The autumn start of the new school year is always a moment of reflection for me, as it marks the anniversary of my arrival in South Korea. In 2024 I am starting my 16th year living and teaching in Seoul. When I look back at my own experience and growth in South Korea, inevitably I also think about how the country has changed since my arrival.

As we are in a month heavy on diplomatic events — Korea Global Forum, Seoul Defense Dialogue, ReAIM Conference — one of my thoughts has been about the development of the diplomatic scene here. Namely, I am fascinated by how much better the foreign diplomatic corps has become since I landed in Seoul in 2009. This may seem somewhat trivial in the grand scheme of international politics, but the improvement is both symbolically and substantively important, and deserves some reflection.

It is common to read about South Korea's growth into an important middle power on the back of economic dynamism: high education levels, broad industrial strength, advanced technology and cultural soft power. It is also common to read about the events that have marked South Korea in recent decades: the World Cup, World Expo, G20 summit, Nuclear Security Summit, Park Geun-hye's impeachment, 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, Summit for Democracy, leader summits with the U.S. and Japan, etc. And of course South Korea has gained attention by virtue of its contrast with and countering of North Korea's malfeasance. Not only does every North Korean nuclear or missile test draw attention to the Korean Peninsula, but it reminds the rest of the world that the country below the 38th parallel is peaceful, prosperous and democratic.

All of this has had a positive effect on the quality of the foreign diplomatic corps in South Korea. In short, South Korea has become a much more important country, and the excellence of the foreign diplomats here reflects that.

When I first arrived in Seoul, the ambassadors posted here were mostly classifiable into two categories. On the one hand: very experienced, highly knowledgeable, engaged ambassadors from the U.S., Japan, China and Russia. On the other hand: a generally bland hodgepodge of unimpressive ambassadors from other states. This makes sense, of course, as South Korea has been a critically important state for the US, Japan, China and Russia since the Korean War. The quality of their ambassadors here has reflected their major strategic equities on the peninsula. Meanwhile, for most other countries, South Korea was not considered especially significant, and consequently many ambassadors posted here from other regions were halfway into retirement, or were political appointees, or lacked sufficient influence with their home ministry or government, or were unenthusiastic about their Seoul posting, or were simply not among their nation's best.

How times have changed. On average, I meet a few ambassadors a week at briefings, conferences, events or national day celebrations, and it is clear that over the last decade the ambassadors from the non-U.S. Americas, Europe, SE Asia, the Middle East and Africa have become distinctly better, even excellent, at least in terms of their visible, public-facing activities. Many of these ambassadors now posted here are both experienced and still in the prime of their careers. They know their briefing books perfectly. They are active, inquisitive and insightful. They are proactively building, maintaining and expanding relations between their countries and South Korea. They praise South Korea effusively when warranted, and stand up forcefully for their country's interests and values when necessary. For a meaningful percentage of ambassadors posted to South Korea over the last decade, their ambassadorship was a second posting to South Korea, following an earlier period as a political or economic counselor. This experience matters. A number of ambassadors posted in Seoul speak Korean.

Perhaps most importantly, they want to be in South Korea because it is now a prime assignment due its economic, political and cultural power. South Korea's status as a desirable posting also impacts the quality of the corps of lower-ranked diplomats, who have also become much better over the last decade. South Korea's attractiveness to top-flight younger diplomats means that it will be well positioned to see them return in higher-ranking positions in the future.

Symbolically, the improvement in the foreign diplomatic corps in Seoul matters because it is an indicator of the development of South Korea's global influence. But there is a substantive dimension also. Better diplomats here means better relations between South Korea and the rest of the world, which should produce outcomes that benefit South Korea and make it stronger, thus attracting better diplomats. This is a virtuous circle with a positive impact for all concerned.

Mason Richey is a professor of international politics at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, president of the Korea International Studies Association, and editor-in-chief of the Journal of East Asian Affairs.