With Neither Pay Nor Privileges, Honorary Consuls Serve Korea
[Diplomatic News]
Donga.com (Seoul, Korea)
JULY 29, 2005
by Ki-Hyun Kim ([email protected])
Last February, three Korean men who were studying in Saint Petersburg,
the second largest city in Russia, were seriously beaten by Russian
ultra-rightist skinheads. Even though this incident needed the prompt
action of the Korean embassy in Russia located in Moscow, diplomatic
officials who were in charge of this were not able to reach them. This
is Kim Gi-eum (Kim Alexander), a Korean living in Russia, who rushed to
the scene and handled the aftermath of the incident. Kim is an honorary
consul of Korea
Honorary consuls’ passion for their work is no less than that of
professional diplomats. There are a total of 122 who have been appointed
as honorary consuls by the Korean government. They have no pay and no
privilege as consuls because their positions are honorary. Despite this,
whenever incidents take place, honorary consuls rush to the scene first.
They don’t even hesitate to spend their own money and their own time.
We can say they play a spearheading role in diplomacy. As of September
of 2004, there are 186 countries which have diplomatic ties with Korea.
However, there are only 130 embassies and consulate generals in 95
countries due to financial pressures and a manpower shortage. Even
though nearby legations handle the work of areas that have no legations,
diplomatic activities often face difficulties, and nobody knows when
accidents related to Korea and its people take place. Because of this,
the Korean government has appointed honorary consuls to countries or
cities which have no legations.
Walking along Bachranyan Street in downtown Yerevan, the capital city of
Armenia, a two-story stone building hanging the national flag of Korea,
the Taegeukgi, is easily noticeable. The building has a board in front
of door bearing the words `Korean Consulate’ written in Korean,
Armenian, and English.
Armen Abramin, who was appointed as honorary consul last November, has
used this building as a legation without financial support from the
Korean government. He always hangs the Taegeukgi on his car, which has
made the Armenian people aware of Korea even though there are only four
Koreans living in Armenia.
Abramin’s passion for his work as an honorary consul was confirmed at
the opening ceremony of the legation, in which he invited famous figures
from Korea to Yerevan through a chartered plane flying from Moscow to
Yerevan. His elder brother, Ara Abramin, president of the Concorde Group
in Russia, who serves as the vice president of the association for
Korea-Russia friendship, is also active in enhancing friendship between
the two countries.
However, Abramin expressed regret at the little progress made in the
relationship between the two countries. He recently attempted to buy a
sport utility vehicle (SUV) made in Korea, but he was not able to find
it and bought a vehicle made in Japan. Saying, `I am an honorary consul
of Korea. Now, I am driving a Japanese car. I hate to do this,’ Abramin
called for Korean companies to make inroads into the Armenian market and
added, `I will do anything to help them do business here without
difficulties.’
On the other hand, in Azerbaijan, a neighboring country of Armenia,
which was recently hit by an oil field development boom in the Caspian
Sea, Suleyeman Ivrahimov, AB Standard vice-chairman, was appointed as an
honorary consul of Korea last May.
Suleyeman Ivrahimov, who once worked as a diplomat for the former Soviet
Union and is running businesses there, had no connection with Korea
before and has never been to Korea. What made him interested in Korea
was the persuasion of his friend, Emlar Mammadyarov, Minister of Foreign
Affairs of Azerbaijan, who visited Korea last January. Minister Emlar
Mammadyarov introduced him to the position of an honorary consul of
Korea for the first time.
Ivrahimov, who kept paying keen attention to the Far East Asian region
that was showing rapid progress, willingly accepted the suggestion
because he believed that the relationship between the two countries,
even though it remained at an embryonic stage, will make great strides
forward in the near future.
Despite his origins as a member of a Shiite Islamic family, Vrahimov
began studying Korea in order to understand a culture that he has never
been exposed to. Last month, he visited a Korean culture exhibition held
in Baku and received a strong impression on Korean fine arts. He said,
`I think I tend to feel more intimacy with the Korean people than
Western people,’ adding, `Let me schedule my first visit to Korea.’