#105 In the U.S., Talking about Korea

[스티븐스 대사]

President Obama hosted a White House reception for all of his ambassadors, over one hundred of us.

Netizens, I have been travelling more than usual outside Korea in recent months, one reason for fewer blogs.  One trip was to Washington, D.C. in February where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton convoked all of the American ambassadors from around the world in the first-ever U.S. Global Chiefs of Mission Conference.  In the past we had gathered in regional groupings, but Secretary Clinton wanted to gather all of us for several days of discussions with her and our top leadership in Washington.  Some of you may have heard me talk about Secretary Clinton’s description of U.S. foreign policy as comprised of a “three-legged stool: of defense, diplomacy and development” and during the conference we discussed how diplomats and development experts can and must devise solutions to problems that might otherwise require military action.  Thinking about the “three Ds” of diplomacy, defense, and development from a global perspective, and brainstorming with the Secretary and my counterparts serving around the world was very welcome indeed.     

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, delivers remarks at the 2011 Global Chiefs of Mission Conference at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on February 2, 2011. [State Department photo]

A definite highlight of the conference was the reception President Obama hosted for all the ambassadors.  I worked as a National Security Council staffer in the 1990s, and treasure still the privilege of working in the White House.  But it was a particular thrill to be in the beautiful formal rooms of the White House as a guest!  The White House reception area is actually a series of rooms, filled with portraits of former Presidents and First Ladies, and paintings that bring American history to life.  Here is a link to an interactive tour to give you a sense: http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/interactive-tour  

2010 Project Bridge Students with students at Banpo High School (Photo: Pacific Century Institute)

My other trips to the U.S. over the past few months have been to the West Coast, where people really do feel the trans-Pacific ties strongly and personally.  Nowhere is this more apparent than in Los Angeles, where I spoke at the University of Southern California to an impressive group of students, and where I learned more about the work of the Pacific Century Institute (PCI).  I am a particular fan of PCI’s Project Bridge program, which seeks to build a better relationship among the variety of ethnic communities in the Los Angeles area, including the Korean community.  The program brings together young high school students of various ethnic backgrounds from urban communities.  They attend workshops on leadership, and intercultural understanding.  It culminates in a ten-day study tour of Korea.    

At the Pacific Century Institute dinner

PCI honored me with its Building Bridges Award, recognizing work to build better relations between the U.S. and Asia.  The best part of the evening was seeing again the Project Bridge students I had met in Korea last year, and their parents.  These students are now preparing to go to college.  Several told me that learning about Korean culture and visiting Korea had changed their ideas about what they want to study.  Some have decided to study international relations; others may even focus on Asia and Korea in particular.  I met the new group of Project Bridge students too, and look forward to welcoming them to Korea.  Programs like this really do build bridges, and change lives.   

Hiking above Stanford University with scholars from the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC)

My travels also took me to Denver, San Francisco and Phoenix.  These are all great places for winter breaks, by the way, and in each city I found great interest among all I met in what is going on in Korea.  Some of that interest is of course because North Korean issues have been much in the news in recent months, but it also reflects the Republic of Korea’s growing global presence and the thriving Korean-American communities and individuals in every town, city and state in the U.S.  And I think this American interest in things Korean and Asian is also a reflection of the fact that Americans, wherever they are, are simply more aware that the 21^st century is indeed shaping up to be a Pacific century.  Trans-Pacific relations will matter more than ever, to all of us.

 In my own struggle to live in this still-new century and to try to keep pace with the “Generation of Digital Natives,” meaning those of you that were born after the internet was invented, I have opened up a new Twitter account.  So in addition to joining me on this blog, please also follow me at http://twitter.com/AmbStephens.