Prime Minister John Key chats to veterans in Busan, South Korea. Photo / NZ Defence Force
A far cry from the stinking ruins of the war-ravaged city New Zealand's war veterans saw here 60 years ago, Seoul is now an attractive destination.
With South Korea's 50 million people enjoying per capita income on a par with New Zealand, Seoul has all the colour and vibrancy one
expects from a major Asian city, but apparently little of the grinding poverty often seen in many others.
The wealth of its people is particularly apparent in the hundreds of families sunning themselves in the gorgeously landscaped poolside gardens of the Park Hyatt, Prime Minister John Key's favourite hotel when he visits.
That wealth makes South Korea an important $1.5 billion export destination for New Zealand producers. Those exports, however, are under threat from competition from rivals in the United States, Chile and the European Union who can undercut us because they have free trade agreements with Korea, but we don't.
Mr Key's visit with 30 Korean War veterans over the past week was to commemorate the end of hostilities with North Korea 60 years ago, but it was also about restarting free trade talks which stalled three years ago.
