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Interview with the Canadian Ambassador to Korea Interview by Arlo Matisz
FEATURE
Michael Danagher has worked in Korea in multiple roles, including Senior Trade Commissioner and Minister-Counsellor of the Embassy of Canada. He was appointed as Ambassador to the Republic of Korea in September 2018. The ambassador recently visited Gwangju in connection with the opening of this year’s Biennale. What follows is the interview conducted by Arlo Matisz while the ambassador was visiting.
Arlo Matisz: Thank you for joining us here in our city. If I may ask, what brought you to Gwangju? Ambassador Michael Danagher: I am the ambassador to Korea, and of course I like to get out of Seoul. Not because I do not like Seoul but I am the ambassador to the entire country. My trip to Gwangju is overdue, but it was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is my third assignment to Korea, and I have visited Gwangju many times before. This is my first official visit as ambassador though.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
April 2021
Arlo: What were you involved in when you were here before? Amb. Danagher: Mostly it was professional, on official assignments. I was a trade commissioner in the past, so I would come here on trade development activities. Since then, I have been back in Jeonnam a few times. There was the Yeosu Expo with some Canadian activities associated with that in the marine industry. I have been down to Gwangyang a few times for meetings with POSCO, too.
Arlo: I’d like to talk about something specific to Gwangju, the 5.18 Democratic Uprising. Did Canada, at the time of it, have any official stance, and is there any modern recognition? Amb. Danagher: Looking back at our historical record, there does not seem to be particular intervention made by Canada on this, but that is not to suggest that there was no interest. Certainly, what we are aware of is that the Korean community in Canada was very well aware of what was happening and made a number of demonstrations in Canada advocating on behalf of the protesters here. In terms of modern recognition, again there is a general feeling that this was an important and Ambassador Michael Danagher
Arlo: What are some of the unique opportunities and challenges that come with being Canada’s ambassador to South Korea? Amb. Danagher: I think the challenges with the position are the challenges in the relationship. I think Canada and Korea are two countries that have a lot of shared history, but it is not necessarily history that is well understood or well known. I think we want to leverage those historical connections – very strong people-to-people connections – into other areas, for example, cooperation on global policy. That could mean anything from development, respect for human rights, environmental issues, but also in enhancing our bilateral economic relationship, which is an important one for Canada. This may be slightly less obvious for Korea, just from the perspective that Korea’s economy is more diversified than Canada’s. But still, there is huge potential here, and in fact, I was at a meeting with the photonics institute here, and this is one area where there is some cooperation with institutions and companies in Canada. I would like to enhance that.
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