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em>Indonesia-South Korea bilateral trade continues to grow along with the increasingly popular Hallyu (Korean wave), with more K-pop (Korean pop), Korean artists and K-drama (Korean drama) on Indonesian televisions. Meanwhile, the economic partnership should be put in black and white to elevate it to a higher level. Indonesian Ambassador to South Korea John A. Prasetio explored the issue in a recent interview with The Jakarta Post'€™s Raras Cahyafitri. Below are excerpts of the interview.

Question: How is the relationship between Indonesia and South Korea?

Answer: Our relationship is economically complementary. We have the resources, Korea does not. We can sell our natural resources '€” hopefully processed ones '€” and we want Korea to transfer its technology to help industrialization in Indonesia.

It just needs negotiation on what you need and what I need to together bring better welfare to the people of Indonesia and South Korea.

Being surrounded by other countries has forced South Korea to gain expertise in developing military equipment.

Korea is also known as an information and communications technology (ICT) powerhouse, while Indonesia is still struggling with its public services. These are among the things that we can learn.

Is there any room for improvement in the future?

There are some things that could be warmer. For example, there are so many Korean restaurants in Jakarta, but there are no proper Indonesian restaurants in Korea. Unlike Thai and Vietnamese restaurants there.

It means that we still have work to develop Indonesian soft power there.

In 2011 before my posting, then South Korean president Lee Myung-bak said Indonesia was a future country and that South Korea and its companies wanted to be part of Indonesia'€™s success story.

But, he said, those investments would likely be long term and sustainable if both countries were economic partners and had a free-trade agreement.

Regarding free trade, you talk about welfare gain. Negotiations on CEPA [Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement] are about how much welfare gain you are creating by way of signing an agreement.

The benefits for Korea are clear, so the Indonesian side asked, '€˜what'€™s in it for me?'€™ The Korean side said, '€˜I will invest in your place. I'€™m creating jobs, there will be [...] transfer of technology.'€™

Our job is to assess whether this is a win-win proposition or if there are things we need to add to make sure that Indonesia gains enough from the CEPA.

Some companies remain reluctant to open a factory in Indonesia. What approaches have been made?

Korea has said, '€˜Indonesia is such a large market, the fourth largest country in terms of population and with a growing middle class. Why would I want to only sell goods there? I want to set up a factory. But can you make it easier for me to put my money in Indonesia? The burden is actually with you not with me.'€™

There are numerous examples of delayed investment in Indonesia as investors obtained no land for their projects.

Indonesia and South Korea are friends and everything is good. There are opportunities to elevate the level of our relationship. Korea said when you signed the CEPA, it was political recognition of our relationship being raised to another level.

South Korean investment continues to grow, but Japan remains Indonesia'€™s main investor. How do you see this?

We have had a longer relationship with Japan so that it has a better understanding of Indonesia.

In terms of Indonesia'€™s interests, we also want to see not only Japanese cars in Jakarta but also other brands, like Volkswagen or Kia. If we see all smartphones are Samsung, we also should see other brands like BlackBerry or iPhone. It means that you are not putting all your eggs in one basket.

It'€™s not an exclusive relationship but a positive sum game, everybody wins.