The Park Geun-hye government had always received a good evaluation of its handling of foreign affairs even if they failed miserably in domestic politics. What were the grounds for such assessments? We can make a few guesses. In the early stages, they were seen in a favorable light because of the former government, which had been horrible in its relations with the neighboring four countries due to its constant U.S.-friendly attitude. The government in particular showed potential in its relations with China, whose importance is growing day by day. And there were expectations that the government might be more flexible in its North Korean policy. In addition, there was the positive image that the government effectively created through the president's fashion and frequent overseas trips. And along with the government's self-praise, the temporary rise in the president's approval ratings shortly after her trips probably contributed to the positive evaluation. But as time passed, a calm judgment revealed that these reasons were all deception or an illusion.

What is more serious is that South Korea is disappearing from the international diplomatic stage even before we are able to determine the government's performance. One might ask what I mean when we have gone all the way to Africa and Cuba as well as the U.S., China and Europe. There's no way that South Korea, with a physical existence, is disappearing. The country is busy engaging in foreign relations, yet South Korea is not visible on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia, where critical interests are at stake.

Important actors in international politics are often referred to as stakeholders. But South Korea is not playing the role of a stakeholder on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia. It is true that diplomacy should be handled outside of one's home. But South Korean diplomacy is not where it should be; it’s in the wrong place.

The absence of South Korean diplomacy has become more pronounced since the second half of last year. South Korea voluntarily devaluated the significance of its relations with China, which was heightened by the president's attendance at China's Victory Day celebration in September, in her ensuing trip to the U.S. and lost a good opportunity to exercise leverage in its relations with the U.S. and China. Why had the president gone to China despite the U.S. opposition in the first place? South Korea ended up irritating both the U.S. and China with no benefits gained. South Korea lost all leverage with Japan when it signed the comfort women agreement at the end of last December and had to suffer the diplomatic insult of an "irreversible" agreement. We were invisible.

The trend grew stronger in 2016. After North Korea's fourth nuclear test, South Korea closed down the Kaesong Industrial Compound and cut off all channels to North Korea, throwing away its leverage with North Korea as well. The UN sanctions agreement states that the sanctions will not touch the people's lives, and will be imposed to encourage the North to return to the table, but the South Korean government intentionally ignored this. South Korea is doing nothing more than sitting under a tree waiting for the fruit to fall--for North Korea to repent or collapse. What's more, like Don Quixote, it is charging alone, publicly pressuring China with the positioning of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, while the U.S. and China have agreed to exchange discussions on a peace system with denuclearization behind its back. Once again, South Korea has become the invisible man.

After the seventh congress of the Workers' Party of Korea, while Ri Su-yong visited China and met with President Xi Jinping, President Park Geun-hye went to Africa and the foreign minister flew to Cuba in an attempt to isolate North Korea. The government chose to ignore China, which exerts absolute influence of over 90% on North Korea, and persuade countries that can exercise just enough influence to perhaps make North Korea feel bad. Yet this was exaggerated as an incredible diplomatic feat. Voices whisper that even these countries were not fully convinced. After the meeting between Xi Jinping and Ri Su-yong, the U.S. designated North Korea as a potential money-laundering state and launched an investigation into the alleged violation of the sanctions by the Chinese company Huawei. This in turn raises suspicions on the agreement supposedly reached between North Korea and China. If this is true, there is little chance of the fruit falling into the mouth of South Korea and South Korea's sanctions against the North will eventually end up as threats of self-inflicting pain.

When Obama visited Hiroshima and marked the climax in the U.S.-Japan alliance, South Korea's diplomacy was absent. South Korea, which had handed over everything with the comfort women agreement, was invisible even to the U.S. and Japan. The U.S. and Japan need only to look after each other, for there is nothing more that they can gain from South Korea.

Rather, they criticize that South Korea is passive in the South China Sea issue and is hesitating in positioning the THAAD system. A diplomatic achievement takes time to bear fruit, but the side effects of diplomatic results also take time to surface. That is why it is more frightening. It is difficult to imagine the amount of damage that we are doing now.

Senior Secretary to the President for Foreign Affairs and National Security Kim Kyou-hyun gave a briefing on the results of President Park's trip to Africa and France and said, "We were able to create and broaden a road to overcome the security and economic challenges that we face through the latest trip." There is no knowing specifically what they broadened and how far. If a president goes to a country that previous presidents did not visit, is that creating and broadening our path? Meanwhile, South Korea was absent on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia, where its vital interests are at stake. When will South Korean diplomacy, which has run away from home, return? Our reality, that we can only think of and wait for a new government with a year and half still left ahead of us, not only makes us despair, but also makes us feel sorry, as if it were our fault.