(EDITORIAL from the Korea Times on Oct. 23)

Editorial (Yonhap) - Help cyber diplomats: Seoul ought to beef up administrative, financial support

One of the biggest diplomatic dilemmas facing the Korean government is its
tug-of-war with Japan over the Dokdo islet issue.
If Seoul maintains silence on the issue, Tokyo becomes bold enough to claim its
sovereignty over the rocky outcroppings in the sea between the two countries. If
the government strikes back too loudly, however, then it draws international
attention to a ``formal" territorial dispute, a bothersome development for Korea
which effectively controls the volcanic isles.
Unlike the government, however, private organizations have lots of work they can
do ??? activities related with research and public relations ??? to fight against
Japan's persistent maneuvers to take away what could become a political and
economic hot spot.
Few would deny that VANK (Volunteer Agency Network of Korea) ??? a private group
of Internet users focusing on rectifying misinformation concerning Korea in cyber
space ??? has been at the vanguard of such endeavors, probably performing far
better and proving much more effective than any government agency in this regard.
So people might hardly be able to believe their ears when hearing the government
had decided to stop its financial support of this cyber commando ``for lack of
budget." Or was it possibly out of envy?
Bombarded with a barrage of protest mails, the Ministry of Education and Science
hurriedly reversed its decision to withhold the budgetary aid. Still the episode,
along with a meager yearly support of 30 million won last year, has left much
bitter taste as if it reflected the government's shortsightedness. In comparison,
the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS), a state think tank and the conduit of the
budgetary support to VANK, spends 18 billion won a year. Has anyone heard of AKS?
All this comes in stark contrast to Tokyo, which provides hefty budgetary support
for similar private organizations, including the Japan International Center of
Education and Information, by placing them under the control of its foreign
ministry. The center played a decisive role in the drastic increase in the
descriptions of Dokdo and East Sea in their Japanese versions of Takeshima and
the Sea of Japan, respectively, on global maps and in encyclopedias.
It is also well known that the Dokdo- and East Sea-related contents on the Web
pages of the Korean embassy in Tokyo are no match for those of the Japanese
mission in Seoul, while a single Korean diplomat receives nearly twice as much as
the 30 million won a year.
Space allowing, a myriad of cases of budget waste could be cited here which
should have gone to VANK and other organizations doing similar work, including
the Northeast Asian History Foundation that struggles to keep China from
snatching old Korean history. For instance, Minister of Culture, Tourism and
Sports Yu In-chon okayed the disbursement of 200 million won to help finance the
Korean cheering group consisting of 20-odd well-known entertainers during the
Beijing Olympic Games, allowing them to wine and dine at five-star hotels for
weeks.
President Lee Myung-bak has vowed to defend the Dokdo ``at any cost," but now
some foreign reports are saying Japan is considering whether to help Korea or not
from a looming financial pinch using Tokyo's $1 trillion foreign reserves. Seoul
needs to be far wiser in its budget allocation.
(END)