Republic of Korea (South)

Our relationship with Republic of Korea (South)

Republic of Korea (South) is our sixth largest export destination and we have cooperation agreements for film, science and technology, education and the Antarctic. New Zealand and Korea are both liberal democracies with market economies, and we cooperate in regional and global forums.

The Korea New Zealand Business Council (KNZBC) helps to progress business relationships between our two countries. In 2012 both our countries celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations with a 'Year of Friendship' including cultural performances, business and academic exchanges and visits.

Diplomatic relations with Korea were established in 1962, with a New Zealand embassy opening in Seoul in 1971. However our political, economic and security links with Korea date back to the Korean War (1950-53) during which 6,000 New Zealanders served and 45 lost their lives. New Zealand continues to support efforts to bring peace and security to the Korean Peninsula and we also engage with Korea on military exercsies, ship visits, defence talks and exchanges.

High level visits between our countries are frequent, and there are regular ministerial and officials meetings. Strong links have been established with a Prime Minister’s Fellowship Programme for Korean politicians and parliamentary friendship groups in both countries.

High level visits between our countries are frequent, and there are regular ministerial and officials meetings. Strong links have been established with a Prime Minister’s Fellowship Programme for Korean politicians and parliamentary friendship groups in both countries.

Trade

2014 statistics

New Zealand and Korea have complementary economies and are natural trading partners. Korea is our sixth largest export destination. Two-way trade has grown more than four times since 1990, and the New Zealand-Korea FTA is expected to contribute to future growth.

New Zealand is popular with Korean tourists who are our seventh largest group of overseas visitors. Korea is also New Zealand's fourth largest source of international students.

Free trade agreements with Korea

Our countries signed a free trade agreement in March 2015:

• NZ-Korea FTA

We're also negotiating a regional free trade agreement that includes Korea:

• Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)

People

We have around 30,000 Koreans living in New Zealand and a small community of New Zealanders are living in Korea, including more than 1,500 English language teachers. A working holiday scheme allows 1,800 young Koreans and New Zealanders to work in the other’s country for up to a year. This figure is expected to increas to 3,000 when the FTA comes into effect.

Korean students have studied in New Zealand since the 1960s, and in 2009 our two countries signed an Education Cooperation Agreement to strengthen the relationship at a policy level. The first New Zealand-Republic of Korean Joint Policy Committee on Education was held in Wellington in 2010.

Science and technology

New Zealand and Korea signed a Science and Technology Cooperation Arrangement in 1997, which has led to joint research activities in fields such as environmental science and food innovation. In 2014, we established the Korea-New Zealand Strategic Research Partnership Fund. This focuses on advanced technologies, the environment and Antarctic research, and health. That same year, we hosted the regular Korea, Australia, New Zealand (KANZ) Technology Summit which brings ministers, senior officials and business leaders together to discuss areas of common interest and commercial opportunities in the ICT sector.

Both countries enjoy a collaborative relationship in the field of film. Several Korean films have been partially made or post-produced in New Zealand and our countries signed a Film Cooperation Agreement in 2008.

The Antarctic

We’re both consultative parties to the Antarctic Treaty, have signed the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty and are members of the Commission for the Conservation of Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). In 2012, we signed an Agreement on Antarctic Cooperation to promote cooperation on Antarctic policy, scientific research and logistical activities.

Korea’s new research facility in the Ross Sea region, Jang Bogo Station, opened in early 2014 and is supported out of Christchurch.

Working Holiday Scheme

New Zealanders aged between 18 and 30 can apply for a 12-month working holiday visa for South Korea.

To apply, you can go to, or post your application to, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Wellington or the Consulate of the Republic of Korea in Auckland.

For more information, read the Korean Govenment's website(external link).

Embassies

• New Zealand is represented in Korea by the New Zealand Embassy, Seoul
• Korea is represented in New Zealand by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to New Zealand, Wellington(external link) 

Recent official visits

New Zealand to the Korea

• March 2015: Prime Minister John Key and Trade Minister Tim Groser visited Korea for the signing of the Korea-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement.
• July 2014: Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully met Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se in Seoul to help advance the Korea-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement negotiation
• September 2013: Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce met education leaders and New Zealand-educated alumni and opened an education fair
• July 2013: Prime Minister John Key met new President Park Geun-hye at the ‘Blue House’ in Seoul and joined a group of New Zealand veterans in international commemorations marking the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice

Korea to New Zealand

• February 2014: Speaker of the National Assembly Kang Chang-hee and a delegation of National Assembly members and officials met Prime Minister John Key, Speaker David Carter, and members of the New Zealand-Korea Parliamentary Friendship Group.
• August 2012: Foreign Affairs Minister Kim Sung-hwan visited Auckland for discussions on regional and global issues, during which he signed a new Antarctic Cooperation Agreement with Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully
• March 2012: Minister of Government Legislation Jeong Sun-tae met Minister of Justice Judith Collins, Parliamentary Private Secretary for Ethnic Affairs Melissa Lee, and Deputy Speaker of the House Eric Roy.
• 2011: Minister of Patriots and Veteran Affairs Park Sung Choon Par awarded 17 presidential citations to New Zealand war veterans who served in Korea and to the 16th Field Regiment at Linton Army Camp - he met Defence Minister Wayne Mapp and other Korean war veterans, and laid a wreath at Auckland War Memorial Museum

Diplomatic relations with Korea were established in 1962, with a New Zealand Embassy opening in Seoul in 1971 and an Honorary-Consul in Busan. However our political, economic and security links with Korea date back to the Korean War (1950-53) during which 6,000 New Zealanders served and 45 lost their lives. New Zealand continues to support efforts to bring peace and security to the Korean Peninsula and we also engage with Korea on military exercises, ship visits, defence talks and exchanges. The Korea New Zealand Business Council (KNZBC) helps to progress business relationships between our two countries.

