《中英對照讀新聞》New law set to take force to harness S. Korea’s public diplomacy 規範南韓公眾外交的新法開始生效

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Dutch middle-school textbooks on history and geography had depicted South Korea as a cheap-labor economy dependent on fish processing. This was up until South Korean diplomats successfully persuaded the publishers to update their texts two years ago, officials at the foreign ministry here said Wednesday.

南韓外交部官員週三表示，荷蘭的中學史、地理教科書此前描述南韓為一個仰賴水產加工的廉價勞動力經濟體，這樣的內容一直持續到南韓外交官兩年前成功說服教科書的出版商更新他們的版本。

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These cases were only part of the South Korean government’s successful attempts in recent years to improve its national image across the globe through its public diplomacy efforts.

這些案例不過是南韓政府近年來藉其公眾外交作為，在全球成功改善其國家形象的若干嘗試。

The unconventional diplomacy approach reaches out to the hearts and minds of common people, rather than to typical government players, capitalizing on soft assets like culture and knowledge, according to ministry officials. South Korea expects the country’s public diplomacy to make a big leap forward with the legislation of the first public diplomacy law, which goes into effect on Thursday, they said.

部會官員指出，這種非傳統的外交取向是直接訴諸民心，而非典型的政府行為者，並運用諸如文化和知識這類軟性資產。官員說，隨著南韓第一部公眾外交法律的立法於週四生效，該國盼其公眾外交能突飛猛進。

The new law gives the foreign minister the authority to command South Korea’s public diplomacy programs. This year’s budget stands at just 14.2 billion won while Japan earmarked $400 million for public diplomacy.

這項新法給予外長指揮南韓公眾外交計畫的權力。南韓今年度的公眾外交預算僅142億韓元，反觀日本則達4億美元。

新聞辭典

depict：及物動詞，描（敘）述、描寫。His paintings depict the lives of ordinary people in the Middle Ages.（他的畫作描寫中世紀一般人的生活。）

reach out to：動詞片語，試著與某（些）人溝通或接觸、伸出援手。The new mayor is reaching out to the local community.（新任市長正試圖與當地社區溝通。）

earmark：名詞，耳上記號、標記、專款。動詞：在耳朵上在做記號、標記、指定做… 特定用途。例句：Some funds are earmarked for anti-drug programmes.（一些資金被指定用於反毒計畫。）