#21 Preparing for Secretary Clinton’s Visit to Korea

[스티븐스 대사]

Dear Netizens, thank you for your book suggestions.  I have added them to my growing pile of books to read.

Also in that pile are several books written by former U.S. Ambassadors to Korea.  I decided the U.S. property in Chongdong should have a small library with copies of books written by its former residents.  One of the more interesting books was written not by a former ambassador but by the young chargé, George Foulk, who led the small U.S. mission in Korea after the departure of the first Minister, Mr. Foote.  [A chargé is the person in charge of the post when the Ambassador, or in this case the Minister, is not in the country.]  America's Man in Korea: The Private Letters of George C. Foulk, 1884-1887 is a compilation of personal letters Mr. Foulk wrote to his parents while chargé in Korea.  They are a fascinating glimpse at Korea as seen through a young American’s eyes over a century ago, and I’ll tell you more about what he saw once I’ve finished reading the book!

In the meantime, we are preparing to welcome Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the Republic of Korea next week.  It is a sign of the importance she and the new U.S. Administration attach to our alliance and to East Asia as a whole that her first overseas trip as Secretary of State is to Korea, Japan, China and Indonesia. 

When Secretary Clinton arrived at the State Department on January 22 for her first day in her new job, she described U.S. foreign policy as a stool with three legs.  [Link: http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2009a/01/115262.htm]  The three legs on which U.S. foreign policy stands are defense, diplomacy and development.  This is an apt way to view the U.S. – Korea relationship as well, both in the past and as we deepen and broaden our extraordinary partnership. 

 

  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at her Town Hall Meeting for State Department Employees (February 4, 2009)

This is a theme that I’ll be thinking about in the next week as we welcome the Secretary and showcase the U.S. – Korea relationship.  I hope you, Netizens, will also look forward to her visit.  Until then, enjoy the season of 입춘 (the beginning of spring)!

  

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Dear Ambassador Kathleen Stephens, I am so glad to hear that you have added them to your growing pile of books to read. In fact, my friend olive and I were going to suggest three more books to you. My friend who is called olive by his nick has his own cafe 북한인민주권 at http://cafe.daum.net/rememberNK . The gate of this cafe is unique in that it displays a recommended book which is vitally important either for Korea-US alliance or for the North Korean human rights. And the first book he wanted to suggest is the book by Robert Oliver under the title "이승만 없었다면 대한민국 없다"

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published by 동서문화사. The name of Professor Robert Oliver(로버트 올리버) might be familiar to you, as he was the first American who became a friend of the Republic of Korea. The significance of this book is that it was published in August 2008 as one way to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the independence of Republic of Korea. The author Robert Oliver states in the preface, "나는 이승만이 맞서야 했던 문제에 동참하여, 그의 근본적인 동기와 의도하는 바에 대한 아주 솔직하고도 충분한 의견을 나 자신이 친숙하게 알고 있다. 때문에 이 책은 날마다 그리고 달마다 진행 상황에 대한 매우 완전하고

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완전하고도 자세한 기록 문서에 근거를 둔 것이다. 내가 이해하기에 이 책은 근본적으로 그의 이야기이다." It was Professor Oliver who wanted to publish Mrs Francesca Rhee's diary during the Korean War. He has preserved all the letters from President Syngman Rhee and Mrs Francesca Rhee. And his new book "이승만 없었다면 대한민국 없다" is a collection of those vast letters which were previously unpublished. We suggest this book to you because it makes a historical foundation for building the logic of Korea-US alliance. As we look forward to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit, the other

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book is "얼어붙은 장진호" published by 동서문화사. This book is important for your embassy because it is the history of U.S. Marine in Korea. And the significance of this book is it is a historical foundation for healing what Hillary Clinton called "historical amnesia." Follow the link http://cafe.daum.net/issue21/3Sok/294 and you can replay the news of October 2005 under the title, "Hillary says, ‘historical amnesia hurts Korea-US alliance." The first line of the report reads: Former U.S. First Lady Hillary Clinton said ``historical amnesia’’ among South Koreans about the important

