Kim Dong-yeop, Associate Professor at the ASEAN Research Institute

Cub-reporter Kang Hyun-gi

kangcandace@naver.com

Associate Professor at the ASEAN Research Institute, Kim Dong-yeop. Photographed by Kang Hyun-gi

On September 7, the ASEAN Institute of Busan University of Foreign Studies was selected as an institution participating in the 2021 academic support project in the field of humanities and society supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea and the Ministry of Education. ASEAN is short for Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Since the importance of ASEAN is getting bigger, The Woesong Times decided to hear about ASEAN's importance and plans for this project through an interview with Professor Kim Dong-yeop.

Q1. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

Hello, I am Kim Dong-yeop. I have a doctorate degree from the Department of Political Science at the National University of the Philippines. I did a comparative study on the liberalization policy of the telecommunications service industry in Korea and the Philippines. I came to BUFS in March 2010. I am currently working as an Associate Professor at the ASEAN Research Institute and teaching students who study about Southeast Asia.

Q2. Can you introduce what do you do at the ASEAN Research Institute? Your Institute has been selected as a participating organization for this year’s academic support project. Do you have any specific plans related to this?

Our institute carried out a HK project (Humanities Korea project) for 10 years from 2009 to 2019. The research agenda for this project was, "Can we study the perception of Southeast Asia as a whole?". So, we have been doing this study for 10 years. That project ended in 2019, and since then we spent two years preparing for the next project, which has now been accepted. Now we are expecting to receive financial support from the Humanities and Social Research Institute and carry out research for six years. Our research topic is “A Strategic Study for the Advancement of the New Southern Policy by Linking ASEAN Subregions”.

A book written by Professor Kim Dong-yeop. Photographed by Kang Hyun-gi

Q3. What do you think about the importance of ASEAN?

ASEAN ranks second in economic exchanges with Korea after China. Korea has stronger trade links with ASEAN than the United States and Japan. When it comes to individual exchanges, ASEAN ranks number one with Korea. ASEAN countries are the most visited countries by Koreans. And ASEAN is also the number one bloc in which Korea invests in construction. So, from an economic point of view, ASEAN is very important. In particular, Korea is dependent on the United States for security and for economic growth on China. In order to find a new way in this economic battle with these powerful countries, it must be helped by others like ASEAN. ASEAN is important from a diplomatic point of view and from an economic point of view as well.

Q4. Among the Southeast Asian countries, which one do you think plays the most important role?

There are 10 ASEAN countries. Of those ten, Korea has the strongest links with Vietnam, which accounts for more than 40% of total ASEAN exchanges. From the current economic point of view, Vietnam is considered as the most important country. Politically, on the other hand, out of the 10 ASEAN countries, there is one country that shows the greatest leadership and is very important diplomatically, and this country is Indonesia. It is a country with a large population, that is politically stable, and has a lot of potential for economic development.

Q5. Lastly, is there anything you want to say to BUFS students who are interested in Southeast Asia?

First of all, students need to improve their understanding of Southeast Asia. Many students are majoring in Southeast Asian languages. However, those students should not just study languages. Language is only a means, and in the future, there will be an era in which using foreign languages can be replaced by machines, not humans. So, along with languages, the societies, cultures, and peoples of those countries must be understood as well. Students need to increase their overall knowledge comprehensively.