At the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, my four grandparents were aged 4 to 11 years old, and I cannot imagine how scared they were at the  time. Thank goodness the prime minister of Australia, Sir Robert Menzies, sent 17,000 troops to help the people of South Korea as part of the United Nations. It must have been an extremely difficult decision for Prime Minister Menzies to order thousands of Australian soldiers into harm’s way. I am very grateful to the Commonwealth of Australia for selflessly coming to the aid of the South Korean people. Thanks to Australia, my grandparents grew up in a free and democratic nation, my paternal grandparents were able to immigrate to the United States of America and my maternal grandparents prospered in a rapidly growing Republic of Korea.

According to a 2017 BBC World Service poll, 61 percent of Australians view South Korea's influence positively, making Australia the most pro-South Korea nation in the world. I would guess that an even greater percentage of South Koreans view Australia's influence positively because I had a wonderful experience meeting an Australian couple when I was visiting Da Nang, Vietnam, in 2017. The couple saw me at a restaurant and they said I was cute, so they gave me a present in a bag. To my surprise, there was a cute kangaroo stuffed animal, which I decided to name Ozzie. The Australian couple inspired me to learn about Australian culture thanks to their kindness and generosity.

One of Australia’s nicknames is “The Oldest Continent.” I do not think this is a good nickname for the country. I believe that “The Innovative Land” would be  a better representation, because Australia has many new systems and things.

I think that the relationship between Australia and South Korea will likely become closer than it ever has been. In the future, perhaps Australia and Korea can increase cultural exchange by creating a super A-pop (Australian pop) and K-pop (Korean pop) group called “OZ KR,” bringing together Hugh Jackman, Keith Urban and BTS.

Also, most Koreans would like to learn English and we hope many Australians would like to learn Korean, so I propose a greater language exchange between our two nations, teaching each other Australian English and Korean. Language is tied to culture, so maybe we can share our traditions with each other, and many people from Australia and South Korea can become friends right away. In addition, we can connect through sports. Koreans can learn Australian rules football and Australians can learn taekwondo. Through teamwork and athletics, we can form stronger bonds.

Furthermore, Korea and Australia can send more goods and services to each other to build our relationship. We can share and recycle our resources to help each other’s economies. Our two countries can share innovation and technology, too. Our two nations can share our medical research and health systems to help our communities live better. Additionally, Korea and Australia can share the best qualities of their education systems to create a brighter future.

In the days ahead, I would like to invite the Australian people to make our two nations even closer allies for a more promising tomorrow and a happy life. Moreover, I hope that our two countries protect each other for a more robust friendship.
 
Australia and Korea have a national color in common on their flags: blue. Perhaps we can look at the Pacific Ocean as a shining blue bridge connecting our nations in partnership for centuries to come.