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role the United States has played in supporting the country’s development is putting strain on their longstanding military alliance." The word ``historical amnesia’’ has been translated as "역사적 망각상태" by Korean journalists. The alternative and more precise translation is "역사적 기억 상실증." If it is simply 망각상태, there is no much problem because what you forget you soon remember. But 기억 상실증 is a real problem if it is incurable. So we must go back to the source of the problem. And the source is Kim Dae Jung's Sun Shine Policy(햇볕정책). South Koreans have not

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forgotten. It is only the worldview the Kim Dae Jung's government intentionally manipulated, shaping a particular worldview, namely the pro-North Korean worldview. So to speak, the starting point of the Sun Shine Policy is anti-Americanism. The Sun Shine Policy and anti-Communism cannot go together. That is why Kim Dae Jung and Roh Moo Hyun's government created a theory that attacks anti-Communism. What the Sun Shine Policy presupposes is the justification of the North Korean Communist regime. To this effect, Kim Dae Jung's government changed the history books of the public schools.

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When they made the North Korean regime their friend, they reinterpreted the Korean War. The logic is that the enemy of one's friend is one's enemy. If the North Korean Communist regime is one's friend, America becomes one's enemy. It was in 2003 that we discovered this distorted worldview, this problem of ``historical amnesia.’’ But there has been a grass-root movement to heal that amnesia. http://www.geocities.com/sion_preaching/library/korea-usa.htm is a small site, but the site definitely dedicated toward healing that amnesia. I am very interested to hear about the book by the

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the young charg?, George Foulk, as his letters are a fascinating glimpse at Korea as seen through a young American’s eyes over a century ago. In the same way, there are pieces of American soldiers' stories Americans do not know, but we remember. May I attract your attention to the article at http://www.geocities.com/sion_preaching/essay/general-walker.htm under the title, "미8군 사령관 워커 중장과 두 여중생의 윤화사고." For the purpose of supporting the Sun-Shine Policy, the teachers from Kim Dae Jung group taught that the U.S. troops killed the South Korean civilians during the Korean

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War. Have you seen that the AP news have quoted the Korean leftist's claim to report. The AP news sometimes appear that they are justifying and confirming the anti-American claims. And it is a serious matter for Korea-US alliance. This is why we have responded the Leftist's false claims point by point and event by event. And here is the story I cannot read without tear, the story of American solders Americans do not know, but we remember. As a fresh perspective on Korean culture sometimes comes from an American, a fresh glimpse of American soldiers often can come from Koreans as well.

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You will read the stories of holy sacrifice of General Walton Walker and General William F. Dean from the article on the link I just pointed to you. But there is also a story of the holy sacrifices by unknown solders from the ninth paragraph. I am talking about the story of the tragic train operation(비운의 열차작전). Americans may do know know because there was only one survivor (and we do not know if he could survivor in following battles.) Let me quote a few lines here: <대전에 홀로 머물러 충남도청 3층에서 무전으로 작전 지시를 하던 딘 소장과의 교신이 5분 전에 끊어지자 그를 구출하기

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위한 「열차작전」이 바로 시작되었다. 대전에서 방금 피난온 김재현씨와 황남호씨와 현재영씨는 미군 구조대 수송을 위해 다시 대전으로 가달라는 미군측의 요청에 섬뜻하였다. 그러나 그들은 이 생사를 건 모험에 동참하기로 동의하였으며, 33명의 미군이 '덴다'(석탄 싣는 기관차 부속차)에 이미 승차해 있었다. (....) 석탄 실은 '덴다'를 기관차 앞쪽에 달고 열차가 달림에 따라 이들은 석탄 가루를 뒤집어 쓰고 석탄 위에 있어야 했다. 그곳은 몸의 중심만 잃어버려도 열차 바깥으로 굴러떨어지는 곳이었다. 거기 앉아 세천의 긴 터널을 통과하는 것은 결코 편안한 여행이 아니었다. 무엇보다도 터널을 앞두고 양쪽 언덕에서 북한군 총알

