I am writing to express my disappointment regarding a series of recent articles published by your newspaper on the Australian Working Holiday program.
This program encourages cultural exchange and closer ties between partner countries by allowing young adults (ages 18-30) to take an extended holiday, during which they can also work and study. Korean Working Holiday visa-holders have been part of our program since 1995, and in the most recent year we saw 35,220 Koreans come to Australia, an increase of 8 percent over the previous year.
I visited Australia last month and met personally with several Koreans in the program who reported a high level of satisfaction with it.
Many Korean recipients look to extend their stays in Australia once their visas have expired. Surveys of Koreans who have visited Australia have ranked the country first in safety and friendliness.
And yet none of these positive aspects of the program were highlighted in your articles. Had your journalist spoken to staff at our embassy, we could have put you in touch with many alumni of our program who have benefitted greatly from it and who have gone on to pursue successful careers here and in Australia.
The feedback we receive from citizens from the other 27 countries who participate in the program is also overwhelmingly positive. Your newspaper is rightly proud of Korea's impressive achievements. I would ask at the very least that your paper adopt a more balanced approach when reporting on developments in Australia, a close friend of the Republic of Korea.
More information on our program can be found at http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holiday.
Brendan Berne
Charge d'affaires, Australian Embassy, Seoul
This program encourages cultural exchange and closer ties between partner countries by allowing young adults (ages 18-30) to take an extended holiday, during which they can also work and study. Korean Working Holiday visa-holders have been part of our program since 1995, and in the most recent year we saw 35,220 Koreans come to Australia, an increase of 8 percent over the previous year.
I visited Australia last month and met personally with several Koreans in the program who reported a high level of satisfaction with it.
Many Korean recipients look to extend their stays in Australia once their visas have expired. Surveys of Koreans who have visited Australia have ranked the country first in safety and friendliness.
And yet none of these positive aspects of the program were highlighted in your articles. Had your journalist spoken to staff at our embassy, we could have put you in touch with many alumni of our program who have benefitted greatly from it and who have gone on to pursue successful careers here and in Australia.
The feedback we receive from citizens from the other 27 countries who participate in the program is also overwhelmingly positive. Your newspaper is rightly proud of Korea's impressive achievements. I would ask at the very least that your paper adopt a more balanced approach when reporting on developments in Australia, a close friend of the Republic of Korea.
More information on our program can be found at http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holiday.
Brendan Berne
Charge d'affaires, Australian Embassy, Seoul
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