When it comes to the various relationships that Australia has with Asia and its constituent nation-states and territories, the various relationships that Australia has with the Republic of Korea (and in particular the diplomatic and the people-to-people relationships that Australia has with the Republic of Korea) is widely considered to be one of the most important relationships that Australia has with Asia and its constituent nation-states and territories. So why is the various relationships that Australia has with the Republic of Korea considered to be one of the most important relationships that Australia has with Asia and its constituent nation-states and territories? And why is having a high level of Korea literacy (in addition to having a high level of Asia literacy in general) important when it comes to the understanding, as well as the fostering, of the various relationships that Australia has with the Republic of Korea (whether the relationship in question is diplomatic, economic, business-to-business, or people-to-people)? As will be argued in this second article in this second article in the series of articles that will look at the history of the various relationships that exist between Australia and the Republic of Korea, and how the history of the various relationships that exist between Australia and (what is now) the Republic of Korea has influenced the level of Korea literacy that exist among the general Australian populace, and in particular the level of Korea literacy that exist among students who are undertaking study at all three levels of the Australian education system (whether the student in question is undertaking study at the primary, secondary, or tertiary level of the Australian education system), as well as how the level of Korea literacy that exist among the general Australian populace (and in particular the level of Korea literacy that exist among students who are undertaking study at all three levels of the Australian education system) can have ramifications for both the image that the general Australian populace has of the Republic of Korea (as well as the image that the general Australian populace has of the Korean Peninsula in general), as well as how the general Australian populace views the various relationships that Australia has with the Republic of Korea (whether the type of relationship between Australia and the Republic of Korea in question is diplomatic, economic, business-to-business, or people-to-people).

When it comes to the level of Korea literacy that exist among the general Australian populace, and in particular the level of Korea literacy that exist among students who are undertaking study at all three levels of the Australian education system, there are several variables that can affect the level of Korea literacy that exist among the general Australian populace. The first of these variables that can have ramifications for the level of Korea literacy that exist among the general Australian populace is the level, depth, and quality of the coverage of key news and current affairs events emanating from the Republic of Korea (as well as the coverage of key news and current affairs events emanating from the Korean Peninsula in general) in large sections of the Australian media (whether the media outlet in question is part of the so-called “mainstream media” or is part of the so-called “alternative media”). As will be highlighted in the fourth and fifth articles in this series of articles that will look at the level of Korea literacy that exist among the general Australian populace, having a high level of understanding of key news and current affairs events emanating from the Republic of Korea, as well as having a high level of understanding of key news and current affairs events emanating from the Korean Peninsula in general, is important when it comes to the development of Korea literacy that exist among the general Australian populace. However, and this will be discussed in more detail in the fourth article in this series of articles on Korea literacy in Australia (the fourth article in this series of articles will look at the coverage of Korea in the Australian media), despite the importance of having a high level of understanding of key news and current affairs events stemming from the Republic of Korea (as well as having a high level of understanding of key news and current affairs events emanating from the Korean Peninsula as a whole) to the level of Korea literacy that exist among the general Australian populace, and in particular the level of Korea literacy that exist among students who are undertaking study at all three levels of the Australian education system, in recent years, there had been a gradual decline in the level, depth, and quality of the coverage of key news and current affairs events emanating from the Republic of Korea, as well as a gradual decline in the level, depth, and quality of key news and current affairs events events emanating from the Korean Peninsula in general, in large sections of the Australian media (whether the media outlet in question is part of the so-called “mainstream media” or is part of the so-called “alternative media”), and an argument could be made that this decline in the level, depth, and quality of the coverage of key news and current affairs events emanating from the Republic of Korea has had negative ramifications for the level of Korea literacy that exist among the general Australian populace.

