of the Kyujang-gak.
This body would be part of a comprehensive content-oriented policy
to develop the communication content industry into a next-generation
growth engine in the age of the Korea-U.S. FTA. The communication
content industry would generate an enormous number of job opportunities
as a knowledge industry that combines language capability, writing
skills, related experience, knowledge, information, etc. This new
industry would provide the means to overcome language barriers,
build a patented Korean wisdom kingdom and surpass the U.S.-originated
knowledge society.
Leadership Tailored to Need in the FTA
Era
In Korea's modern history, national leaders have
been elected to address the dominant issue of the time - Korea's
presidents in recent years have championed freedom fighters, democracy
and the Internet. The next cause could very well be free trade agreements.
The individual elected to be Korea's president in 2008 should be
capable of utilizing FTAs to build Korea into a wisdom kingdom.
He or she should take on the mission of reviving King Chongchong's
ongojisin, maintaining the spirit of President Roh Moo-hyun's innovation
spirit, updating Park Chung-Hee's outward-looking policy, reprising
King Sejong's creativity and benchmarking King Kwagato, who oversaw
the expansion of Korea's kingdom to an area larger than China today.
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