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이 빗발처럼 날아들었으며 달리는 덴다의 석탄 위에 앉은 미군들에게는 총알을 막을 수단이나 피할 곳이 없었다. 총알에 맞은 미군 병사들이 하나 둘 굴러떨어지기 시작했다.> Thirty two American soldiers died tragically in this single rescue operation. And this story might have not yet known to Americans. But this is the story of unknown heroes I want to remember on every Memorial Day. And it is in this background that I want to highlight the book "얼어붙은 장진호" because it is the story of unknown heroes, the story of the brave US Marines during the Korean War. The Coldness of the Jangjin Lake

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during December 1950 and January 1951 was beyond our expression. To quote one sentence from the introduction, "낭림산맥 개마고원에 눈보라, 칼바람이 몰아친다. 미해병 25,800명과 중공군 128,000명이 18일간 피의 전투를 벌였다." Well, I believe the book is one of the answer to the problem of Secretary of what State Hillary Clinton called ``historical amnesia’’ while she was a senator in 2005. Our conviction is that this kind of ``historical amnesia’’ can be healed if the right historical books can be read among the new generation of South Koreans. This is why I want to suggest the book as we

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are all looking forward to her visit, and as we all share the hope to restrengthen the Korea-US alliance. The third book my friend olive want to suggest is "대한민국의 블랙리스트 : 김성욱 기자의 긴급 보고서" published by 조갑제닷컴. This volume is the right one if you want to hear what a modern Korean in the twenty-first century says. As it is important to know about the Korean people of a century ago, it is important to listen to the voice of a new generation. You might already have heard his name from the board of 스티븐스 대사와의 대화. The journalist Kim Seong-uk(김성욱 기자) is

[The Spirit]

http://cafe.daum.net/usembassy/641D/6685

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the one who predicted that the Leftists would break out a large-scale anti-American demonstration in 2008. And he was right because the Leftists did it by spreading the rumor of mad-cow disease in the spring and summer of 2008. If you follow the lint http://study21.org/library/beef/ you can watch him speaking again when this happened (the first and last video on the site). You may want to pay attention to Kim Seong-uk, as he is an emerging leader among the new generation. Although he is an emerging leader not as a politician, but as a journalist, his fresh perspective is very important

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in the age when journalism shapes politics. Incidentally, he has some accomplishment in a martial art like you. In my memory he is a fencer of the 5th grade(검도 5단) equal to a fencing school master. But he is now a journalist who fights with the pen, not with the sword. Previously, he had been a journalist with 미래한국(Future Korea) Newspaper. Please visit their website at http://www.futurekorea.co.kr/ because the newspaper develops the logic of the Korea-U.S. alliance. Just in case you prefer to read in English edition, the newspaper has "The Future Korea Journal"

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at http://www.futurekoreajournal.com/ . Mr. Kim Seong-uk is still a part of the journalist team with the newspaper, but now on the part-time basis. For he is now a full-time journalist with 조갑제닷컴(https://www.chogabje.com/). You might find it interesting that both 미래한국신문 at http://www.futurekorea.co.kr/ and 조갑제닷컴 at https://www.chogabje.com/ strongly support the dispatch of the ROK Army to Iraq and Afghanistan. Who is 조갑제(Cho Gab-je)? He was the one who attacked President Park Jeong Hee in 1970's. But later he found that President Park Jeong Hee's vision for

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modernization and industrialization was a genuine one. (Incidentally, his name is often mentioned the board of 스티븐스 대사와의 대화 as well. 조갑제닷컴 is a fresh presentation of facts as well as an archive of modern Korean history. Above all, one of very important journalism for build up the logic of the Korea-U.S. alliance. And it is this journalism that Mr. Kim Seong-uk is serving as a journalist. With this background his new book『대한민국의 블랙리스트』offers new facts as well as fresh perspectives. The importance of this book is its new approach to hot issues, which previously

