Though Ethiopia and Korea’s five-decade relationship is Korea’s longest with any African nation and some 4,000 Ethiopian soldiers fought for the South during the Korean War, the East African nation’s top diplomat in Korea said he believes the two countries have yet to get know each other.

“Even though Ethiopia and Korea share this war-time experience, it doesn’t mean we know each other well. For that matter, Korea does not know that much about Africa in general,” said Ethiopian Ambassador to Korea Abdeta Dibaba during a special meeting earlier this month for local journalists at his residence in Seoul.

Dibaba pointed to a trajectory that heralds rapid African development which for him was reminiscent of Asia’s rise in the 1980s.

“Now the time has come for the world to give some attention to Africa. As you know, 30-40 years ago, Latin America, Asia and Africa were described as developing or backward countries but now you see where Asia is,” said Dibaba, who arrived in Korea last year in January to help set up Ethiopia’s Embassy here and lift relations to the ambassadorial level.

Ten of the world’s 20 nations with the highest projected annual growth rate are in Africa, many with double-digit figures. Ethiopia exemplifies this optimistic, albeit very recent trend.

Ethiopia has averaged nearly 10 percent GDP over the last decade, according to World Bank figures, which allowed for per capita income to triple to $400 a year. Though poverty afflicts about a quarter of the country’s 85 million people, the 10 years of rapid growth have reduced poverty by a third.

Ethiopian policymakers aim to reach a regional average income of $1,200 a year within the next 10 years.

Perhaps more than anything, these positive signs illustrate the hard place from which the country emerged. Decades of civil war, famine and crippling economic mismanagement left the country in ruins when it awoke from a nightmare after the homicidal Derg were finally defeated in 1991.

The Derg’s Red Terror campaign in the late 1970s and its counter-insurgency strategies in the 1980s are widely believed to be the real cause of the 1983-1985 famine, which killed an estimated 400,000 people.

“It marks the change in government and the change of the political system in 1991. Until then Ethiopia was ruled by the military government dominated by communist ideology,” Dibaba said. “The last 23 years or so has seen an improvement in the lives of the people and the quality of life of society in terms of the economy and the relations with the international community.”

The Derg’s defeat is what Ethiopians celebrate on their National Day on May 28. The Ethiopian Embassy here celebrated this day ― officially the “Derg Downfall Day,” ― on Friday, along with commemorating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year.

On Thursday, Ethiopia and Korea also celebrated the start of direct flights by Ethiopian Airlines. The 50th anniversary of relations and the opening of Ethiopia’s chancery here last year continued to be celebrated in a number of showy cultural events over the weekend.

Ethiopia was the most recent African country to open a chancery here and lift diplomatic relations to an ambassadorial level. There are currently 17 African nations with diplomatic missions here, nearly twice the number when former President Roh Moo-hyun first launched a serious foreign policy effort to expand Korea’s influence in the region in 2005.

Two more countries ― Tanzania and Zambia ― have plans to open chanceries in Seoul this year.

All this marks a well-recognized turning point in the 50-year relationship between Ethiopia and Korea. Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom arrived on Thursday with a large business delegation on Ethiopian Airlines’ maiden flight to meet with Korean business and government leaders.

“We thought it would be appropriate to bring not only governmental officials, but also business delegates including investment, trade and tourism professionals, on this first flight as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations,” said Dibaba.

The weekend celebrations include commemorating Ethiopia’s Kagnew Battalions, sent to support the South during the Korean War, at the Korean Ethiopian War Memorial in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province.

Ethiopian soldiers were regarded as particularly effective fighters by U.S. soldiers during the three year war.

They distinguished themselves in a number of ways.

The 4,000 Ethiopians were the only contingent that had no prisoners to collect from the North Koreans at the close of fighting in 1953, since no Kagnew soldier ever surrendered.

The soldiers won each of the 238 times they engaged the enemy, be it as aggressors or defenders.

Most importantly perhaps was the Ethiopian military tradition of never leaving fallen soldiers behind on the battlefield. This reportedly made them seem nearly super human to friends and enemies alike.

According to some historical accounts, it earned them considerable respect from their American comrades in the field, while fostering the belief among their enemies, who had often never seen black men before, let alone black prisoners or casualties, that they were indeed super-human.

The U.S. Army even awarded Ethiopian Capt. Mamo Habtewold the Silver Star for his valor in the war.

By Philip Iglauer (ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)