By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo
“Royal Thai Embassy in Korea will host the Sawasdee Seoul Thai Festival on Oct. 5-6, 2024, at Cheonggye Plaza in Seoul to introduce both traditional and contemporary Thai culture to Korean audiences,” said Amb. Tanee Sangrat of Thailand to Korea on Aug. 6.
In an interview with the Diplomacy Journal, Amb. Tanee Sangrat said, “Through the Thai festival, visitors can look forward to enjoying popular Thai food and products already beloved in Korea, as well as discovering new and exciting Thai offerings we are eager to showcase.”
Noting that 1.6 million Korean tourists visited Thailand in 2023, making Korea the third-largest source of tourists for Thailand, he said “Meanwhile, approximately 379,000 Thai tourists visited the ROK, ranking seventh in terms of tourist numbers.”
The ambassador said, “Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Phuket, and Samui are popular destinations among Korean tourists. However, there are several other cities worth visiting, including Chiang Rai and Lamphun (near Chiang Mai), and Ranong and Nakhon Si Thammarat (near Phuket).”
Stressing that Korea is now one of Thailand’s most important economic partners and has been designated as one of 10 priority countries for the Thai government, he said, “We support the ROK’s role as a Global Pivotal State (GPS) and we hope to elevate the bilateral trade and investment between our two countries and strengthen our cooperation in the Indo Pacific and in the Mekong Subregion, in line with our regional priorities and the ROK’s Korea-ASEAN Solidarity Initiative (KASI).”
Following the interview, Cultural Editor Lee Mi-hyung of Diplomacy Journal who is also professor of the Department of Cultural Content, the Institute for Adult & Continuing Education of Myongji University, presented a folk painting to Amb. Tanee Sangrat of Thailand as a gift.
The following is excerpts of the Diplomacy Journal’s interview with Amb. Tanee Sangrat of Thailand to Korea.
Question: H.E. Amb. Tanee SANGRAT presented your credentials to Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in May 2024. Would you introduce yourself in detail, including your career, family and hobbies?
Answer: My name is Tanee Sangrat. I'm Ambassador of Thailand to the Republic of Korea. This is my third ambassadorship. My second was in Washington, DC. I was ambassador to the United States. Before that, I was spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand for two years when Thailand was posted on APEC.
Before that, I was ambassador to Vietnam. Two years before that, I was in Los Angeles. I served as professional staff of an international organization to prevent human trafficking early 2000, a long time ago and I came here to implement such a project in Seoul.
Q: Diplomatic relations between Thailand and South Korea were officially formed in 1958. How has the relationship developed over the period?
A: While official diplomatic relations were indeed established in 1958, relations between Thailand and the ROK date back to when Thailand became the first Asian nation to commit troops to the defense of the ROK during the Korean War. This year, we celebrate the 65th Anniversary of the Diplomatic Relations that were forged in the aftermath of this shared sacrifice and courage.
Our close and dynamic relations continue to grow from strength-to-strength and have evolved into a mutually-beneficial, multi-faceted strategic partnership, spanning across the economic, security, science, technology and innovation, education, and public health dimensions. The exchange of high-level visits between both sides has served to bolster the momentum in our strategic partnership: just last week, we welcomed H.E. Mr. Maris Sangiampongsa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, on his official visit to the ROK.
The ROK is now one of Thailand’s most important economic partners and has been designated as one of 10 priority countries for our Government. We support the ROK’s role as a Global Pivotal State (GPS) and we hope to elevate the bilateral trade and investment between our two countries and strengthen our cooperation in the Indo Pacific and in the Mekong Subregion, in line with our regional priorities and the ROK’s Korea-ASEAN Solidarity Initiative (KASI).
Q: Please introduce the National Day of Your Excellency's wonderful country. Are there any programs of your embassy planning to celebrate the National Day this year?
A: The 5th December is the birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and has been marked as Thailand’s national day since May 1960. On that day, Thai government agencies including the Royal Thai Embassy worldwide will arrange the reception in order to celebrate on the 3 occasions which are the National Day of the Kingdom of Thailand, the Birthday Anniversary of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great, and Thailand’s Father’s Day. - The Royal Thai Embassy in Seoul has several plans to celebrate Thailand's National Day this year, focusing on cultural activities and promoting Thailand-South Korea relations.
