First, please tell us about The New Zealand Herald and what you do there.

The New Zealand Herald is the largest newspaper in New Zealand, which is based in Oakland. I work as a senior reporter covering ethnic minorities, immigrants, and foreign students. Korea is the second fastest growing ethnic community and also the second largest international education market in New Zealand. Since the influence of Korea has been steadily growing in New Zealand, I have developed a keen interest in this country. This is my first visit to Korea and it is very important because this is a great opportunity for me to personally experience and understand Korea, after only knowing about the country from my contacts with Korean immigrants in New Zealand.

What did you learn about Korea from the Koreans you knew in New Zealand?

A. Korean parents make great sacrifices for the education of their children. This is a unique and strong impression that I have about Koreans. As a matter of fact, a large number of Korean students who come to New Zealand for education are quite young in age. Korean parents hold tight to a hopeful prospect that if their children study in a foreign country at a young age, they will be able to assimilate Western culture and language more easily and more quickly, and stand a better chance of getting a good job in the future.

However, ironically enough, a considerable number of Korean students, who have been brought up in an open, Western environment for several years, face a major hurdle in adapting themselves to their own society when they return home and seek employment. In addition, families with their children studying abroad must endure the hardship of being separated from each other for lengthy periods of time. I was much surprised to see how Koreans face these hardships and sacrifice so much for their children’s English education.

As a Singaporean, did you experience any kind of culture shock upon your arrival in New Zealand?

For the first few years, I had a really difficult time settling into New Zealand. Despite my experience as a senior reporter at a Singaporean newspaper, I had to begin anew with delivering newspaper in order to become a staff reporter in New Zealand. There is a prejudice in Western society that questions the fluency of Asians in English, and it was extremely difficult for me to overcome this hurdle. To demonstrate my ability to write articles in English, I founded my own newspaper and began to publish articles about subjects that a large newspaper, like The New Zealand Herald, would not ordinarily consider, such as problems in ethnic minorities or immigrant groups. Only then did people begin to recognize my ability and I was eventually recruited as a staff reporter.

What memories from your stay in Korea will you take back with you to New Zealand?

When I visited Noryangjin Fish Market, I was startled by its huge size. Particularly interesting was the unique system, in which you can buy all manner of live fish and seafood and then eat them raw right there. When I tried to eat live baby octopus, I choked briefly because no one had warned me about the need to chew on it before swallowing, and yet it was a very exciting experience.
Another interesting memory is my jjimjilbang (Korean sauna) experience in a seven-story leisure complex. Although I had visited a public bath facility in Japan, this was the first timein my life to see such a large-scale sauna. When I arranged a meeting with one of my friends from New Zealand, who has been in Korea for two years now, we met at the sauna. We renewed our friendship in a foreign country, after a long interval, by enjoying a Korean-style sauna, with our clothes off. This will remain an unforgettable memory of Korea for me.

We were told you have much interest in medical tourism. How do you assess Korea’s potential in this area?

Don’t you think I look a little younger today (laughter)? Actually, I had a skincare treatment yesterday. From the dermatologist I visited, I heard that about 40 percent of customers at the clinic are men. This is very different from New Zealand, where most men have little interest in skincare. In Korean society, appearance is an important matter and constant topic of conversation, regardless of gender. Koreans are the most beautiful people in Asia because they care so much about their appearance.

Therefore, I think, all your attractive people can be an effective promotion tool for the country’s medical tourism. Moreover, you can take advantage of the hallyu (Korean Wave), or the popularity of Korean pop culture, which is known globally today. When they see K-pop stars on TV, people often exclaim: “Wow! The Girls Generation group is really pretty.” A longing for beauty and the hallyu, which cannot be found in other countries, can be the strengths of Korea, along with its outstanding industrial infrastructure that is already in place.

What are your thoughts about Korea’s campaign to globalize its cuisine?

I think Koreans should be more aggressive when they recommend Korean food dishes to foreigners. For instance, the Korea Foundation included Western-style food, like pasta, as well as various traditional Korean dishes for my meals, apparently taking into account that I am from New Zealand. But when I visited Japan for a similar purpose, they recommended traditional local food much more frequently than you did in Korea.

Many Koreans seem to think that only a few Korean dishes, such as bulgogi (barbequed beef) and galbi (braised short ribs), will suit the tastes of foreigners, and thus hesitate to recommend other delectable foods. However, I have found that foreigners like Korean gimbap (dried seaweed rice rolls), seasoned with sesame oil, better than the vinegary taste of Japanese sushi, which is known worldwide. You cannot expect all people in the world to love Korean cuisine, but those who have tasted it will remember its characteristic nature. Therefore, you need to adopt a more confident attitude and launch a more aggressive marketing campaign like Japan.

Lastly, what are your ideas for stepping up Korea-New Zealand cultural exchanges and cooperative relations?

During my visit, I had a chance to speak with a New Zealand police officer, who was also visiting Korea. He said, when he returns to New Zealand, he will advise his colleagues to always remove their shoes before entering the home of a Korean, for an investigation or other purpose. This is because the Western practice of simply entering a house with your shoes on can be viewed as a form of rude behavior to Asians. It might seem like a trivial thing but I believe cultural understanding can start from this kind of respect for someone else’s cultural ways.
As an Asian living in New Zealand, I have somewhat of a special status, since I am very familiar with Asian culture while other Western reporters might have a lesser awareness. Based on this understanding, I am able to write stories about various ethnic groups and minority communities in New Zealand, including Koreans. In this sense, my visit to Korea was especially meaningful because I had a chance to gain a deeper understanding of Korea. And for this, I thank the Korea Foundation for giving me this opportunity.

Text by Ahn Gi-wook Photographs by Kim Hyum-min