[Sundaytimes=Seok-moon Yun, Chris Lee Reporter] Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world, is a country with diverse cultures, traditions and history, and a country with diverse plants, animals and more than 17,000 islands, harmonizing each nation and culture to create a future together.Indonesia is also the largest country in Southeast Asia.
Indonesia has five large islands: Sumatra to the west, Kalimantan to the north, Sulawesi Island to the Philippines and Papua Island, which borders Papua New Guinea, Java Island which the capital Jakarta located, and the Aceh to Papua, which takes seven hours by plane.
Korea is good for taking a walk and a country with advanced traffic and the traditional market.
Ambassador Umar Hadi, who serves as ambassador of Republic of Indonesia in Korea, is a diplomatic veteran who has worked for 27years in the foreign field, with much effort for the Indonesian and Korean workers.
When he worked in LA for three years, he had a lot of opportunities to know Korea, and to visit hospitals, banks and marts in Korean town.“Personally, I knew about Korea because I bought a lot of food ingredients from a Korean supermarket in LA, adding that the image of Korea was good because I understood Korea’s culture, atmosphere, and habit of ‘hurry up’ and acted similarly.” Ambassador Umar Hadi said.
He also said that there was no big difference in what he felt while working in Korea.
“I like to see traditional Korean markets and take a walk in the park. Especially, my family likes to walk so often, there are many good places to live because of the development of walking and transportation. For the first time, I was appointed to Korea in May 2017. The first impression of Korea was so clean and good. With the development of public transportation without having to drive directly, there was no inconvenience in traveling at all. Personally, riding a bicycle is my hobby, and there are well-made bike lanes around the Han River, so it is too good to exercise or revive,” he said.
Ambassador Umar Hadi has a daughter in his 24 years of marriage. “My daughter, who is now 21 years old, is studying in LA, and she studied at Yonsei University during 1 year last year. Of course, she enjoyed living in Korea and liked Korea a lot, and she loved K-pop and Korean dramas, as well as being an expert in Korean cosmetics and skin care, and she could speak a little Korean.”
Diplomatic expert with varied experience
Prior to joining Korea, he was appointed as the consul general of the Indonesian Embassy in Los Angeles in October 2014 and worked for three years, and was appointed to Korea in May 2017. And Umar Hadi had previously served as the Minister Plenipotentiary and Deputy of Mission at the Indonesian Embassy in Hague, Netherlands.
“In the Netherlands, many people like to ride bicycles and I also have a hobby of riding a bicycle, I now own more than 10 bicycles. The hobby of collecting old bikes rather than preferring expensive and good ones also seems to have begun with a bicycle-loving attachment,” he said.
Ambassador Umar Hadi explained that before he worked in the Netherlands, he served as secretary general of the United Nations Division and the International Organization of Indonesia in Geneva, Switzerland, where his daughter was born. He said, “Many people even ask, ‘Is the winter in Korea cold?’ But I work a lot in cold countries, so whenever I ask about the cold in Korea, I always say there is no problem at all.”
Meeting with President Moon Jae-in is the most memorable
for me. Ambassador Umar Hadi said the most memorable work so far is meeting with President Moon Jae-in. “President Moon Jae-in invited my Family to Cheong Wa Dae, but it was the first time in Korea, so my family was so happy and it was a good experience.” he said. And also said “In September 2017 President Moon Jae-in was by visiting Indonesia and met President Joko Widodo, it was very meaningful because they had a productive discussion, and the two countries became strategic partners.
In addition, President Joko Widodo, escorted President Moon Jae-in out of the palace, and hang out with Indonesian people drinking iced tea, and buying a T-shirt. It was really good to see the event beside the two president. After that, President Joko Widodo was by visiting Korea, President Moon Jae-in escorted President Joko Widodo to Dongdaemun shopping mall and shopping together, it was really touched.
He also told of his meeting with Mayor Park Won-soon during President Joko Widodo visit to Korea, “I took President Joko Widodo to take a walk in the morning and went to Cheonggyecheon from Lotte Hotel with Mayor Park Won-soon, and President Joko Widodo told “This place is so beautiful. How did you make it? I also want to make it in Jakarta.” At that time I felt proud as ambassador because their meeting was meaningful for the development of the two countries. Ambassador Umar Hadi was honored with Best Ambassador by the Best Korea Award in 2018. “I was really happy that this was not only politically motivated but also recognized for its efforts to improve the welfare of Indonesian workers from Korean owners,” he said.
Safety and well-being of Indonesian people working in Korea are the first priority.
