House of Commons - Foreign Affairs

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs Tenth Report

6 The UK and Japan and South Korea

409. Japan is the UK's largest trading partner outside the US and the EU. British exports to Japan grew by 2.8% in 2005 to £3,700 million. Overall, Japan took £8.0 billion of UK goods and services in that year. Exports were dominated by three major sectors: chemical products, machinery and transport equipment.[712]

410. Sir Stephen Gomersall, Chief Executive for Europe of the Japanese company Hitachi, and formerly HM Ambassador in Tokyo, told us that British exports to Japan, still the third-largest market in the world after the US and the EU, were "relatively, a great success story".[713] Lord Malloch-Brown spoke of the "huge opportunity" for British business in Japan: "while everybody else is racing off to Beijing, they might even get a bit of a competitive break in Japan".[714]

411. However, the FCO cautions that "the [Japanese] market can be confusing, expensive and time-consuming".[715] The then Lord Mayor of London, reporting on a visit to Japan in 2006, noted that "the perception remains that Japan is a 'difficult' market for foreigners to penetrate".[716] UK Trade & Investment advise that:

A long-term commitment and market strategy are required to become established in Japan. It takes time and patience, but, as many British companies have found, it repays the effort many times over.[717]

Sir Stephen Gomersall commented that:

most of the barriers that have impeded foreign exports, particularly western exports to Japan in the past, have been taken away one by one, thanks to a combination of EU action and bilateral actions. The market is open, but challenging, and our advice to British exporters is that they must do a lot of research before going into the market.[718]

He added that the three critical factors for success are "presence in the market, quality and delivery of the product, and relationships and trust with those with whom they are doing business".[719]

412. Japan is the second-largest source of foreign direct investment into the UK, after the US. Over a quarter of all Japanese investment in Europe is in the UK, with nearly 1,500 Japanese companies investing. Japanese-owned companies employ over 100,000 people in the UK. Japanese-owned car plants account for over 50% of UK car production. The FCO comments that "there are strong prospects for investment from Japan in the pharmaceutical and life science sectors and in ICT (services and software as well as equipment)."[720]

413. Lord Malloch-Brown told us that "whenever we see anything that might slow down Japanese inward investment into Britain, we jump on it like a tiger".[721] He cited in particular the Government's response to fears expressed by Japanese companies about the impact of the UK's new points-based immigration system which came into effect in April 2008. They were concerned that middle-managers working for Japanese companies operating in the UK might fail to gain visas because of their lack of English language skills. Lord Malloch-Brown said that he had joined forces with the Japanese Ambassador to lobby the Home Office on this issue.[722] A solution was reached which, according to the FCO, "preserved the UK's attractiveness as an investment location without compromising the integrity and objectives of the Points Based System: […] intra-company transfers will not be required to demonstrate English language ability if they stay in the UK less than 3 years".[723]

414. There are particular benefits to be gained for the UK in deepening co-operation with Japan in the field of science and technology. Japan accounts for about 20% of the world's R&D, with the top 10 Japanese companies investing more in R&D than the UK public and private sectors combined. Japan is the UK's second-biggest partner for research collaboration. The FCO argues that "our priorities are aligned, focussing on climate change, sustainable energy, healthcare and innovation" and that "access to Japanese research facilities and data is also important to maintaining the strength of the UK science base, particularly as Japan has invested heavily in advanced research facilities and is a participant in major international projects (such as ITER - the experimental nuclear fusion reactor)".[724]

415. A joint statement issued by then Prime Ministers Blair and Abe following their meeting in London in January 2007 pledged that:

Japan and the UK will harness their joint efforts in science, technology and innovation. Japan and the UK will continue to work together to further strengthen their research relationship in the fields of climate change, sustainable energy technologies and life sciences.[725]

416. However, the FCO cautions that Japan's top priority in terms of strengthening R&D co-operation is China (with South Korea a close second). In many areas of science and technology China appears to have overtaken individual EU countries in terms of the number of scientific exchanges and research projects with Japan (the US remaining top partner).[726]

417. We conclude that the UK's trading relationship with Japan is of great importance to both countries. We recommend that the Government should continue actively to encourage British companies to seize the long-term gains that the huge Japanese market offers, despite the initial difficulties of penetrating that market. We further conclude that the FCO is to be commended for its pro-active approach in encouraging Japanese inward investment in the UK, and in particular for its recent successful intervention to ensure that the implementation of the points-based visa system did not act as a disincentive to Japanese investors.