Cultural Activities
The embassy is organizing a series of events to highlight Thai culture. These include traditional music and dance performances, culinary showcases, and exhibitions of Thai art and crafts. These activities aim to share the rich cultural heritage of Thailand with the Korean community and strengthen cultural ties between the two nations.
Key Events
Ceremony and Reception: A formal ceremony will be held to honor the birthday anniversary of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, which is a significant part of the National Day celebrations. This event will include speeches by key dignitaries and a reception featuring Thai cuisine.
These celebrations are not only about commemorating a significant day in Thailand's history but also about strengthening the bonds between Thailand and South Korea through cultural exchange and mutual cooperation.
Q: What is the present volume of bilateral trade between Thailand and South Korea? In Thailand, what kinds of industrial sectors are attractive to Korean investors?
A: In 2023, the ROK was Thailand’s 12th largest trading partner, and Thailand the ROK’s 18th largest trading partner, with a bilateral trade volume of 14.7 billion USD. Given the vast potential for bilateral trade and investment, there is still plenty of room for boosting these relations.
In the past five years (2019 - 2023), the Thai government has received a total of 134 investment project proposals from the ROK, amounting to 61,797.78 million THB in investment value, making it the sixth largest source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Thailand in 2023.
Korean companies, including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and POSCO, have already invested and are operating in Thailand in the fields of electronics and steel. However, we welcome these companies to expand their businesses into innovative and high-tech industries, especially in areas such as electric vehicles (EVs), artificial intelligence (AI), and semiconductor manufacturing.
Moreover, Thailand invites Korean companies that have not yet invested here to explore the abundant business opportunities in our high-tech sectors.
Q: What tourist attractions in Thailand do you want to recommend to Korean tourists? Do you have any government programs to attract foreign tourists, including Koreans, to Thailand?
A: Last year (2023), 1.6 million Korean tourists visited Thailand, making Korea the third-largest source of tourists for Thailand. Meanwhile, approximately 379,000 Thai tourists visited the ROK, ranking seventh in terms of tourist numbers.
Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Phuket, and Samui are popular destinations among Korean tourists. However, there are several other cities worth visiting, including Chiang Rai and Lamphun (near Chiang Mai), and Ranong and Nakhon Si Thammarat (near Phuket).
This year, the RTE will host a major event, the “Sawasdee Seoul Thai Festival,” on 5-6 October 2024, at CheonggyePlaza. The festival aims to introduce both traditional and contemporary Thai culture to Korean audiences. Visitors can look forward to enjoying popular Thai food and products already beloved in Korea, as well as discovering new and exciting Thai offerings we are eager to showcase.
Q: Please tell me what was the most rewarding or happiest moment while you have been working as a diplomat.
A: I think my number one goal is to serve the people. Ambassador wears many hats. Number one is that we represent His Majesty, the King; number two, we represent the government; number three, we represent the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and we represent the people of Thailand.
My most rewarding moment was in the late 1990s when I served as head of consular section. Consular work is the work that you get to serve the people directly and you get to see the result of your work directly very concretely, very tangible.
So we serve the people in many ways not only passports and visas, but also legalization work and paperwork and documents. Those things are important.
But we have a section that we should protect the nationals who get in trouble, who need help. Some of them become victims of human trafficking and some of them become victims of crimes overseas.
Every year, we have to repatriate more than 100 female and male victims of human trafficking from Malaysia to Thailand. Many women need to be rescued from hiding places. In Malaysia, we worked closely with the Malaysian police to rescue many of the women.
We've helped the police catch traffickers several times, and many of them have come to our embassy, asking for help, asking to be repatriated. Some are very sick, some have been beaten by their spouses, some have been tortured.
So I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to help them in the hospital, in prisons, in police stations. I've helped a lot of people with mental problems.
So these may seem like scary and unhappy moments, but for me, they are the most rewarding and proud moments. No matter what position you're in, I think it's that signature of serving the people who need your help.
