#125 A Site for the New U.S. Embassy in Seoul

[스티븐스 대사]

Acting Foreign Minister Park Suk-hwan, General Walter Sharp and I planted a tree at the future site of the U.S. Embassy.

The U.S. Embassy to Korea has been located at Gwanghwamun for over forty years.  While the location is convenient, the building, constructed in the 1960s, was never meant to be our permanent Embassy.  But we’re still using it today, and we’ve been working for years to secure a location to build a new Embassy that reflects today’s world and today’s U.S.-Korea relationship.

That’s why I was so pleased to participate in an event last month with USFK Commander General Walter Sharp and Acting Foreign Minister Park Suk-hwan to mark the site of the future U.S. Embassy in Seoul.  At the site – which is on the edge of the U.S. garrison in Yongsan-gu – we unveiled a plaque and planted a “Hoe Hwa” tree.

I like the Hoe Hwa tree (called in English the “Scholar Tree” or sometimes the “Chinese scholar tree”).  I have long admired some of the fine Hoe Hwa trees in the Jeong-dong area, near my residence, including the famous one on the grounds of the former Gyeonggi Girls’ High School.  So at the tree planting, I talked about how the Hoe Hwa tree symbolizes the strength and durability of the U.S.-ROK relationship.  Here is what I said:

Good afternoon.  Acting foreign minister, Park Suk-hwan, General Sharp, I want to thank both of you in particular for taking time to join me today for what I think is a very important and meaningful day in the relationship between the United States of America and the Republic of Korea.  Today we mark a very important step toward building the new U.S. Embassy in Korea, an embassy, a building, that will symbolize our relationship in the 21st century and beyond. 

We have been working for over forty years to secure a location for our new permanent embassy.  The building that we occupy now in Gwanghwamun we moved into in the late 1960’s.  It was always meant to be a temporary move.  Now finally, here we have a site where we can and will construct a purpose-built embassy that will reflect today’s Korea, today’s United States, and today’s U.S.-Korea alliance.  I want to take this opportunity to thank very sincerely Minister Park and his staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and throughout the Korean government; General Sharp and his colleagues at U.S. Forces Korea; and my own staff at the U.S. Embassy for all the work that has gone into bringing us this far.

I know people are going to wonder, “What kind of embassy are we going to build here?:  In fact, last week, I received a booklet from the United States Department of State called “Design Excellence” which talks about the kind of embassies we build for the United States for the 21st century and beyond.  It will be a welcoming building.  It will have a design that is responsive to this beautiful site, to the surroundings and to Korean culture.  It will be a beautiful building.  There are some pictures in this booklet of beautiful embassies we have built in Beijing and other places and beautiful embassies we are building now in places like London.  My resolve, with your cooperation, Minister Park and General Sharp, is that in the coming years we will build a building that will be in the next edition of this book and it will be the U.S. Embassy in the Republic of Korea.

The tree we are planting here is called the Hoe Hwa tree.  I’ve come to love this tree in Korea and all that it represents.  I particularly admired for many years a very large Hoe Hwa tree that is near my residence in Jeong-dong and I want to tell you something about what this tree symbolizes.  Because of its strength and straight trunk, as you see here, it is known as a symbol of strong and firm character.  This is a tree that is also known for its longevity.  I know that there are many specimens around the world that are older than 500 years old.  So I look forward to this tree growing with our new embassy growing beside it.  As our alliance continues to broaden and deepen, I believe this tree will stand alongside this embassy as a symbol of the durability and strength of the U.S.-Korea partnership.  Thank you very much.

The plaque beneath the tree states: “This Hoe Hwa tree was planted on July 4, 2011 to mark the future site of the Embassy of the United States of America to the Republic of Korea, continuing to deepen ties that began with the establishment of diplomatic relations on May 22 1882.”

I won’t be here to see the construction of the new Embassy, but I certainly plan to visit Seoul when the new Embassy building is finished.  I look forward to seeing the strong and graceful Hoe Hwa tree growing next to a modern and welcoming U.S. Embassy.  It will be a fitting symbol of our deepening and broadening partnership.

    

[blessings]

외교통상부 장관권한 대행 자격으로 참석하신 박석환 제1차관님의 영문 성함 스펠링은 Park Suk-hwan입니다.
본문상에 Pak Seok-hwan으로 되어 있으니 참고 바랍니다. 항상 좋은 글 감사합니다.

[twincities]

박석환씨의 표준 영문 표기는 park seok hwan.

[스티븐스 대사]

지적해주셔서 감사합니다. 확인하고 다시 올렸습니다!