Adventures with Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Choi Young-jin

[성김 대사]

Speeches, meetings, discussions, visits, brain surgery, a tsunami and a hurricane: my recent trip to the United States with Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Choi Young-jin could only be summed up as a whirlwind.  But in my last blog, I promised to tell you all the details, so here we go!

Organized by the Korea Economic Institute (KEI), the trip was a truly wonderful swing through Houston, LA, San Diego and Honolulu.

A great “Ambassadors’ Dialogue” journey with Ambassador Choi Young-jin

Houston:

I was surprised by the depth of relations between the great state of Texas and Korea.  Sure, everyone hears Houston and naturally thinks about the energy sector, but would you have thought about its medical facilities?  Houston has some of the best medical facilities in the world, such as the Mischer Neuroscience Institute, where U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords made a heroic recovery.  At the Mischer institute, we met the director, Dr. Dong Kim, a famous Korean-American neurosurgeon who was the lead doctor throughout Congresswoman Giffords’ recovery. 

Dr. Kim even invited Ambassador Choi and me to observe a live brain surgery!  We were right there in the operating room, not more than two meters from the operating table.  And talk about multi-tasking: Dr. Kim explained the operation to us during every step of the procedure.  He truly is an outstanding physician.  It was a fascinating experience but I have to admit watching an operation that close up was somewhat painful for me (I have always been a bit weak about seeing blood).  I had actually thought about becoming a doctor when I was in college but this experience reminded me again that I had made the right decision in choosing law and diplomacy instead.     

Heading into the actual operating room!

And if the operating room was the most unique part of the Houston trip, the most fun was the dinner.  One of our sponsors kindly invited us to enjoy authentic, home-cooked Texas BBQ and homemade margaritas while watching the last U.S. presidential debate. 

Los Angeles:

I have to admit that the LA portion of the trip was the most special because I grew up in Los Angeles.  My mother is still there, and I was able to spend some quality time with her.  In fact, at our public forum at the University of Southern California (USC), the audience contained many students, community leaders, some business folks and a surprise guest, my mother!  It was a lively discussion, and I was happy to spend some time with old friends in Los Angeles area including a college classmate I had not seen since graduation 30 years ago.  

With some of the bright young students at University of Southern California

The highlight of the Los Angeles stop, though, would have to be sitting down to a home-cooked meal by my 82-year-old mom.  There’s nothing like a steaming bowl of my mom’s 육개장 (spicy beef soup) to warm the heart and fill the belly.   

Tasty 육개장 (spicy beef soup) made by my mom

San Diego:  

In San Diego, in addition to a discussion with the Mayor and other community and business leaders, we held a public forum at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).  UCSD has such a beautiful campus; I don’t know how the students find time to study.  But it is an excellent educational institution whose faculty boasts one of my former bosses, Dr. Susan Shirk of the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IRPS).  We had a huge turnout of students, faculty and community leaders, and they asked many interesting and important questions.   

With Dr. Susan Shirk

Our timing was perfect as the IRPS advisory board invited us to join their annual dinner that evening.  Ambassador Choi and I had a wonderful exchange with board members who were very interested in developments on the Peninsula and in the region.   

Honolulu:

Our last stop, Hawaii, was on my way back to Korea.  As you can imagine, it is difficult not to enjoy a trip to Hawaii, especially when you’re staying in Waikiki on the beautiful island of Oahu.  Korean Consul General Young-Kil Suh hosted a very nice lunch that Governor Neil Abercrombie and Lieutenant Governor Brian Schatz joined.  We had some interesting discussions about Korea’s historic ties with Hawaii, such as the state’s role as a home for many early Korean immigrants.  That day, the weather was unbelievable and the luncheon location had an awe-inspiring view of the ocean.  It was so beautiful that the governor and I joked about moving U.S. Embassy Seoul to Honolulu.

Aloha from Hawaii!  (One of our hosts in Honolulu required us to wear Hawaiian shirts.)  

That evening, we reconnected with quite an impressive group of foreign policy and opinion leaders from the East-West Center, including some old friends like former Assistant Secretary of State Jim Kelly, former Ambassador to Bangladesh and Nepal Jim Moriarty, and former Ambassador to Vietnam and former Deputy Chief of Mission to Seoul Ray Burghardt. 

But in the middle of some riveting discussions, we heard a tsunami warning!  We were whisked back to our hotel where we all waited in our rooms anticipating the worse, but luckily no huge waves came and everyone was safe. 

Those of us flying west were able to leave on time.  Unfortunately, Ambassador Choi was not so lucky.  Because of the very serious weather conditions on the East Coast caused by Hurricane Sandy, Ambassador Choi and the KEI team were “stuck” in Hawaii for a couple of more days. 

Despite weather issues at the end, it was a wonderful trip -- great opportunity to discuss U.S.-Korea relations with different audiences, reach out to community and business leaders, and to connect with Korean-American communities.  I would like to thank Ambassador Choi for being a terrific partner on this adventure.  He is a superb diplomat and scholar, and I learned much from him about diplomacy and other important matters.  I’m delighted that I have a chance to work with such a distinguished person in managing the important bilateral relationship between our two countries. 

I also would like to thank KEI President Abraham Kim and his colleagues Sarah Yun and Linda Kim.  They were great.  It’s hard enough to take care of one ambassador in one location, but they did amazing work to take care of two ambassadors traveling to four different locations!  I wish them the best and look forward to working with them again on next year’s tour.     

But as much as I enjoyed the trip, I’m thrilled to be back in Seoul and I hope to stay in touch with all of you about exciting developments and events the remainder of this year.