KF뉴스레터-Ending My Journey as Hungarian Ambassador to Korea

Ending My Journey as Hungarian Ambassador to Korea

Dr. Mózes Csoma
Hungarian ambassador to Korea

My relationship with the Korea Foundation (KF) dates back to the spring of 2000. When I first came to Korea on a KF scholarship, I was majoring in history and political science at a university in Budapest, Hungary. My country established diplomatic relations with Korea in 1989 as the first socialist country to do so, but Korea remained relatively unknown in Central Europe compared to China and Japan, even in the latter half of the 1990s. At the time, institutions of higher learning in Hungary offered no Korean majors and had no Korean studies departments, so I ended up learning Korean from Gábor Osváth, who had studied in North Korea in the early 1970s. Many of my fellow Hungarians failed to understand why I, a student of history and political science, was interested in the language and history of an unknown nation so far away. Whenever they asked me about this, I always told them that I was studying Korea because it is an East Asian country with a long history and an indigenous culture that survived numerous foreign invasions.

Korea was the first Asian country I set foot on but it seemed not so foreign to me when I first arrived here, probably because I could speak a little Korean. I still vividly remember the six months I spent as a KF scholarship student, learning Korean and visiting famous places in the country that I had only seen in books. The first Korean film I saw was the action thriller Shiri at Yonsei University’s Korean Language Institute in Seoul. I also attended KF-hosted events, went on a field trip to Mt. Jiri, and experienced firsthand diverse aspects of Korean culture. All of these led to my positive impression of Korea and remain as fond memories. After I started training as a Koreanologist, I received support for research on Korea twice, something extremely helpful to my Korean studies as I had to collect materials hard to get in Hungary andconduct literature reviews.

My relationship with the KF started with its scholarship I earned, but this led to something far more important. My experience and the support I received during my research in Korea were highly conducive to the 2008 establishment of the first undergraduate course on Korean studies in Hungary; Masters-level courses followed in 2013 and those for a Ph.D. in 2017. Working as a professor of Korean studies for over 10 years, I recommended many of my students for KF scholarships, so that they could study in Korea.

After assuming the post of Hungarian ambassador to Korea in 2018, I felt proud as a diplomat who once received a KF scholarship, and have since sought to help boost bilateral relations. With my four-year ambassadorial term nearing its end, I will return to a university in Hungary in August and keep trying to develop my students as Korean studies experts by sending them to Korea on KF scholarships. Thus, my ties with the Foundation will not end with me but continue through my students.

Some time ago, I saw Lee Bang-bok at a KF event for the first time in many years. I had said goodbye to her at a farewell dinner toward the end of my first visit to Korea as a KF scholarship student. We remembered each other’s names and the old days, and I think such ties are precious no matter how much time passes.

During my time as Hungarian ambassador to Korea, I often received the compliment that I was a role model for KF scholarship students, namely as the first recipient of the scholarship who went on to become his country’s ambassador to Korea. I think more students can become ambassadors to Korea, and even if they enter other fields, they can act as bridges between their respective countries and Korea for better bilateral relations based on their experiences with the KF scholarship.

In closing, I would like to express my deep appreciation to the KF for giving me and other students the opportunity to study in and conduct research on Korea. I also convey my heartfelt gratitude to Ms. Lee and all other KF staff, both current and former. I sincerely look forward to seeing the expansion of the KF’s crucial role in promoting and developing Korean studies abroad and nurturing experts in the field.