KOREA FOUNDATION

Special Column​ 

The Future of Korea-ASEAN Sociocultural Cooperation in the Post-COVID-19 Era 

KIM Hyung Jong, Associate Professor of the Department of International Relations, Yonsei University Mirae Campus​

The novel coronavirus is not only a public health problem but a complex problem that also encompasses the economy, politics, society, and culture. What started as a public health crisis has grown into a economi crisis and is looking to soon further expand into a crisis of community. ASEAN countries have each been affected differently by COVID-19, but there is no question that the region is still very much under its influence. ASEAN aims to be “a harmonious sociocultural community that takes social responsibility, is inclusive, and sustainable.” Today, COVID-19 is a direct threat to the construction of this sociocultural community. 

   To address COVID-19, ASEAN member nations carried out diverse government interventions and control measures while simultaneously implementing a multi-stage stimulus package. While the government focused on controlling the epidemic, sociocultural activities and exchanges were suspended. Economic activity shrank in scale. Socially vulnerable citizens were even more heavily threatened by COVID-19. The limits of the economic revitalization policy are easy to see once you take into consideration the region’s limited financial resources. In most ASEAN countries, 60-82 percent of the employed population works in the informal economy. They work in low-quality environments, such as temporary jobs or small-scale family businesses, that lie outside the boundaries of government financial support. Migrant workers are in an even more precarious position because of the impact of COVID-19. Financial problems caused by losing jobs have been aggravated by the fear of crackdowns on those who do not have a legal work permit. 

   The COVID-19 situation is fomenting hatred and distrust in societies worldwide. According to a survey by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), over half of Malaysian and Indonesian respondents stated that the responsibility for COVID-19 lies with foreigners or a particular ethnic or social group. The number of cases of family violence during the pandemic is also increasing. 

   Paradoxically, in addition to its destructive nature, the COVID-19 crisis is also proving that ASEAN’s most important initiative is the creation of a sociocultural community. It shows that, without social and cultural cooperation for a joint identity that is based on mutual understanding, there is no possibility of either national security or economic prosperity. There are urgent issues in many areas of society and culture, such as public health, poverty, mental health, environment, education, youth, information, and natural and social disasters. It is only when economic growth and national security are able to guarantee an adequate quality of personal and cultural life that they take on real meaning. One key pre-requisite is a shared indentity based on a sense of “​we-ness”​—a community whose collaborative response to common issues is based on mutual understanding. 

   Today, ASEAN is actively applying the concept of “human security” as a means of controlling the COVID-19 crisis. In other words, the region has recognized the fact that protection of individuals (as social entities) and national security are inseparable and that this must be achieved through a comprehensive approach. Economic growth must now focus on the creation of a social economy that takes into consideration social values. The values of social justice and personal rights must be realized through the community. In terms of the responses by individual countries, the importance of international cooperation is gaining more support as countries realize that they cannot block transnational movement on their own. 

   Korea-ASEAN exchanges are shrinking because of COVID-19. To the contrary, the importance of the sociocultural cooperation of these regions (for both overcoming COVID-19 and preparing for the post-COVID-19 era) is growing. Of the New Southern Policy’s “3Ps” (People, Prosperity, Peace), “people” means not only exchanges and collaboration in sociocultural areas but also the fundamental goal of cooperation—that it be people-centric and form a community. 

   At the virtual ASEAN-Republic of Korea Summit held in last year, President Moon Jae-in unveiled the outline of the “New Southern Policy Plus.” The new policy was based on a fortified version of the New Southern Policy and proposals for inclusive healthcare and sociocultural cooperation in the post-COVID-19 era. One noteworthy feature is the proposal of a Korean-style educational model and bilateral cultural exchanges with countries that avidly consume Hallyu (Korean Wave) content. The Korean government has suggested several concrete ways for these general goals to be realized, including increased understanding of one another’s culture, revitalization of joint creative endeavors, cooperation in the cultural industry, cooperation in the preservation and use of cultural heritage sites, and increased cooperation among arts and cultural institutions. 

   Social solidarity begins from mutual understanding. It is through the process of discovering cultural similarities and differences that parties come to better understand one another and become willing to respond jointly to the other country’s pain and problems. For long-term, sustainable sociocultural exchanges and cooperation, we need to strengthen our institutional foundations. ASEAN is seriously considering the construction and use of “ASEAN culture centers” to expedite cultural cooperation in the region. Korea, which already has such a center, is expected to contribute its experiences to this project. In 2019, the Network of East Asian Think-Tanks recommended that cooperation between Korea’s ASEAN Culture House and Thailand’s ASEAN Cultural Center serve as the basis for the establishment of a regional network of relevant institutions and that this network in turn lead to the strengthening of a sociocultural cooperative network. Such networks are expected to overcome the various problems caused by the absence of institutions specializing in sociocultural cooperation and contribute to the enhancement of sociocultural cooperation between Korea and ASEAN as a whole. 

   Another aspect that is necessary for Korea-ASEAN sociocultural cooperation is the expansion of inter-local and inter-city exchanges, which can potentially expedite the sharing of arts and culture-related assets and human exchanges. If this can be achieved, it will not only expand the impact of cultural cooperation but also be able to overcome the limitations of one-time events. The revitalizing of exchanges at the local level will also naturally increase the scope and nature of people-to-people exchanges. 

   Culture and the arts have social value and take on a social role that far exceeds activities done by individuals or commercial values. They offer a moral vision and “food for the mind” by posing questions about individuals and communities as social entities. There is a cyclical, mutually beneficial relationship here that we cannot ignore any longer: culture and the arts are social, while social values are strengthened by cultural and artistic activities.

   To expedite understanding of one another’s cultures and social solidarity, both of which have become even more important due to the COVID-19 crisis, we must not think of ASEAN as merely a market. Sociocultural cooperation on multiple levels must be established between Korea and ASEAN based on the former’s understanding of the latter as a partner of social solidarity.

This content of this article may differ from the editorial direction of the ASEAN Culture House Monthly.