SOUTH KOREA

418. South Korea counts as one of East Asia's post-Second World War "economic miracles" or "tiger" economies. Having been less developed than the north of Korea under Japanese rule, and then devastated by the Second World War and the Korean War, South Korea saw rapid economic development from the 1960s. Economic development was initially state-led, followed by greater liberalisation and integration into the international economy from the 1990s. South Korea joined the OECD in 1996. The South Korean economy is now between the eleventh- and fourteenth-largest in the world.[727] South Korean corporate names that are well-known in the West include Hyundai, LG and Samsung. As an indication of the country's current level of development, during the period of our inquiry South Korea was in the news for conducting the world's first commercial dog cloning,[728] and sending its first astronaut into space.[729] South Korea's economic development has been based mainly on industries such as steel, cars and shipbuilding, electronics and semiconductors. Dr Hoare reminded us that "South Korean shipbuilding effectively began with British money and know-how", as, to a lesser extent, did its car industry.[730]

419. The FCO describes South Korea as a "significant trade and investment partner" for the UK.[731] South Korea is the UK's 25^th-largest export market, taking goods and services worth $2.98 billion in 2006.[732] UK exports to South Korea are dominated by whisky, which accounted for $222 million alone.[733] For South Korea, the UK is the eighth-largest export market, taking goods and services worth $5.64 billion in 2006.[734] The most significant products among South Korean exports to the UK are mobile phones, ships and vehicles.[735]

420. The UK is regularly the largest recipient of South Korean investment into the EU.[736] A number of South Korean firms have chosen to locate European bases in the UK. For example, LG Electronics recently relocated its European product design centre to the UK.[737]

421. A number of UK firms are prominent in South Korea, particularly in the financial services, retail, tobacco, pharmaceuticals, engineering and energy sectors. For example, Standard Chartered is the largest single foreign direct investor in South Korea,[738] and Tesco is now South Korea's second-largest supermarket chain, having spent nearly £1 billion in May 2008 to purchase 36 further stores from a local company.[739] Tesco's South Korean operation accounts for around 40% of its overseas profits.[740] We were told in Seoul that there was generally a positive attitude in South Korea towards British firms.

422. Despite the internationalisation of the South Korean economy and the inroads made by UK firms in particular, the FCO told us that South Korea is "not an easy place to do business and there is a degree of anti-foreign business sentiment".[741] We heard in Seoul that difficulties facing UK firms include cultural differences, a lack of English language competence, the nature of the legal and corporate governance systems and frequent changes of government officials. Dr Hoare, as well as interlocutors in Seoul, also agreed that doing business successfully in South Korea—as in Japan—tends to require a long-term commitment.[742] A number of UK firms which have achieved success in South Korea have done so by linking up with local companies.

423. Aidan Foster-Carter told us that the Government's top priority vis-à-vis South Korea should be to continue to encourage it to open its service sectors. Mr Foster-Carter said that "South Koreans […] are less well served than they could be in the spheres of education, health and legal services" and that the question was one of "straight-down-the-line national interest" for the UK.[743]

424. For UK firms, the proposed South Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will be one of the most important factors governing future access to South Korea. We referred to the planned deal in our general discussion of East Asian trade agreements in Chapter Two above, and, as it relates to North Korea, also in Chapter Three.[744] As we noted in Chapter Two, Dr Hoare told us that such agreements were a useful means of binding South Korea into more open trading arrangements.[745] With respect to the planned South Korea-EU deal, the FCO told us that the UK had a "particular interest" in the "liberalisation of the Korean financial and legal services markets, the lifting of indirect ownership restrictions on telecoms companies and the elimination of whisky tariffs."[746] Studies of the possible agreement suggest that the greatest gains would come in services rather than goods, and that without the deal EU services firms could lose out to competitors from countries with which Seoul already has preferential trade arrangements.[747]

425. We conclude that the South Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement which is currently under negotiation is a potentially effective means of securing further opening of the South Korean economy and improved access for UK firms, and that its early and successful finalisation would be of great benefit to the UK and South Korea. We further conclude that the FCO is correct to identify the services sector as a key target for further liberalisation under the planned agreement. We recommend that in its response to this Report, the FCO update us on progress in the negotiations, especially as regards access to South Korea's services markets.