Ambassador Umar Hadi said, “There are about 38,000 Indonesian people living in South Korea. Of course, it is a combination of married people and workers, including students studying in Korea. Among them, 34,000 people live in and work as labor visas (EPS), and 24,000 of them work for manufacturers. They are mostly working in factories, fish farms, and fish markets.
The Korean government is making a lot of efforts, so workers can be legally protected. But there are still insufficient safety standards in some factories and fish farms, which lead to safety accidents, as there have been significant improvements in working hours, vacations, health insurance, and salaries. In this regard, there are some places that need to upgrade safety standards, check for accidents, and strengthen safety education, which I hope will be achieved as soon as possible.”
He also said, “Especially, Many workers are connected to our embassy and communicate through SNS. Therefore, we are always trying them to stay safe and encourage people to eat, sleep, and enjoy the winter with warmth, and we have a medical team at the embassy level, with doctors and psychologists from Indonesia, so that they can go around the outside for three to four free health checks.”
“Many Indonesian workers also work on weekends to make money. In some cases, the health condition is worst because there is no rest, no food intake, no sleep, no exercise. We recommend that people take enough rest and do their best in health care to avoid diseases such as high blood pressure, depression, diabetes and stress through SNS. Of course, we exchange many information and opinions through SNS.”
he said. Korea has a high understan -ding of a multicultural society.
“I am very graceful to the Korean government and the Korean people for its multicultural policy,” Umar Hadi said. “I think it is important to recognize multiculturalism in any case.” He said, “Korea is a single country. And now many foreigners live in Korea, and many Koreans live abroad. There are one million Koreans living in Koreatown, I was also invited to the multicultural festival. It held not only by Itaewon in Seoul, but also by Ansan and Daegu. And at the Itaewon Multicultural Festival, many people are participating in the event as it presents food and provides a venue for communication in various ways.”
And “Indonesia is a multicultural society. A multicultural society with more than 1,300 ethnicities, 600 different languages and races, it seems that Koreans are becoming more and more open to multiculturalism. While the perception of multiculturalism in large cities such as Seoul and Busan is changing without a problem, it is still needed in rural areas.” He said, “Indonesian workers also work in the small countryside. And most factory owners and bosses seem to be trying to understand Muslims,” he said,.And also he said, “I went to a small factory which six Indonesian workers working in Gyeongsangdo a few days ago. I was very moved to see that the dorm had a separate room for one person and a prayer room, and I came back with gratitude because the factory owner seemed to have a great understanding of Muslims and other religions.”
“90% of Indonesians are Muslims, but they also educate and learn about different religion, including Hinduism and Christianity, in elementary schools,” he said.
“So they respect and accept other religions without prejudice. All Indonesian cultures are open. Bali, the favorite of Koreans, is very special. It is a Hindu community. So they have their own dance and culture. However, it is not difficult and natural for a former SUNDA, WEST JABA like me to learn Bali’s language, learn and understand music. This is diversity, and it begins with admitting and accepting everything.”
“When I first came to Korea (2017), I met a teacher who teaches traditional Korean musical instruments. At that time, I saw Daegeum and it was interesting because it was similar to the bamboo instrument I saw in my hometown of Indonesia. We learned how to learn and enjoy different cultures from we were young,” he said. Therefore, accepting multiple cultures is natural enough to follow how to play Daegeum through the YouTube channel.
The future of Korea and Indo-nesia depends on young people.
At the Indonesian Embassy in Korea, you can learn the traditional Indonesian musical instrument, Gamelan, every Saturday afternoon. It seems that Umar Hadi’s message of willingness to communicate through culture is based on taking the time to deal with traditional instruments. It offers a chance to learn various dances and Indonesian traditions from the time for children to the adult. Ambassador Umar Hadi explained that his wife is from PADANG, but she is also good at Balinese dance and his daughter is also good at Korean dance.
Various forms of culture are introduced at the Indonesian Embassy. In particular, the KoreanIndonesia Sahabat Sejati (KISS), a Korean-Indonesian friend association, has a group of people was born in Indonesia, raised in Indonesia as a child, or studied in Indonesia, with exchanging information and holding various forms of meetings.Ambassador Umar Hadi said, “I met the young people. In the 1970s, young Korean couples visited Indonesia on business, and they were pioneers who grew up into big businesses by pursuing such businesses as Textile and Fabric,” he said. “But if a wife gives birth to a baby, normally she is giving birth in Korea and raising children in Korea, but the kids have a blood of pioneers. And if someone who was born and raised in Indonesia and went to school. These young people can come to Korea and do business. I think it’s a pretty good thing for them to get together and exchange information and learn about culture.””I also have time to sing, eat and talk with them. Kim who is my secretary studied in Jakarta for a year and is now a member of the KISS,” he said.
