A life of diplomacy: Former top envoy reflects on career and Korea-Philippines relations

Ambassador Delia Domingo Albert sits down with the Korea JoongAng Daily to talk about the importance of relations between Korea and the Philippines, the beginnings of Asean and how civil society and cultural diplomacy can impact peacekeeping.

Ambassador Delia Domingo Albert, former secretary of foreign affairs of the Philippines, speaks during an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily at the Philippines Embassy in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on April 17. [PARK SANG-MOON]

What would a life dedicated to diplomacy look like? Ambassador Delia Domingo Albert shows us just that. After a long career as a diplomat, she served as the first ever female secretary of foreign affairs of the Philippines from December 2003 to August 2004. She is also the first career woman diplomat to serve as the top envoy of a Southeast Asian country. Albert was a key figure in building the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and has chaired the UN Security Council.

Albert’s overseas assignments included Switzerland, Romania and the former German Democratic Republic. Following her term as secretary of foreign affairs, she served tenures as the Philippines' ambassador to Australia and Germany.

During a visit to Korea in April, Albert sat down with the Korea JoongAng Daily to share her thoughts on the importance of relations between Korea and the Philippines, the beginnings of Asean and how civil society and cultural diplomacy can impact peacekeeping in Asia.

The following are edited excerpts of the interview. You visited Korea to discuss building global networks in diplomacy and international relations. What was your key message? Coming back to Korea and lecturing at Ewha Womans University is like a full circle for me. One of the messages I would like to share is how early connection or early introduction to people influences your life. The people I met during my days teaching at a Quaker school in Japan before becoming a diplomat have influenced the way I think about peace, and what people can do to promote a situation where people can live the way they want to live. My own career has also been dedicated to building and strengthening Asean and that has been influenced by the discussions and communication that I had with others early in my career.

Korea and the Philippines celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations this year. What makes our countries' relations special, and how can we continue to build on our friendly ties? For the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Korea, I would like to highlight the special relationship our two countries have. The Philippines was the first Asean country to serve in a UN peacekeeping mission in Korea. We are not a big country, but we are not very small either, and we have a responsibility toward each other. The message is that you should do everything to keep peace not only in your own backyard but in your neighborhood. Perhaps with the 75th anniversary, we could bring more young people into the celebration and remind them that we went through a lot together in our history and we should be able to care about what happens in our common region.

From left: Seoul Metropolitan Government Chief International Relations Officer Koo Hong-seok, President of the War Memorial of Korea Baek Seung-joo, Deputy Director-General for Asean and South East Asian Affairs Kim Dong-bae, Ambassador of the Philippines to Korea Maria Theresa Dizon-De Vega, President and Chair of the Green Growth Institute and former Secretary General of the UN General Assembly Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the Asean-Korea Centre Kim Hae-yong and former Ambassador of Korea to the Philippines Han Dong-man. The group participated in a cake-cutting session during the 75th Anniversary of Philippines-Korea relations event held at Grand Hyatt Seoul in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on March 6, 2024. [PARK SANG-MOON]

President Yoon Suk Yeol has highlighted the Korea-Asean Solidarity Initiative (KASI) on multiple occasions as a core component of Korea's Indo-Pacific strategy. As a founding member of Asean, the Philippines plays an important role in KASI. How do you see ways for the solidarity initiative to strengthen and develop further? Asean was born because of the threat of communism right at the doorstep of Thailand at the time of the start of the union. In the early days of Asean, it was like a family that was growing. And I think it has done well for itself in spite of all the political, economic and social differences — people decided that to get anywhere you have to work together. Keeping that in mind, to have Korea, Japan and China come together to be our partners is crucial. I believe that through dialogue and diplomacy, which we did in the early days of Asean, we should be able to manage whatever challenges we face in the region.

How can civil society play a role in these areas and what can be done to elevate the role of civil society in international relations?

Every human being, whether you are an official, whether you are in academia or civil society, you have a contribution to make. In 2004, when the Philippines was a non-permanent member of the Security Council and I chaired the meeting, I had a difficult time convincing the bigger countries to accept my agenda, which was to elevate the role of civil society in post-conflict peacebuilding. But the role of civil society in peacebuilding and diplomacy is something we can’t ignore.

Korea's cultural influence and presence in the world have been growing, but some point out that soft power diplomacy has many limitations. In your view, how could Korea make the most use of our soft power, and do you see Korea's growing cultural influence as a model for the Philippines perhaps? The way Korea has presented its talent and has captured the imagination of the world and not just the Philippines is amazing. They say the best compliment is to be copied, and you see that our young people are copying Korean content. The rise of Korea’s cultural influence has also created understanding between countries and that’s what cultural diplomacy should promote.

Your diplomatic career outshines that of any other, and many young students here in Korea also look up to you as a role model. What advice would you give to young Koreans hoping for a career in diplomacy? I would say, know and love your country. I think the first thing a diplomat should know is to care for is your country so that you are able to be effective. You should also fight for what you think is right. But at the same time, if you know your country well, you will be able to go the extra mile and adjust as you go along. I always think that diplomacy is really being able to project who your people are, and what your country is — and then you will be surprised that there is so much commonality among people, not just of a region but on a wider scale. In diplomacy, you are representing a people and a country. You should know that by heart and that is my advice for young people.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]