426. The FCO told us that "defence sales [to South Korea] remain a significant area of UK interest". According to the FCO:

The South Korean armed forces [...] are likely to offer an increasingly competitive, and potentially lucrative, defence market for UK industry. Specifically, the UK hopes to encourage greater transparency within South Korean defence procurement procedures.[748]

South Korea is increasing its defence budget significantly, by 9.7% in 2007 and a planned 9.0% in 2008, to $27 billion,[749] as it takes over greater military responsibilities from its US ally and aims to develop greater international peacekeeping capabilities.[750] The UK is likely to face tough competition in the South Korean defence market from Seoul's traditional US suppliers.

427. The FCO told us that science and technology research links with South Korea "have become an important part of the bilateral relationship".[751] The UK's science and innovation relationship with South Korea is based on a Science and Technology Agreement dating from 1985, and is also incorporated into a Science, Technology and Innovation Partnership agreed in 2004. A bilateral Science and Technology Joint Commission meets every two years under Ministerial leadership.[752] Among recent successes in the research field, RNL Bio—the South Korean company responsible for the commercial dog cloning announced in August 2008—has invested £65,000 in a stem cell research laboratory at Newcastle University, under a research and development collaboration agreement.[753]

428. South Korea is one of the countries included in UKTI's High Growth Markets Programme, which aims to help medium-sized UK companies to succeed in target markets.[754] The FCO told us that "UKTI's services are […] highly valued by the British business community" in South Korea.[755] During our visit there, we were also made aware that the work of the Embassy team in Seoul was appreciated.

429. The Lord Mayor of London visited Seoul in October 2007 to promote the UK model of financial sector liberalisation and the services offered by the City of London. In his capacity as Special Representative for Trade and Investment, HRH the Duke of York visited in early October 2008. However, whereas the FCO's then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Bill Rammell MP, attended former President Roh's inauguration in 2003, no UK Government Minister attended President Lee's inauguration in February 2008. When he visited Seoul in late May 2008, the Environment Secretary, the Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, became the first Minister to do so following the change of Administration there. Owing to that change of Administration, the South Korean side postponed a planned visit by FCO Minister Lord Malloch-Brown in March 2008, and the Foreign Secretary also did not make a visit to Seoul that had been mooted to tie in with his trip to Japan in June 2008 for the G8 Foreign Ministers' meeting.

430. We conclude that the economic, commercial and research ties which have developed between South Korea and the UK are to be welcomed, and that the work in this respect of UKTI, the Seoul Embassy and other relevant bodies is to be commended. We further conclude that, given South Korea's level of development and rate of growth, and the existence of generally positive sentiment towards UK partners, there is considerable potential for the further development of such links. In this context, we conclude that the lack of UK Ministerial representation at President Lee's inauguration was regrettable. While we welcome the recent Ministerial and other visits to Seoul from the UK that have taken place and are planned, we conclude that a visit by an FCO Minister, and the Foreign Secretary in particular, with a significant economic component to the trip, would be appropriate, in South Korea's 60th anniversary year, and as the South Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement is being negotiated. We recommend that the FCO should take every opportunity with its South Korean partners to identify an early opportunity for such a visit. We further conclude that the FCO and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform should increase the ability of our Embassy to support British business opportunities in South Korea.

Cultural relations

431. Lord Malloch-Brown told us that his impression was that "Britain is extremely well regarded" in both Japan and South Korea.[756] Dr Hoare concurred that "there is a lot of respect for Britain" in both states.[757] However, Dr Hoare suggested that recent closures of specialist university programmes in the UK on East Asia, plus a decline in the number of UK journalists resident in the region, had "tended to confirm" a view there that the UK was "not very interested" in East Asia.[758] A number of witnesses also suggested that the image of the UK entertained in both Japan and South Korea is often marked by what Dr Hoare called "somewhat old-fashioned perspectives".[759] Dr Hoare said that "there […] often still is a sentimental picture of a country shrouded in Dickensian fog, populated by gentlemen (ladies rarely featured) who maintained high standards of dress and were always courteous."[760] Sir Stephen Gomersall referred to "perceptions of Britain as a country of castles, Beatrix Potter and that sort of thing".[761] We discuss the work of the FCO and the British Council in countering such perceptions in sections on Japan and South Korea below.[762]

432. We returned in our present inquiry to the question of specialist knowledge in the UK of the East Asian region, including its languages. This was an issue at the time of our China-focused inquiry into East Asia in 2006 especially because of what were then recent decisions to close Durham University's East Asian Studies Department and curtail specialist regional language-based teaching elsewhere. In our 2006 Report, we concluded that "the United Kingdom must attain greater proficiency in East Asian languages and cultures or face a diminution of influence in a very dynamic region".[763] We recommended that the Government should "redouble its efforts to support the teaching of Chinese and other East Asian languages in schools and universities".[764] In its response, the FCO focused on the learning of Mandarin rather than other regional languages.[765]

