Thailand’s new envoy in Korea urged Korea to open its markets to Thai agricultural products to reach ambitious two-way trade goals set early this year.

It would be nearly impossible for Korea and Thailand to achieve its two-way trade targets of $30 billion, more than double the current annual trade volume, unless Korea opened markets to Thai food products and re-balanced trade, said Thai Ambassador to Korea Kittiphong na Ranong.

Kittiphong is taking over as his nation’s top diplomat in Korea on the heels of an historic meet up between President Lee Myung-bak and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in Seoul in March where the two leaders agreed to make increasing two-way trade to $30 billion a year by 2016 a top priority. The current annual trade volume is about $13 billion.

But Kittiphong warned that their two nations would be hard pressed to achieve such an ambitious target if Korean markets remained closed to Thai food products.

“(Korea) must have something else in mind when it puts up a wall to foreign products,” Kittiphong said on Nov. 22 in an interview with The Korea Herald on the eve of the birthday of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Thailand celebrates its National Day on Dec. 5, King Bhumibol’s birthday.

“Korea is not different from an island, because of their history, the problems they had with their neighbors,” he said. “Just look at when you go to the supermarket, you cannot find a diverse range of products and the labels are not even in English. The market is quite closed,” he said at his office in the diplomatic district of Hannam-dong.

Kittiphong arrived here amid lingering controversy left by his predecessor Ambassador Chaiyong Satjipanon on account of the accidental death of Chaiyong’s wife, Thitinart Satjipanon, at Soonchunhyang Hospital in Seoul on Sept. 19, 2011. The tragic death of his wife roiled bilateral relations, following accusations of medical malpractice and government investigations. Chaiyong swapped with Kittiphong’s posting to the United States.

Kittiphong carries with him a 30-year diplomatic career and top-notch experience, but he has his work cut out for him.

Kittiphong spent some 20 years involved in East Asian issues with a focus on Northeast Asia and ASEAN. In the last decade, he has worked in senior positions in Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including deputy director-general of the Department of East Asian Affairs (2000-2001), deputy director-general of the Department of ASEAN Affairs (2002-2003) and director-general of the Department of International Organizations (2003-2006).

Kittiphong’s connections also reach Prime Minister Yingluck’s inner circle. Kittiphong’s brother is Kittirat na Ranong, a deputy prime minister and, since January, minister of finance. Kittirat is also president of Shinawatra University, which was founded by Yingluck’s brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who cut rural poverty in half with lavish subsidies to farmers before he was ousted in a military coup d’etat in 2006.

From 2006 to 2009, Kittiphong was Thailand’s ambassador to Vietnam, before returning home to serve as the ministry’s director-general of the Department of East Asian Affairs (2009-2010).

His first overseas assignment was in Thailand’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva from 1987-1990. During this time, the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations was under way and transformed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade into the World Trade Organization.

He rose to director of the Chinese Division of the Foreign Affairs Ministry in 1995, and then served as minister-counselor in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 1996-2000.

Officials said an increase in trade could be met in part by an increase in import quotas of Thai rice, as well as other food products like poultry and such Thai fruits as longan and pomelo to Korean markets. With no bilateral FTA, this has yet to happen.

“The problem is that Thailand is an agriculture-export economy. When we talk about export from Thailand to Korea it is always about food. It is always sensitive, and this year is an election year, so we better wait until after the election,” he said.

Kittiphong admitted that, with the current trade climate in Korea, it will be difficult to achieve the trade goal.

“With this ambitious goal, my job is already going to be tough, and the past nine months, instead of going up, trade volume has gone down a little bit,” he said.

Kittiphong sees promoting Thai cuisine in Korea as a way of not only promoting Thai products — food products needed for the cuisine — but also raising nation brand awareness here.

“Food is part of culture,” he said. “This is not only about culture or tourism; it is also related to trade and investment because if there is demand it means there will be a market for our products here.”

The Thai Embassy here will bring four master chefs to offer “Authentic Royal Thai Cuisine” for a limited time at La Seine Buffet Restaurant in Lotte Hotel Seoul from Dec. 6-12 in celebration of the birthday Thai King Bhumibol.

Thai rice, poultry and fruit products are known as the most competitive in the world but are limited by Korean quotas and regulatory restrictions that Kittiphong said serve only to make food here perhaps the most expensive in the world for consumers, adding that Korea cannot be a multicultural society and Seoul a global tourist destination without international cuisine.

“Why do people say that the best Indian food can be found London? Why is Hong Kong well known for being a capital of international cuisine? Why is New York a heaven to enjoy cosmopolitan cuisine? Seoul can easily land itself along those metropolitans via availability of international food,” he said.

The main factor that determines a restaurant’s authenticity is the ingredients it employs in the creation of Thai dishes. The embassy said the closest authentic Thai restaurant is not even in Seoul. It is “Aroi Aroi” in Incheon.

“Those Koreans who have not been to Thailand, after they try authentic cuisine maybe they will want to go to Thailand, and those who have been, they might want another chance to taste it in Thailand,” Kittiphong said.

By Philip Iglauer (ephilip201l@heraldcorp.com)