A reflection on 63 years of Korea-Malaysia ties

Nazarudin Ja’afar

The author is charge d’affaires at the Malaysian embassy in Seoul.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and Korea on Feb. 23, 1960, the bilateral relations between the two friendly countries have expanded by leaps and bounds, transcending all sectors. Both countries have maintained productive bilateral relations, notably in the fields of trade, investment, tourism and education, as well as human resource development. These exchanges were driven by strong, close socio-cultural links and further fueled by the establishment of the Look East Policy in 1982. For the record, Korea opened up its Embassy in Kuala Lumpur in 1962, and Malaysia followed suit two years later.

The special relations between Malaysia and Korea are epitomized by a ‘’bridge’’ that aptly symbolizes its characteristics. Unknown to many, Malaysia contributed the sum of then-5,000 Malaysian dollars for the construction of a small bridge in Paju, Gyeonggi, back in the mid-1960s. It is a 60-meter-long and 7.5-meter-wide reinforced concrete bridge that was built on Aug. 25, 1966. In return, the bridge was named Malaysia Bridge in honor of the donor country. While the size of the bridge is nowhere close to Hangang Bridge or Banpo Bridge in Seoul, its great historical significance to the local population then and now matters. It was presented to Korea as a gift at the time when Korea was in need of such an infrastructure following the devastation brought about by the Korean War, which ended years earlier. The bridge remains a symbol of eternal friendship between the two countries.

With the passing of time, both countries had introduced specific policies at the national level with the view to elevating diplomatic ties to a greater height. Malaysia, for instance, launched its Look East Policy in 1982, and Korea reciprocated with its New Southern Policy in 2017. While the life span of the latter may be short-lived following the change of policy in Korea, its spirit continues, albeit in different forms. Such an emphasis could be argued to have contributed toward the rapid expansion of bilateral relations in all aspects. To illustrate, trade between Malaysia and Korea has multiplied by more than 6,370 times over the past six decades.

As a trading nation, Malaysia will remain a pro-business nation with prudent and pragmatic policies to ensure a conducive environment that, in turn, will guarantee a steady in-flow of both capital and technology into the economy.

From 1980 to current times, a total of 386 manufacturing projects with direct participation from Korea were implemented with total investments of $9.4 billion. As such, Korea has consistently ranked among Malaysia’s top 10 major investors for many years, and it is a true reflection of the importance of Korean investment to Malaysia’s economy.

Malaysia is currently hosting many prominent Korean multinational companies as well as small and medium-sized enterprises such as Lotte Chemical, Samsung, Hanwha Q-Cells, OCI, Lotte Energy Material, Kiswire and Posco, to name a few. Strategic location and attractive incentives offered by the states of Johor, Sabah and Sarawak, for instance, had attracted outstanding companies such as Kiswire, Samsung SDI and SK Nexilis to expand their wings to Malaysia. Meanwhile, SPC Group has also announced the establishment of its halal manufacturing hub in Malaysia, solidifying Malaysia’s position as one of the preferred investment locations for Korean companies.

Diplomatically speaking, the dynamics of bilateral relations between the countries transcend beyond mere trade and investment. People-to-people connections and socio-cultural relations matter equally. In 2019, the joint number of tourists between Malaysia and Korea and vice versa exceeded the magical number of one million for the first time.

It was rather unfortunate that the positive momentum could not be sustained in the following years owing to the widespread of Covid-19. It is very likely that the trend could be reversed judging from the positive growth and an upward trend recorded for the past two years. Batik Air, a hybrid airline from Malaysia, had recently launched its maiden flight to Seoul from Kuala Lumpur in June 2023, and it is projected that the dismal number of inbound and outbound tourists to and from Malaysia could also be overturned. With the latest addition of Batik Air, currently there are 71 weekly flights from Malaysia, from Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu to Incheon and Busan.

It is estimated that there are approximately 15,000 Koreans and 5,000 Malaysians who live and work in Malaysia and Korea, respectively. The numbers are increasing each year, and it is a sign of warm and cordial people-to-people relations between the countries.

Korea Testing & Research Institute President Kim Hyun-cheol, second from right, and SIRIM QAS International CEO Nur Fadhilah Muhammad, second from left, pose for a photo after signing a business cooperation contract in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Aug. 3. [KOREA TESTING & RESEARCH INSTITUTE]

In conjunction with the upcoming 66th National Day of Malaysia, it is earnestly hoped that the bilateral relations between Malaysia and Korea will continue to grow from strength to strength. Malaysia takes pride in being the 12th foreign country that established diplomatic relations with Korea, judging from the conferment of ‘’Number 12’’ to the Malaysian diplomatic car registration number. It is a clear testament to the status of Korea to Malaysia, which should act as an impetus towards the elevation of bilateral relations to strategic partnership in the future.

Turning back to the analogy of ‘’bridge,’’ the one in Gyeonggi and the more prominent infrastructure built in Malaysia by capitalizing Korean technology, namely, the Penang Bridge and one of the two towers of the iconic PETRONAS Twin Tower, would forever symbolize Malaysia-Korea bilateral relations which are always dynamic in nature. Whatever the form may be, it is hoped that all these positive features and traits would contribute, directly and indirectly, to the everlasting and fulfilling friendship between Malaysia and Korea and between their great peoples. As the saying goes — a friend in need is a friend indeed!

To all Malaysian readers, Selamat Hari Merdeka ke-66!