433. There was some divergence among witnesses to our present inquiry regarding the value of knowledge of regional languages to the UK, and especially to UK business. Pointing to the scale of UK economic activity in the region, Lord Malloch-Brown did not accept that a lack of regional language skills was necessarily impairing UK business.[766] Discussing Japan, Sir Stephen Gomersall suggested that "many young people going there pick up the language to a sufficient degree quite quickly" and that English was in any case widely used.[767] However, while accepting that "you can do business in most of these countries without the language", Dr Hoare argued that language knowledge "helps you to a depth of understanding which is very important"[768] and is "an important element to show that you are committed to the area and the people with whom you are dealing", something which he said was important for working successfully in East Asia.[769]

434. As regards broader knowledge in the UK of East Asia, the British Association for Korean Studies identified the "high level of ignorance about East Asia which pervades contemporary British society" as "the greatest problem for British policy" in the region.[770] Although sceptical about the need for knowledge of regional languages, Sir Stephen Gomersall said that a broader lack of regional awareness and skills was a "disadvantage" for business.[771] For his part, Lord Malloch-Brown told us that:

all western countries made a terrible mistake 10 or 20 years ago when they let a lot of real regional institutional capabilities in our university system go […] It means that fewer people have the language skills and the university-level knowledge of these countries than ideally we would want.[772]

435. Sir Stephen Gomersall reminded us that, partly in response to lobbying prompted by the earlier controversy, in 2006 the Government had launched the Language-Based Area Studies initiative.[773] The initiative allowed the creation, among other projects, of the White Rose East Asia Centre, with £4 million in public funding. This institution is jointly supported by the Universities of Leeds and Sheffield.[774] Sir Stephen told us that the new centre had "eased the problem for quite a white and […] has brought in other groups like the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and the Daiwa Foundation to fund teaching posts either at those universities or at secondary schools that will feed them."[775] Sir Stephen said that "there is more demand for places, particularly graduate positions, in those universities than five years ago", and that this was a "very healthy sign".[776]

436. Sir Stephen noted that the Government funding for the White Rose East Asia Centre is "time-limited";[777] the funding under the Language-Based Area Studies initiative is being provided for five years.[778] Dr Hoare argued that a "short-term funding approach" towards university capacities in the UK often led to repeated crises, as funding streams approached their end, often to be followed by further injections of funding for another fixed period. In the case of East Asia, Dr Hoare's account suggested that among regional partners this creates an impression of opportunism, rather than the commitment which he identified as important.[779] The British Association for Korean Studies (BAKS) also told us that such public spending as is taking place is focussed "almost entirely on the Chinese mainland", rather than other areas of East Asia. BAKS called for "guaranteed and continued Government support for all branches of East Asian Studies in the nation's universities".[780]

437. Given the economic and strategic importance which the Government attributes to East Asia, and noting the Minister's acknowledgement of the value of university-level specialist regional capabilities, we conclude that the Government should take steps to avert any risk of East Asian studies in the UK again facing a crisis. As the initial Government core funding for the White Rose East Asia Centre is due to expire in 2011, we recommend that the Government should start now to consult with relevant partners in the university and private sectors with a view to developing follow-on core funding that will allow, as a minimum, the maintenance of UK university-level research and teaching on East Asia at its current level. We further recommend that the Government should ensure that public support for the development of regional language and other skills does not focus unduly on China but gives due weight to Japan and Korea, as important economies and cultures in their own right and vital components of China's regional environment.

438. One area of language knowledge where our witnesses commended the UK's record in East Asia was that of British Ambassadors and other diplomatic staff. Dr Hoare told us that the UK has "a long-established tradition of believing that the people on the ground doing the job for the Government did need to have the local languages".[781] For example, he noted that the UK's first Korean-speaking Ambassador had recently been succeeded by a second. Dr Hoare said that this practice was "important" in the region as it would be interpreted as showing "commitment".[782] Sir Stephen Gomersall agreed, saying that the British Embassy in Tokyo had "the reputation of being certainly the best in the EU, by a long chalk", in this respect.[783]

439. In our Report on the FCO's 2006-07 Annual Report, we concluded that "high quality language training is a vital part of successful diplomacy" and we expressed some concern in case the FCO's recent decision to outsource its language teaching affected its performance in this regard.[784] In its response to our Report, the Government said that it would "ensure that the system of quality control [under the new arrangements] is rigorously managed."[785]

440. We conclude that the FCO's practice of ensuring that the UK sends Ambassadors to Japan and Korea who speak the language of their host state is to the UK's diplomatic advantage. We recommend that the FCO should continue this practice.