Another variable that can have ramifications for the level of Korea literacy that exist among the general Australian populace is the level, depth, and quality of key news and current affairs in regards to the diplomatic relationship that exists between Australia and the Republic of Korea, an issue that will be discussed in much detail in the fifth article in this series, which will look at the coverage of the various relationships that exist between Australia and the Republic of Korea (whether the relationship in question is diplomatic, economic, business-to-business, or people-to-people). As will be discussed throughout this series of articles, the various relationships that Australia has with the Republic of Korea (whether the relationship in question is diplomatic, economic, business-to-business, or people-to-people) is widely considered to be one of the most important relationships that Australia has with Asia and its constituent nation-states and territories, and this is largely due to both Australia and the Republic of Korea being considered to be global middle powers when it comes to global politics and international relations, and that when it comes to international groupings, both Australia and the Republic of Korea are both members of MIKTA (alongside Mexico, Indonesia and Türkiye), which is a grouping of global middle powers in the realms of global politics and international relations. Another aspect in regards to the importance of the various relationships that exist between Australia and the Republic of Korea that will be discussed in much detail in the coverage of the various relationships that exist between Australia and the Republic of Korea, is the alliance that both Australia and the Republic of Korea has with the United States of America. However, despite the importance of the various relationships that Australia has with the Republic of Korea (and this is especially the case when it comes to the diplomatic and people-to-people relationships that Australia has with the Republic of Korea), an argument could be made that there is very little, if any, coverage of the various relationships that exist between Australia and the Republic of Korea in large sections of the Australian media (whether the media outlet in question is part of the so-called “mainstream media” or Is part of the so-called “alternative media”) and that this lack of coverage of the various relationships that exist between Australia and the Republic of Korea in large sections of the Australian media can have ramifications for, not only the level of Korea literacy that exist among the general Australian populace (and in particular the level of Korea literacy that exist among students who are undertaking study at all three levels of the Australian education system, whether the student is undertaking study at an educational institution that is located at the primary, secondary, or tertiary level of the Australian education system), and this in turn can have ramifications for, not only the image that the general Australian populace has of the Republic of Korea (as well as the image that the general Australian populace has of the Korean Peninsula in general), but also how the general Australian populace views the various relationships that exist between Australia and the Republic of Korea (whether the relationship in question is diplomatic, economic, business-to-business, or people-to-people), with the two most important of these relationships, which will be the centre of the discussion of the fifth article in this series of articles, being the diplomatic and the people-to-people relationships between Australia and the Republic of Korea, and how the Australian media outlets (whether it is the so-called “mainstream media” or the so-called “alternative media”) covers the various relationships that exist between the two nation-states affect, not only the level of Korea literacy that exist among the general Australian populace (and in particular the level of Korea literacy that exist among students who are undertaking study at all three levels of the Australian education system), but also how the general Australian populace views the various relationships that Australia has with the Republic of Korea.

The third, and final, variable that can influence the level of Korea literacy that exist among, not only the general Australian populace as a whole, but more specifically the level of Korea literacy that exist among students who are undertaking study at all three levels of the Australian education system, is the level, depth, and quality, of the teaching, as well as the study, of Korea and the Korean language at educational institutions that are located at all three levels of the Australian education system (whether the educational institution in question is located at the primary, secondary, or tertiary level of the Australian education system). When it comes to how the teaching, as well as the study, of Korea and the Korean language is taught and studied at educational institutions that are located at the three levels of the Australian education system (and in particular the teaching and study of Korea and the Korean language at the tertiary level of the Australian education system), the teaching, as well as the study, of Korea and the Korean language in the Australian education system, is part of moves by governments that are located at all three levels of the Australian political system (and in particular governments that are located at the federal level of the Australian political system) to increase the level of Asia literacy that exist among the general Australian populace, and in particular the level of Asia literacy that exist among students who are undertaking study at all three levels of the Australian education system (whether the student in question is undertaking study at the primary, secondary, or tertiary level of the Australian education system), in order to better prepare members of the general Australian populace for both the challenges, as well as the opportunities, that had been presented by the “Asian Century” and the rise of Asia and its constituent nation-states and territories. And, as will be discussed in the next article in this series of articles, despite the various relationships that Australia has with the Republic of Korea (whether the relationship that Australia has with the Republic of Korea is diplomatic, economic, business-to-business, or people-to-people) are among the most important relationships that Australia has with Asia and its constituent nation-states and territories, there has been very little, if any, effort from governments at all three levels of the Australian political system (and in particular governments at the federal level of the Australian political system) to encourage students who are undertaking study at the three levels of the Australian educational system to undertake study of Korea and the Korean language as part of their studies. When it comes to the teaching, as well as the study, of the Korean language at educational institutions that are located at all three levels of the Australian education system – and this has been most pronounced at educational institutions that are located at both the primary and secondary levels of the Australian education system – there are few educational institutions that offer academic programs that specialise in the teaching, as well as the study, of the Korean language as a language other than English, and when it comes to the availability of the Korean language as a language other than English at educational institutions that are located at the primary and secondary levels of the Australian education system, an arugment could be made that there is a large discrepancy between the various Australian states and territories when it comes to the number of educational institutions that offers students to undertake study in the Korean language as a language other than English at either the primary or secondary levels of the Australian education system, with the majority of educational institutions that are located at the primary and secondary levels of the Australian education system that offers the Korean language as a language other than English being in New South Wales.