“I know that anyone who is interested in Indonesia, whether they are Indonesians or Koreans, can come in,” he said. “It’s not formal, it’s always open, and it’s providing a network community that allows us to interact comfortably with each other through two events of the year.”
Hope to have more oppor-tunities for investment through joint ventures
The two presidents have met for the past two years with demonstrating a special partnership with celebrating the 46th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year. And a lot of national policies have been formulated, and the two countries are making great efforts to achieve greater growth in the future. Ambassador Umar Hadi said, “I am satisfied with the friendly relations between the two countries. Overall, the results are good, and the efforts for the future are good. We hope to achieve greater growth in line with the balance of exports. Forty percent of current exports from Indonesia to Korea are coal and minerals. But Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of palm oil. Since it is sometimes used as a raw material for food and cosmetics, I hope that Korea will increase its chances of importing more in the future. We hope to increase production systems for automotive batteries and tires, and increase investment opportunities in Wood pallet, renewable energy and biomass businesses.””Korea is making a lot of investments in Indonesia after Vietnam,” he said. “I hope many companies come in and invest in Indonesia. Indonesia has a competitive company in terms of domestic demand, but it does not have much experience in exporting to other countries, especially in the manufacturing sector. And Indonesia has a big market. Korea has a lot of experience abroad and has greatly developed, but the market is small. It would be a great help to each other if they were to develop into a joint venture.”I think the trade base between Korea and Indonesia is well established,” Ambassador Umar Hadi said. “I think it’s time to empower and enhance the base with new attempts. The Indonesian Embassy in Korea and the Korean Embassy in Indonesia are planning to hold ‘Young Leader’s Dialogue’ in Jakarta in the first half of this year. We will support young people from both countries through various fields, including media and business and young people from both countries will be able to materialize their dreams through this program.” he said.
Bali, Beats of Paradise, I hope many Koreans watch it.
Ambassador Umar Hadi also paid a lot of attention to ‘Bali, Beats of Paradise.’ The film will feature a documentary about the production of a music video with Gamelan by Nyoman Wenten, a master of Indonesian traditional music, and Juddith Hill, a talented singersong writer who is also recognized in Grammy, and Livi Zheng, a promising young movie director in Hollywood.
And Ambassador Umar Hadi participated in this movie as an executive producer.”When I was in the U.S., there was a concert where everyone participated in the event and held a concert every Sunday to open a number of dances, musical instruments and so on,” he said. “There was a big show in LA in March 2017, and I chose the previously learned MASK DANCE. The concert was titled ‘Bali, Beats of Paradise,’ and it was commissioned by young and competent director Livi Cheng to create a documentary film.”He said, “This is the first film to be released in Korea and it is very meaningful to me because I know young Korean loves Bali, and I hope that many people in Korea will understand Indonesian culture more easily and also many Korean will have a closer cultural approach to Indonesia, especially Bali. Therefore, when the movie is shown, I hope many Korean people visit the theater and watch the movie. The premier will be in Lotte Cinema in Lotte World Tower on March 31st.”
Let’s be at the center of world culture through cultural exchange.
“52 million Koreans and 350 million Indonesians live together. As a result, human-human exchanges can only be more powerful,” Umar Hadi said. “Korean culture is spreading strongly in Indonesia. There are many Korean restaurants in Indonesia and a wave of Korean culture such as K-POP and K-Cosmetics are also really popular.I hope that this will be a good opportunity for us to introduce our Indonesian culture to Korea also. Especially, there are 14 Indonesian restaurants in Ansan city and Koreans like it a lot. And Indonesian workers are also doing a lot of activities by creating cultural groups. I hope that this diverse culture will be a good opportunity for exchanges.””Asia’s culture has an advantage in the world,” he said. “I think it would be a center of world culture if Asian countries united culturally and move on to the world as they do in the economy. And I think we have this opportunity,” explained the need for cultural exchanges and solidarity.At the end, Ambassador Umar Hadi speaks Indonesian to Indonesian workers in Korea.
“Yang terpenting adalah menjaga kesehatan dan keselamatan saat bekerja. Bekerja di Korea Selatan itu cukup satu kali, lalu pulang ke Indonesia menjadi Sajangnim/Bos di Indonesia.”
(“The most important thing is to work healthy and safe in Korea. I hope that when you return to Indonesia, you can be the owner of your company based on your efforts and experience in Korea.”)
저작권자 ⓒ선데이타임즈, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지