JAPAN

441. Educational links between the UK and Japan are strong in many respects. There are currently around 85,000 Japanese students studying English in the UK, and another 8,500 in higher or further education courses.[786] According to the FCO, the JET scheme, which takes graduates to teach in Japan, is the largest employer of UK graduates; the UK accounts for one-quarter of participants.

442. However, as regards English language use, the British Council reports that, in Japan, "the level of English, especially spoken English, is generally poor, and this is particularly true outside Tokyo".[787] The British Council notes that Japanese government policy towards English language learning in both state schools and private language schools has not always been supportive, although the Council is gearing up for an anticipated decision to make English learning compulsory in Japanese primary schools. The British Council in Japan is seeking to take advantage of the wish to build English competence, for example by partnering with local universities and other institutions to provide in-house English tuition. Every week, 11,500 English language learners visit the British Council's offices in Tokyo and Osaka. As well as teaching in the two centres, the Council increasingly works through contracts with universities and schools. Most people using the Council's language teaching facilities are in their 20s and 30s, not schoolchildren as in South Korea. They are charged about ¥ 3,000 an hour (about £15). When we visited the Council's Tokyo office, we were told that there is not much money available for marketing, but that the English teaching activities are self-funding.

443. Several of our witnesses referred to the "old-fashioned" picture of the UK widely held in Japan as elsewhere in East Asia.[788] The British Council referred to a need to "bring a more accurate and up-to-date view of the UK to Japanese audiences".[789] During 2008, the British Embassy in Tokyo and the British Council have been jointly sponsoring "UK-Japan 2008", a major public diplomacy campaign to mark 150 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, involving a large number of cultural events and exchanges.[790] The FCO states that the campaign has focussed on highlighting "UK/Japan achievements which are contemporary, creative and collaborative in the creative industries, science and innovation and the arts—all areas with strong potential for future UK and Japanese economic growth".[791] The centrepiece of "UK-Japan 2008" was a Turner Prize retrospective held in central Tokyo: the Crown Prince of Japan attended the opening, and 90,000 people visited the exhibition during its first three weeks.

444. The British Council in Japan has contributed to an initiative called the Climate Champions Project. This follows a requirement in the Kyoto Treaty that each of its signatories should proselytise about the dangers of climate change. The Government has sponsored a competition in UK schools to find a climate change 'champion', and to roll this out worldwide using the British Council. Ten champions, aged 14 to 18, were chosen in Japan in early 2008. When we visited the British Council offices in Tokyo we were told that they were highly articulate young people who received a reasonable amount of TV coverage in Japan, and that three of them were later chosen to visit London to convey their environmentalist message back to the UK.

445. We recommend that in its reply to this Report, the Government should set out its assessment of the scope for expanding the British Council's role as a provider of English-language teaching in Japan, to cater for the large market of young people seeking English-language skills. We further recommend that the Government should continue to make efforts in its cultural promotion work in Japan to emphasise the UK as a modern, creative, technologically advanced country, and that it should, where appropriate, utilise the UK's status as Olympic host nation in 2012 as way of highlighting this. We conclude that the British Council in Japan is to be commended for its emphasis on working with young people to deal with the challenges of climate change.

SOUTH KOREA

446. Dr Hoare gave us a mixed picture of the UK's profile in South Korea. On the one hand, he said that the UK had "never had a very strong presence" in Korea, with the US always having the greater imprint and some other European countries creating a greater impression more recently.[792] On the other hand, he commented that South Korea

regards Britain with a certain degree of respect because of [its] historical role in East Asia, as well as with a certain amount of gratitude because [it was] one of those countries that came to its aid during the Korean War. It also regards [the UK] as a leading European power that is worth cultivating.[793]

447. A high value is placed on education in South Korean society, but, as the British Council told us, "there is a wide perception that the public education system is failing to prepare young people effectively for employment".[794] As a result, South Koreans "spend more per capita on private education and send proportionally more students abroad for study than any other nation in the OECD".[795]

448. Educational links between South Korea and the UK are substantial. There are currently around 20,000 South Koreans studying in the UK.[796] The FCO has awarded around 800 of its Chevening scholarships to South Koreans over the past 20 years, enabling them to pursue postgraduate study in the UK; around 30 South Koreans will take up these scholarships in 2008.[797] Dr Hoare told us that "schemes like the Chevening scholarships have had a very strong impact".[798] South Korea's Prime Minister, Dr Han Seung-Soo, is a former Chevening scholar.