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dominated by the claims of the Leftists. You know recently the head of Korean policy (김석기 경찰총장) has been forced to resign. This is the case Lee Myong-bak government failed to protect the target of Kim Dae Jung's group. And he was the target of Kim Dae Jung's group because he would be a major barrier to the Fascism of Kim Dae Jung's group. The Leftists purged him by pressuring against the Lee Myong-bak government? Have you thought what this signifies? I may add my own experience of the Kwangju Uprising. Mao was not officially in power during the Culture Revolution in 1960's.

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Yet, it was Mao who had the power to purge his targets. Many knew Mao was speaking lies. But it was the situation you could not say "lie is lie" if you wanted to survive. We experienced the same situation during the Kwangju Uprising. I was watching KIm Dae Jung's lie from the beginning. But there was no way I could communicate the fact. Just as silence was the way to survive in the world where the lies of the Red Army prevails, we had no other choice but silence when the violence and lies of the 5.18 group prevailed. Now, we have new government under the leadership of President Lee

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Myong Bak, but we are not sill free from the threat of purge from Kim Dae Jung's group. You can see what happen if the 5.18 group does not like a pastor's friend at http://www.v518.org/xboard/board.php?mode=view&number=14097&page=1&tbnum=9 . When they did not like one illustration about the 5.18, not only they threatened the pastor bv name 이종윤(Rev. Yi Chong-yoon), but they send thousands of Rombo men to attack his church on Sundays. Do you think police could protect the pastor? It is the world even the head of the police is purged by the pressure from the Leftists. The claim that

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Kim Dae Jung contributed to democracy is nonsense because Kim Dae Jung's single goal is to purge anti-Communists and to supports Communists. It is the same kind of nonsense that says purging anti-terrorists is democratization. You know what will happen in Iraq if all anti-terrorists are purged. To purge anti-terrorists is to hand Iraq over to the hands of al Qaeda. This is the picture of what has happened in Korea. Our concern is that the Leftists are now going to increase their use of terrorism. We need a head of police who are determined to confront that violence and terrorism. And

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just when we need such one most, President Lee Myong Bak compromised with Kim Dae Jung's group by letting him to resign. Is that right choice? The journalist Kim Seong-uk's view is different. According to him, we have no choice but purging the pro-North Korean Leftists if we are to have the hope for the future of the Korean Peninsula. To quote a few lines from the book: "이 책은 국보법철폐-주한미군철수-연방제통일 등 북한의 對南노선에 동조하거나 金正日 정권을 지지·지원·강화해 온 親北조직·親北인사 등을 일람한 것이다. 이들의

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親北행태는 不法·合法 여부를 떠나 우리 사회에서 사라져야 할 독재협력이다. 대한민국이 親北을 극복하고 북한해방에 나설 때, 하늘은 자유통일의 원대한 비전을 축복해 줄 것이다." I support this position because it has implications for the North Korean nuclear problem. Diplomacy alone cannot provide all answers to this problem. You can truly win the Iraqi War only when you can shatters the logic of the terrorists. In the same way, the solution for the North Korean problem largely depends on shattering the North Korean logic.

[gomdori]

I think Mrs.Clinton very attractive and elegant.

[이은심]

thank you for your generous kindness!

[이은심]

Welcome secretary of state , Hillary Clinton!We graduated from Ewha girl's high school,which Mrs Scanton,that you mentioned,had built. I understanded but could not follow the spirit of school founding by her perfectly.Maybe, because of our bad political situation.When we might go through the way?

[박민수]

영어 공부를 지금이라도 제대로 해야 되겠네요 북한과는 적극적인 대화가 필요합니다 빌 그레함 목사님 처럼 유창한 영어를 언젠가는 하겠지요