That is why I emphasize welfare, the quality of life and a creative mind. It is time for Korea to keep up with the global trend and lead the way rather than to follow others. Korea is now one of the world’s most advanced economies and for the country to join the ranks of the top five powers, we should think differently.

"Egypt, the gift of the Nile” is a phrase coined by the Greek historian Herodotus 3,000 years ago in his book about Egypt. His description continues to be true today, as Egypt is the only place in the world where a river cuts across a thousand miles of desert, creating a civilization along with it.

Reciprocity is the first principle of diplomacy, and India has walked the extra mile to befriend neighbours, as underscored by its record on land and water disputes. Yet today, India lives in the world’s most-troubled neighbourhood. India’s generosity on land issues has been well documented.

The 24th country I visited as part of my cultural diplomacy tour was South Africa, where I gave lectures for six days from July 30 at the University of Pretoria's Gordon Institute of Business Science in Johannesburg. It was my first lecture on the African continent.

It was an unprecedented opportunity to talk about the role of culture internationally, what cultural organisations have in common and what sets them apart. It was a chance to ask questions, share experience and find solutions.

America's top diplomat, the president's closest ally on foreign policy formulation and execution, and the most influential cabinet member in the Obama administration Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton strongly believes that the ethnic Diasporas using the American soil to promote human rights, democracy and good governance in their former homelands have lot of credibility.

Michigan State University student Brisbane Asekome spent her summer serving as a student ambassador at the 2012 World Expo in Yeosu, Korea. As a student ambassador, she was on the front lines of U.S. public diplomacy efforts as the public face of the USA Pavilion 2012.

FOR decades the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has led a largely blameless existence, untroubled by the glare of publicity as it gently sought to bring coherence to a region of enormous political and economic differences. Not for ASEAN the highs and calamitous lows of, for example, the European Union. All that has now suddenly changed.