Poland and South Korea first made official contact during the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games under the watchful eyes of their governments. Polish youth and sports minister Aleksander Kwasniewski, who later became the country’s president, visited South Korea unofficially to discuss “pragmatic politics” befalling his communist nation.

Their shared desires for freedom and democracy soon paved the way for a vibrant East-West partnership into the 21st century. According to Polish Ambassador to South Korea Krzysztof Ignacy Majka, Poland’s political and economic transition and historical reconciliation with neighboring countries can provide inspirations to both South and North Korea.

“I am sure many of you remember the Hodori Tiger ― the mascot for the 1988 Seoul Games. That symbol became Asia’s economic tiger,” Majka said during a reception celebrating the 25th anniversary of relations between Poland and South Korea and the Polish Army Day.

In his keynote speech delivered at the Millennium Seoul Hilton hotel on Dec. 8, the ambassador noted, “Poland is South Korea’s largest investment destination in Central Europe; South Korea is Poland’s second largest economic partner in Asia after China.”

Since diplomatic relations were established in November 1989, bilateral trade volume has multiplied 60-fold to reach $4.3 billion last year. More than 150 South Korean firms, concentrated in the electronics and automobile sectors, are operating in Poland with accumulated investments of over $1.4 billion.

The two countries became strategic partners last year and economic cooperation has expanded to areas of information communication technology, defense, renewable energy and transport infrastructure.

The National Bank of Poland president and former Polish Prime Minster Marek Belka said in an improvised speech, “South Korea is a household name in Poland. Poles watch television with Korean TV sets produced in our country.”

Belka quipped, “During the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, we duly lost to South Korea to pave the way for your fantastic success in reaching the semifinals. Once again, congratulations!”

Military officers in green, black and blue uniforms paid tribute to Poland’s victory in the 1920 Battle of Warsaw, also known as the “Miracle on the Vistula River.”

Polish soldiers have served on U.N., NATO and EU missions around the world, the ambassador said; they were on the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission duty in Korea’s Demilitarized Zone for the last 61 years.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Lee Sang-kyu explained that establishing relations with Poland helped South Korea’s Nordpolitik policy, aimed at normalizing ties with former communist bloc. Lee emphasized the strong investments in education and human resources, which enabled Poles and Koreans to pull through times of turbulent change.

Majka highlighted the Polish language faculty at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul ― Asia’s largest since being launched in 1987. Korean students are opening their eyes to educational opportunities in Poland, which offer musical and engineering excellence.

Polish artists have regularly been featured at film, jazz and performing arts festivals in South Korea. The city of Daegu ― home of the Polish Honorary Consulate as of last week ― will host the third Asia-Pacific International F. Chopin Piano Competition next year.

In a separate interview with The Korea Herald, Belka shed light on his country’s transition from a socialist command economy to a free market economy. He came to South Korea to serve as a panelist at the 2014 World Policy Conference in Seoul from Dec. 8-10.

“Throughout former Eastern Europe, the overwhelming aspiration was to go back to where we belonged originally, to be integrated into Western Europe,” Belka said. “The years of communism were unnatural for us. It was an intermission in our political and economic development.”

Belka said that the Poles’ desire to “catch up” with their Western European counterparts was a catalyst for change: “Poles were hungry for success. There was a natural drive to make up for our lost years, to improve our standard of living.” He added, “People understood perfectly well that they had to work longer, harder and smarter.”

Poland has since joined the EU, NATO and OECD, closing much of the gap with the West, Belka said. He explained that joining the European Union made his country pursue sound economic policies and structural reforms to make the economy “more resilient, flexible and adaptive.”

“Poland now has a stable and competitive economy,” according to Belka, who underscored Poland’s world-class engineering expertise and inexpensive labor force for foreign investment.

Poland and Germany ― at gunpoint during WWII ― developed “very good partnership, even friendship” after the war, largely due to Germany’s contrition, Belka said. “It was all built on clearing the past. Europeans don’t have a problem saying ‘I’m sorry. Forgive me for my past wrongdoings.’ It’s also normal to accept apologies.”

“In a sense we have grown out of these problems despite differences in our opinions,” Belka stressed. “There has been a real sense of being united in our common interest, in being European. If there’s anything from our experience that may be of use to East Asia, it would be our reconciliation and normalization.”

By Joel Lee (joel@heraldcorp.com)