#134 Minnesota and Korea: Special Ties

[스티븐스 대사]

Last month  Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton visited Korea with a large delegation of business, agricultural, education, political, labor and government officials from his state.  They came to talk about the relationship between Korea and the State of Minnesota and to discuss cooperation in areas like biotechnology and education.

With Governor Dayton and his delegation at Habib House, September 29, 2011

I confess I have never been to Minnesota, and I imagine it seems far away to many Koreans.  But it’s not as distant as you might think.  It’s the home of some iconic American food products, including Spam (Korea is a huge market), Wheaties, Bisquick, and the Milky Way candy bar.  Korea and Minnesota have a large and growing trade relationship (Korea is Minnesota’s sixth largest overseas market), and with implementation of the KORUS Free Trade Agreement, expectations are high for strong growth in both directions.

But I learned that Minnesota and Korea have some important historical ties too.  Minnesota sent some 95,000 young men to Korea to defend and ensure the survival of this country during some very tough times.  I understand that soldiers from Minnesota were wanted for combat in Korea because it was thought they could tolerate the very cold winter.  And they suffered losses; 749 Minnesotans died in action during the Korean War; 1500 were wounded, and 154 were declared missing in action.

Out of sacrifice came a commitment to participating in the building of modern Korea.  One example is the “Minnesota Project,” through which the University of Minnesota, with support from the U.S. government, worked beginning in 1954 with Seoul National University to rebuild and develop its College of Medicine and to exchange staff and equipment in engineering, medicine, agriculture, and public administration.

Since 1954, some 7,000 Koreans studied and earned advanced degrees at the University of Minnesota.  Today, the University of Minnesota Law School alumni group is one of the largest outside of the United States.  It was a pleasure to meet many of them at my residence last month. 

The words “together, we made a difference” are inscribed on the Korean War Memorial near the state capitol in St. Paul.  It is good to see that Minnesotans and Koreans are still making a difference together in addressing the challenges of the 21st century.  

With Chairman Lee, Hee-Beom, STX Engine, National Assembly Representative Park, Jin, and Governor Dayton.

To our delight, Governor Dayton raffled off a round-trip ticket to Minneapolis, courtesy of Delta Airlines.  Minnesota’s winters are colder than Korea’s! 

I trust the winner will have a wonderful visit to the state of 10,000 lakes.

Governor Dayton and Korea Chamber of Commerce and industry Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik

    

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