Academy chief looks to nurture versatile communicators, plant sense of mission in prospective diplomats


Kim Byung-kook, chief of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, scribbled a nesting table on paper to illustrate his projection of a new world order in 2030.

The mightiest pair, hypothetically the United States and China, plays chess on the innermost table. They and several middle powers are engaged in a poker game on the intermediate tier. And the uppermost level is the stage for all partaking in a group board game called yut.

The complex interplay of actors, games, rules and strategies would shape the world two decades later, when diplomats to be trained in his fledgling institution assume key posts in international affairs, he said.

“Different types of games get under way altogether and some are engaging in all the games at once,” Kim said in an interview with The Korea Herald in his office in southern Seoul. 

“They have to take into account not only their opponents but the games and players at the other levels simultaneously.”

To cope with the web of multifaceted, intertwined and often contradictory relations, diplomats have to be versatile strategists, open-minded communicators and dexterous negotiators ― precisely the candidates Kim wants to produce at the academy.

The KNDA was established in March as part of an overhaul of the nation’s diplomat recruitment system.

Diplomats have been selected for the past four decades through a national public servant exam centering on written tests. The practice has been criticized for producing officials lacking in strategic thinking, comprehensive knowledge of the world and practical skills to face real diplomacy.

“The inception of the KNDA means that the focal point of Korea’s diplomat recruitment shifts from selection to education,” Kim said.

Affiliated with the Foreign Ministry, the academy is slated to begin its first semester in the second half of 2013. It will sort out 60 applicants through a series of written tests and interviews early next year. After one year of training, 40 will be appointed to the ministry, while the remainder will be given chances to work for other government branches and businesses.

The institution will give priority to nurturing a sense of mission with spirit, reason and sensibility ― three keywords penetrating all the courses.

“In a world dominated by multilateralism, complexity and unpredictability, diplomats will hardly make their way forward unless they’re armed with a sense of mission,” Kim said.

The 53-year-old political scientist was inaugurated into the academy in March. He served as foreign affairs adviser to President Lee Myung-bak in 2008 and headed the Korea Foundation for two years until February. He is a co-founder of the East Asia Institute, one of Korea’s top private international affairs and security think tanks.

Kim said his staff is currently laying out curricula in five main areas ― public policy and service; Korean culture and society; law and diplomacy; communication and negotiation; and international business and global issues. He is also weighing between quarter and trimester systems.

In an attempt to match leading institutions like the Harvard Kennedy School in the United States and Central European University in Budapest, a major part of the classes will be devoted to case studies, simulations and other methods that can balance theories with history and practice as well as drum up student participation, he notes.

The chancellor is seeking synergy with the affiliated Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security by engaging students in debates and forums with the think tank. He also hopes to invite about 10 top-notch visiting scholars every year from Korea and abroad.

“Our most critical task at present is establishing human and material infrastructure that make the best education happen. The new system’s success hinges on what infrastructure to build and how.”

The government approved the establishment of the KNDA in 2009 to replace the “gosi,” notoriously difficult state-administered exams.

More than 1,600 students take the exams every year for about 40 postings at the Foreign Ministry.

Critics say the recruitment system lacks efficiency and relevancy in the fast-changing diplomatic paradigm.

The ministry has run into flak in recent years for its exclusiveness, back-scratching between consuls and visa brokers, a lack of expertise and a lack of proficiency in local languages.

Officials claim the relatively small size of the Korean workforce is partly to blame.

Korea currently employs around 2,200 diplomats, almost half of whom work for the Seoul office. That translates into slightly more than one diplomat for every 25,000 Koreans.

Japan’s diplomatic workforce is nearly triple the number ― roughly 5,800, according to the National Assembly Research Service. On a per-25,000 population basis, the ratio is about 4.5 for Japan, 6.9 for the U.S., 11.8 for Australia and 15.1 for France.

The academy is designed to shake off deep-rooted elitism, nepotism and the seniority system in incestuous diplomatic circles. But critics doubt the academy scheme will challenge the powerful bureaucratic system.

“While the plan is expected to bring about a fundamental change to the diplomat recruiting system, some say it’s insufficient to overcome chronic problems resulted from the gosi system, including elitism and snobbery among diplomats,” You Woong-jo of the NARS wrote in a 2011 report.

Still, the chancellor remains confident that the KNDA can help improve Korea’s diplomatic capabilities.

One of his priorities is nurturing diplomats well-versed in regional issues and with a specialty in non-conventional diplomatic affairs.

To diversify the pool of diplomats and enhance professionalism, the school set a 20 percent quota for specialists in regions such as the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Russia.

Another 20 percent will be assigned to those with expertise in areas like disarmament, multilateral security, energy, environment and finance.

Kim adds he wants to transform the academy into an “innovation hub” for domestic professional education by setting up an archive bulging with diplomatic case studies. Partnerships with other universities are also in mind for the future.

“With the inception of the case study center, I want to create a community with senior and retired diplomats and likeminded professors at other schools,” Kim says.

“The KNDA should spread out its fresh curriculum and pedagogy abroad, thus contributing to the development of Korean diplomacy and professional education.”

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)