449. The British Council is seeking to attract more South Koreans to UK universities, for various types of study and contact.[799] In pursuing South Korean students, UK universities face strong competition from their US counterparts, especially, and also from Australia, among English-speaking countries. Chinese universities are also an increasingly popular destination for South Korean students. During our visit, we were told that South Koreans can sometimes feel that UK universities are only interested in attracting them because of the funding which they bring.

450. South Koreans often have high levels of English language education on paper, but—as the British Council put it—they "are increasingly conscious of their relative inability to communicate effectively",[800] and devote huge private resources to extra tuition.[801] President Lee is launching a major drive to raise South Koreans' English competence, as part of his effort to boost South Korea's economic competitiveness and enhance its global profile. The new South Korean Government has allocated $4.2 billion for enhanced English language teaching provision in state schools in coming years.[802]

451. The British Council's English-teaching programme in Seoul is already one of its largest worldwide.[803] The British Council told us that, given the ambitions of President Lee and his Government, "there is a clear window of opportunity for the British Council to establish [itself] as a principal source of support and advice to the new South Korean Government in the area of English education, and we intend to invest significant resources in demonstrating the UK's leading position in this area".[804] In its memorandum to our inquiry, the British Council detailed a range of new partnerships and schemes though which it is seeking to enhance its position in South Korea's English teaching sector.[805] The point was made to us in Seoul that, while South Koreans might be inclined to look first to the US for English language exposure, the US does not have a single official English language teaching agency equivalent to the British Council.

452. Dr Hoare suggested that, as a result of the British Council's focus on English language training in South Korea, "some of the other things that go into the pot marked 'culture' have been rather neglected".[806] His view was that "Germany and France have often made a bigger cultural impact in South Korea than Britain" and that the UK "is seen not to be as dynamic as some of our European partners".[807]

453. Dr Hoare recognised that the FCO and the British Council were making "strenuous efforts" to promote British culture in South Korea and to counter out-of-date views of the UK.[808] The UK ran a promotional campaign in South Korea in 2007, partly to mark the 50^th anniversary of the establishment of the British diplomatic presence there.[809] The British Council told us that its work in Seoul would include participation in the Council's international "Creative Cities" programme, in order to take advantage of the interest of many South Korean cities in arts programmes as a mechanism for urban development and international promotion.[810]

454. The British Council told us that it was also focusing on climate security in its work in South Korea. The Council said that it was aiming to "raise awareness of the crucial importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions", primarily among young people.[811]

455. We conclude that the British Council is correct to identify the potential for increase in the take-up of UK education services among South Koreans, especially in light of the Lee Administration's push to enhance English language provision in South Korea's state schools. We recommend that the British Council should continue to pursue these opportunities, while ensuring that UK universities are aware of the need to demonstrate the value of UK study in a tough South Korean market. We further recommend that, inasmuch as resources allow, the British Council should seek to increase its British cultural promotion work in South Korea, since the existence of a modern and dynamic cultural profile will contribute to the attractiveness of the UK educational offer. Given South Korea's history as an Olympic host nation and its strong showing at the 2008 Games, we recommend that the British Council should consider capitalising on the approach of the 2012 London Games as a means of giving focus to this objective.

456. As we noted in our chapter on North Korea above, the BBC World Service does not run a Korean-language service.[812] The BBC World Service's English-language radio broadcasts are available in South Korea via a local English-language FM station in Seoul, and via mobile, digital and online services nationally. BBC World television is available in 3.6 million households and 13,000 hotel rooms, through a number of pay-TV services.[813] As in Japan, BBC Global News told us that BBC World "aims to increase distribution" in South Korea.[814]

457. We recommend that BBC World television should continue to seek opportunities to increase its distribution in South Korea.

712 UKTI country information on Japan, via https://www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk Back

713 Q 85 Back

714 Q 140 Back

715 Ev 61 Back

716 "Report on the visit to Japan by the Rt Hon The Lord Mayor, August-September 2006" (not reported to the House) Back

717 UKTI country information on Japan, via https://www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk Back

718 Q 85 Back

719 Ibid. Back

720 Ev 61 Back

721 Q 143 Back

722 Q 143 Back