Korean students have studied in New Zealand since the 1960s, and in 2009 our two countries signed an Education Cooperation Agreement to strengthen the relationship at a policy level. The first New Zealand-Korea Joint Policy Committee on Education was held in Wellington. Bilateral education cooperation is strong and comprehensive ranging from sister-school and institutional relationships to education policy dialogue.

The strong Korea-New Zealand bilateral relationship provides a sound foundation on which to enhance collaboration in regional and international settings such as the East Asia Summit, APEC, the ASEAN Regional Forum, and the UN.

Trade

2019 statistics 

New Zealand and Korea have complementary economies and are natural trading partners. Korea is our fifth largest export market. Two-way trade has grown more than four times since 1990, and the Korea New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (KNZFTA) is expected to contribute to future growth.

New Zealand is popular with Korean tourists who are our seventh largest group of overseas visitors, with 93,744 Korean visitors and 19,860 New Zealand’s visitors to Korea in the year ending June 2018.

The Korea-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (KNZFTA) entered into force in December 2015:

• NZ-Korea FTA

We're also negotiating a regional free trade agreement that includes Korea:

• Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)

People

There are an estimated 36,000 Koreans living in New Zealand. Koreans are the fourth-largest source international students, with some 7,280 Koreans studying at New Zealand schools and tertiary institutions. There is a community of around 4000 Kiwis living in Korea, many of whom are English-language teachers.

Sister City Agreements have been concluded between several cities, including Auckland and Busan, and Christchurch and Seoul’s Songpa District. In June 2016, Rotorua signed an MOU with the Boryeong City Mud Festival and will hold its own Mud Festival from 2017 to 2021. Wellington City Council signed a “friendly city” agreement with the Seoul Metropolitan Government in July 2016 and is looking to develop and expand ties with its counterparts.

Science and technology

Korea is a global science and innovation leader and New Zealand considers it an important collaboration partner. There is a range of ongoing activities under a Science and Technology Cooperation Arrangement signed in 1997. The current programme (the Korea-New Zealand Strategic Research Partnership Fund), which focuses on advanced technologies, environment/Antarctic research, and health, was announced in early 2015. It aims to strengthen collaborative links and raise awareness of mutual research capabilities.

One notable joint research project to come out of the first Programme has been the robotics for elderly care collaboration between the University of Auckland and its Korean counterpart, the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI).

Information Information and communications technology (ICT) is another area of collaboration. Korea is said to be the “most wired country in the world” and a global leader in the development and commercialisation of new technologies, while New Zealand has capabilities in research, software design and leveraging off high-technology.

In July 2014, New Zealand hosted the regular Korea, Australia, New Zealand (KANZ) Technology Summit, which brought together ministers, senior officials and business leaders from the ICT sector, to discuss areas of common interest and commercial opportunities.

Both countries enjoy a collaborative relationship in film. Several Korean films have been partially made or post-produced in New Zealand and our countries signed a Film Cooperation Agreement in 2008.

Antarctica

We’re both consultative parties to the Antarctic Treaty, have signed the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty and are members of the Commission for the Conservation of Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). In 2012, we signed an Agreement on Antarctic Cooperation to promote cooperation on Antarctic policy, scientific research and logistical activities.

Korea’s new research facility in the Ross Sea region, Jang Bogo Station, opened in early 2014 and is supported out of Christchurch.

Māori economy

Korea is important to Māori business as a market for logs, horticulture and seafood products, as well as tourism. A Korean company, Hansol, has partnered with Ngati Porou interests in an East Coast forestry investment.

Defence

A defence relationship has developed out of New Zealand’s involvement in the Korean War. Groups of New Zealand veterans and their families visit the ROK each April for commemorative ceremonies in Seoul, the Kapyong battle site, and at the UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan, where 34 New Zealanders are buried. The Royal New Zealand Navy's new tanker, HMNZS Aotearoa, is currently under construction at the Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in Ulsan.

New Zealand continues to support efforts to bring peace and security to the Korean Peninsula. New Zealand contributes a small number of New Zealand Defence Force personnel to United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC).

Working Holiday Scheme

New Zealanders aged between 18 and 30 can apply for a 12-month working holiday visa for South Korea.

To apply, you can go to, or post your application to, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Wellington or the Consulate of the Republic of Korea in Auckland.

For more information, read the Korean Govenment's website.

Embassies

• New Zealand is represented in Korea by the New Zealand Embassy, Seoul
• Korea is represented in New Zealand by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to New Zealand, Wellington(external link) 

Recent official visits

New Zealand to Korea

Korea to New Zealand