In addition, when it comes to the level of Korea literacy that exist among the general Australian populace, and in particular the level of Korea literacy that exist among students who are undertaking study at all three levels of the Australian education system (whether the student in question is undertaking study at the primary, secondary, or tertiary levels of the Australian education system), there are hurdles in place when it comes to increasing the level of Korea literacy that exist among the general Australian populace. And while the main variable that has been impacted by this particular issue revolves around the teaching, as well as the study, of Korea and the Korean language at educational institutions that are located across all three levels of the Australian education system, it can also have ramifications for the other two variables that can influence the level of Korea literacy that exist among the general Australian populace, and in particular the level of Korea literacy that exist among students who are undertaking study at all three levels of the Australian education system, and that is the level of proficiency that each individual member of the generla Australian populace has of the Korean language. As will be discussed in this second article in this series of articles that will look at Korea literacy, when it comes to the development of a high level of Korea literacy among the individual members of the general Australian populace, having a high level of proficiency in the Korean language is considered to be the key to the development of a high level of Korea literacy among members of the general Australian populace, and in particular the level of Korea literacy that exist among students who are undertaking study at all three levels of the Australian education system; however, when it comes to the development of a high level of proficiency in the Korean language among the general Australian populace, and in particular a high level of proficiency in the Korean language among students who are undertaking study at all three levels of the Australian education system, being able to develop a high level of proficiency in the Korean language is easier said than done. In October 2012, the Australian Federal Government (which, at the time, was led by Prime Minister Julia Gillard of the centre-left Australian Labor Party) released the Australia in the Asian Century white pape, which paid particular attention to increasing the level of Asia literacy that exist among the general Australian populace, and in particular increasing the level of Asia literacy that exist among students who are undertaking study at all three levels of the Australian education system (whether the student in question is undertaking study at the primary, secondary, or tertiary level of the Australian education system) by placing a stronger emphasis on the teaching, as well as the study, of Asia by avtively encouraging students who are undertaking study at all three levels of the Australian education system (and in particular students who are undertaking study at the tertiary level of the Australian education system) to undertake study of Asia and an Asian language other than English (and in particular one of the Asian languages other than English that was identified as one of the ‘priority’ Asian languages other than English in the Australia in the Asian Century white paper). And, as will be discussed in the next article in this series of articles, while the four Asian languages other than English were identified as ‘priority’ Asian languages other than English in the Australia in the Asian Century white paper that was released by the Australian Federal Government in October 2012, unfortunately, the Korean language was not one of the four Asian languages other than English that was identified as one of the four ‘priority’ Asian languages other than English in the Australia in the Asian Century white paepr that was releasewd in October 2012 (for the record, the four Asian languages other than English that were identified as ‘priority’ Asian languages other than English in the Australia in the Asian Century white paper were Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, Indonesian, and Japanese).

When it comes to the level of Korea literacy that exist among the general Australian populace, and in particular the level of Korea literacy that exist among students who are undertaking study at all three levels of the Australian education system (whether the student in question is undertaking study at an educational institution that is located at the primary, secondary, or tertiary levels of the Australian education system), there are several aspects that needs to be looked at when it comes to the level of Korea literacy in Australia, one of which is the history of the various relationships between Australia and (what is now) the Republic of Korea, which will be the centre of attention in this second article in the series of articles that will look at the history of the teaching, as well as the study, of Korea and the Korean language within the Australian education system, and how the history of the various relationships that exists between Australia and the Republic of Korea has impacted the level of Korea literacy that exist, not only among students who are undertaking study at educational institutions that are located at all three levels of the Australian education system, but also the level of Korea literacy that exist among the general Australian populace as well.

If you wish to read the entire article, you can read it at my website at bhiskins.wordpress.com/2025/08…