Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of Korea 

Andrew CHERNETSKY

주한 벨라루스공화국 대사

앤드루 체르네츠키

“Originally, I am not from diplomatic background. Having served in the military for 30 years I also have academician experience and obtained a Ph.D. in electrical engineering. Areas of my scientific research were high voltage power transmission, electrical grid optimization and control, usage of energy storage systems in it. 

In 2021 I was appointed by the President of Belarus as an Ambassador to the Republic of Korea. 

I am married and blessed with daughter and son. To relax I prefer to play guitar – I like it very much because the guitar string sound could resonate with the strings of our souls. I like sport activity, especially OCR sport – Obstacle Course Racing.
 I was very proud when I managed to complete the one of the most famous OCR Race – Spartan Race, which took place in South Korea in Samcheok-si on October 20-21, 2023. I was successful to complete so called “trifecta” - three distances in 2 days – 21 km with 30 obstacles, 10 km with 25 obstacles and 5 km with 20 obstacles taking first places in my age category in first two”.

About Education and Ph.D.

“At school I really liked physics. Of all branches of physics, I was very interested in the theory of electromagnetism. In the former USSR, the popular science film "The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin" about a scientist who tried to subdue the energy of electromagnetic waves was very popular. I think this played a certain role in choosing the direction of study at the university.

I have always tried to convey to the students that the main thing is not to memorize a topic, but to understand it. It is important not just to solve the problem, it is important to see possible ways to solve it and choose the best one. Such principles, by the way, were typical of the education system at that time”.

About personal experience of combining electrical engineering and diplomacy 

“In fact, a lot of diplomats have a scientific education or a degree. I'm sure it only helps them in their work. The basis for my specialty is two exact sciences - mathematics and physics. The principles of problem solving applied in mathematics and physics, are based on logic. It helps a lot in diplomacy as well. The foundation of diplomacy is communication and negotiation. And the main thing in negotiations is the ability to defend one's position with arguments. And this is where logic is needed.

I enjoy working as a diplomat in general. I could not say that it is an easy job. But diplomacy is vitally necessary for building, maintaining and sometimes restoring confidence between countries. Diplomacy is about dialog, not about confrontation. Those in diplomacy who are eager to confront should have found another job. 

And I feel myself rewarded the most when I and my vis-a-vis succeed in finding issues to cooperate rather than counteract. The ultimate goal for a diplomat in any country is to find common points for interaction between states even despite political differences. So, I am always happy when Republic of Korea and Republic of Belarus are interacting”.

About family 

“In family relationships, I put trust and respect in the first place. We should not make of children what we would like them to be. You just need to help them to be themselves. Each person is an individual, and the task of parents is to help children in revealing this individuality as much as possible”.

Ambassador Andrew Chernetsugi of the Republic of Belarus to Korea is a person to be respected as an ambassador with not only a warm personality but also a special quality that touches people's emotions.