I am passionate about the Korean peninsula. South Korea's social, economic and political achievements and its extraordinary dynamism makes Korea a fascinating country to research. Moreover, the importance of the Australia-Korea relationship brings added value and satisfaction to my work. My current research project entitled "The Korean peninsula in Australia's future: Developing Australian expertise on North Korean humanitarian and non-traditional security challenges" has been generously funded by the Australia-Korea Foundation. The project aims at understanding the possible challenges posed to Australia and the wider region from the ongoing instability in North Korea. In developing this knowledge, my research aims to make a small contribution to the debate on how these threats can be mitigated. In particular, I examine the value of bilateral and multilateral humanitarian and development aid in North Korea.

The AKF funding for my project enabled me to visit South Korea to carry out interviews with key policy-makers and NGO officials involved in humanitarian assistance to North Korea. It also provided me with an opportunity to meet many North Korean exiles living in the South to investigate their attitudes to humanitarian aid and other engagement with the DPRK. The views of North Korean exiles are often portrayed by their 'representative' organisations to be uniformly against humanitarian and development exchange with the North. My own experience, however, had suggested a much larger range of views on this topic within the North Korean community. The goal of this research project was to examine this apparent contradiction.

The AKF-funded trip in Korea has not only enabled me to carry out research but also to develop lasting relationships with key Korean partners. With these partners I will continue to share important knowledge on a wide variety of Korea-related issues. Any academic researcher will tell you that these types of relationships are key to accessing high quality, accurate and insightful information. And these kind of ties can only be developed only by being in the country and over extended periods of time. The AKF's role in helping individuals and organisations to develop such relationships has been crucial in strengthening ties between Australia and Korea at the commercial, academic, educational and social levels.

For example, as a result of visiting Korea I have developed and furthered relationships with organisations including the North Korea Database Centre (NKDB), Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights, Korea Educational Development Institute (KEDI), World Vision Korea, the Korean Sharing Movement and the Teach North Korean Refugees Project at the Mulmangcho Human Institute. I also have cemented strong individual relationships with a number of North Korean friends and colleagues living in the South.

This is perhaps the most interesting element of my research. Interviews with the North Korean community living in the South provided me with valuable research material. Through these interactions, however, I have also had the opportunity to develop some great friendships. In my spare time during the trip, I coached a number of North Korean high school children in English, attended North Korean community events and participated in family gatherings. These opportunities not only provided me with tremendous insight into the lives of the North Korean community in the South, but also gave me great joy!

The preliminary results of my research show a wide spectrum of attitudes to economic, humanitarian and political engagement with the North among North Koreans in the South. The results of this research project will form the basis of a number of academic articles as well as academic blog posts and media contributions. The AKF funding has also inspired my new website. Aside from regular blog posts, the site has a valuable glossary of terms that defines the humanitarian language, acronyms and jargon used in relation to North Korea. I have also participated in a project convened by the Korean Institute for National Unification (KINU) examining potential contributions to the Korean unification process by the G20 group of nations. My contribution examines a possible role for Australia. A substantial element of this project involved discussion and analysis of Australia's likely contribution to improving the humanitarian situation in the North leading up to and in the case of unification. It will be published in early 2015.

Given the importance of Korea to Australia, Australia still lacks sufficient academic, linguistic, commercial or cultural expertise on Korea. Such expertise is essential if Australia is to understand the opportunities and challenges attached to this close relationship. This is why the Australia-Korea Foundation is so important. It continues to do excellent work to not only promote Australia-Korea ties but also to support organisations and individuals working to develop expertise and knowledge on Korea that can be shared and utilised as we move the Australia-Korea relationship forward. Through these AKF-supported projects, the AKF is helping to develop expertise and promote discussion on Korea in Australian academic, policy and media forums and to ensure that Australia is represented in key debates on Korean peninsula issues.

Biography

Dr Emma Campbell is a current Visiting Fellow and the former Korea Institute Postdoctoral Fellow, at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, College of the Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University and works in the field with the humanitarian NGO Médecins Sans Frontières. Previous roles include Researcher at the North Korea Database Centre, a Seoul-based NGO specialising in North Korean human rights and welfare of North Korean refugees living in South Korea.

Emma received her PhD from the Australian National University in 2011 where she was a Korea Foundation Scholar and Cheung Kong Australia Endeavour Research Fellow. During her PhD she was also a beneficiary of an Australia-Korea Foundation Scholarship. Her ongoing projects include research into attitudes in South Korea to unification and the DPRK and an AKF-funded project examining the relationship between security policy and humanitarian assistance to North Korea.

Emma's recent publications include '"Fieldwork" North Korea: Observations of daily life on the ground inside the country' in the The Asia Pacific Journal. She is currently finalising a book entitled Eternal division? The end of 'one Korea' and the rise of South Korean nationalism. She appears frequently in international and Australian media and blogs, including Al Jazeera, Sky News, the Australian Financial Review and the East Asia Forum, as a commentator on Korean peninsula issues.