#100 President Obama’s 2011 State of the Union Speech: Korea Looms Large

[스티븐스 대사]

In the United States, the month of January is associated with several annual events.  January 17 marked the 25^th anniversary of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday, a day U.S. citizens observe as a national day of service in honor of Dr. King, an advocate for tolerance and equality among people of all backgrounds.  Throughout the month we have enjoyed (or endured, depending on one’s level of enthusiasm for hours of watching TV) the American football playoff season, culminating this year in a February 6 Super Bowl showdown between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.  American football is not my favorite spectator sport, but this year I am rooting for Pittsburgh, both because I like the city (I’ll tell you why some other time) and because I like Hines Ward, the Steelers’ star wide receiver.  Hines Ward was born in Korea in 1976 to a Korean mother and an American father; in the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. he has inspired us to examine the treatment of biracial citizens.  On February 6 I’ll be wearing the Steelers jersey he gave me when we met in Seoul last year.

Here I am with NFL star Hines Ward, Minister of Gender Equality and Family Paik Hee Young and Cyber University President Kim Choong Soon on Children’s Day in May last year.  That jersey I’m holding is a number 86 Steelers jersey given to me by Hines: I’ll be wearing it on Super bowl Sunday!

But the January event that has really captured my attention is the President’s annual State of the Union (sometimes referred to as “SOTU”) address to Congress.  American Presidents in the modern age give lots of speeches, but the State of the Union address is unique in tracing its origins all the way back to Article II, Section III of the U.S. Constitution, which commands that the President “shall from time to time give to Congress Information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”  Our first President, George Washington, gave the first State of the Union address on January 6, 1790 in New York City, then the provisional U.S. capital.  In the more than two centuries since then, and especially with the advent of modern communication and America’s global role, the audience for the speech has become bigger than the U.S. Congress, or even the American people.  The speech – its tone and substance, what it mentions and what it doesn’t – is scrutinized throughout the world.

President Obama delivering the 2011 State of the Union Address (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

For the State of the Union address, all Members of Congress, Senators and Congressmen together, sit in the House of Representatives chambers.  Traditionally, they sit together in party blocks, alternately rising and clapping for those sections of the speech that their party supports.  This year, in the aftermath of the attack on a U.S. Congresswoman and others in Tucson, Arizona, and at a time of growing concern about excessive polarization and overheated rhetoric between our political parties, many members of Congress chose to sit together in bipartisan pairs as a signal of their readiness to reach across party lines for the common good.  Also at the speech this year, as is traditional, were the President’s Cabinet, Supreme Court justices, members of the diplomatic corps (I understand Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Han Duk-soo was present), and, in the balcony with the First Lady, ordinary citizens whose accomplishments the President recognized in his speech, including a soldier decorated for bravery, a young girl who won a national science fair, and an engineer whose equipment helped to save the Chilean miners.   

The Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol during the 2011 State of the Union Address (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

You can read President Obama’s entire speech in English or Korean at this link (KOR / ENG).  What struck me was the President’s declaring to Americans that “this is our generation’s Sputnik moment,” when we must “win the future” with a fresh commitment to innovation, education, and strengthening our infrastructure.  I was also struck, as I know many Koreans were, not only by President’s Obama’s affirmation of the importance of the U.S.-Korea alliance, but by his citing of Korea as an example of a country which has succeeded because it has done (and is still doing) some important things right, like investing in education and infrastructure.

President Obama told Congress and the American people that, “Our infrastructure used to be the best, but our lead has slipped.  South Korean homes now have greater Internet access than we do.”  Coincidentally, I had lunch the following day with a former government minister who described to me how in 1998 the Korean government established a plan for broadband Internet access services in Korea.  This was during the Asian financial crisis, when the government faced severe budgetary pressures and efforts to deregulate the telecommunications sector.  But the government sought to achieve its vision through partnership with the private sector, and despite the difficult economic times, succeeding in expanding high speed internet to all parts of Korea.  The United States needs to continuously improve its infrastructure, President Obama emphasized, whether in expanding internet access or in building high speed rail throughout America.

And, yes, President Obama expressed again his admiration for Korea’s extraordinary passion for education.  On this occasion he noted that “In South Korea, teachers are known as ‘nation builders.’”   He urged that Americans treat our teachers with the same level of respect.  And in the days since he made that remark, I’ve heard – again – from many Koreans who tell me President Obama thinks too highly of the Korean education system, that he seems to be unaware of some of its problems, including at times excessive pressure and competition. 

My own sense is that President Obama knows well that no system is perfect.  In fact, we are proud that so many Korean families invest their most previous resource, their children, in getting an American education.  That’s a sign of how much the U.S. educational system has to offer.  But as someone who has witnessed the role that education played in Korea’s development, and who has experienced, albeit many years ago, the respect that comes with being a “sun-saeng-nim (선생님),” I do think America can learn from Korea, too.  That’s why American researchers and reporters are coming to Korea to learn more about Korean education.  Just this month, an American Fulbright scholar did a presentation at the embassy on her research on the Korean education system, and the much-respected PBS Newshour broadcast a lengthy special report from Seoul that focused on the strengths and shortcomings of Korea’s heavy focus on educational achievement.

It is also significant that President Obama used the State of the Union address to ask Congress to ratify the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement “as soon as possible.”  He also affirmed that “on the Korean peninsula, we stand with our ally South Korea, and insist that North Korea keeps its commitment to abandon nuclear weapons.”

It wasn’t only noticeable to those us here in Korea that President Obama referred to Korea so many times in his State of the Union address.  In fact, by my count, Korea got more mentions than any other foreign country!  {By the way, if you’re interested in how often  President Obama has mentioned Korea in his speeches and what he’s had to say, our webmaster has compiled a listing here.}

Whether it’s national security, trade, or our children’s education, now more than ever our two countries have a lot to say to each other, a lot to learn from each other, and a lot to do together. 

As I post this blog, I am headed back to the U.S. to talk about all of this and more with my colleagues in Washington.  I will miss celebrating Lunar New Year in Korea, but Secretary Clinton has asked all of us serving as U.S. Ambassadors to go back to Washington for a first-ever global Ambassadors’ conference.  I’ll tell you all about it when I get back.  In the meantime, I wish you a peaceful and happy week with your families and friends. 

This is my 100^th blog, and the beginning of a new year.  I want to thank all of you for your interest in our conversation through this medium.  As we start the next 100 blogs, let me know if there are topics you’d like to hear more about.