Becoming a Citizen of Seoul

[성김 대사]

Seoul is the city where I was born.  I have also worked here as a diplomat several times, I have many great friends here, and one of my daughters was born in this wonderful city.  That’s why becoming an honorary citizen of Seoul this week was so special to me.  This city has always been my second home.  I have great memories of my childhood here and I have witnessed with pride how Seoul has grown and changed over the years.

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon graciously presented me with the Seoul Honorary Citizenship Award.

Seoul is such a vibrant city with world class universities and amazing cultural attractions.  There are over 150,000 Americans in Seoul on any given day, working and studying alongside the welcoming and hardworking Korean people.  Seoul’s food is one of the many things I will miss when I leave.  My favorite is probably tteokbokki which I enjoyed with Secretary Kerry at Tongin Market earlier this year. 

So, as a huge fan of this impressive city, I was incredibly happy to receive honorary citizenship.  So much so that I have been carrying around the Honorary Seoul Citizen card in my shirt pocket since I got it!  There is no doubt that I will always have a strong connection with Seoul, my second home. 

I would like to thank Mayor Park for his kind words and my family and Embassy colleagues who were there to cheer for me.  

I have been carrying it with me ever since I received it!

This past Friday, I also was granted another special honor.  I wanted to go to a baseball game for some time, but on Friday, not only did I go, but I threw out the first pitch at the LG Twins vs. Nexen Heroes game.  It was very exciting, but also nerve-racking as I hadn’t touched a baseball in decades.  When I started practicing, I became even more nervous as I was not throwing the ball very well.  However, when the moment came, fortunately I was able to throw the ball all the way to home plate without it bouncing.  An American player on the team, Brad Snyder, was at home plate to catch the ball, and we agreed that it was a strike.

Glad to be a part of the game!

Since I was a guest of the LG Twins, I was also there to cheer them on.  It was a close game, but to my relief the Twins prevailed.  During the game I also enjoyed chatting with some of the fans.  As luck would have it, seated in front of me were five Korean men who had studied in the U.S., and we were able to swap stories about our experiences.

Having a wonderful Friday evening with the family at Jamsil Stadium!

Wherever I go from here, these two experiences will be hard to top and will be wonderful memories for me of my time in Seoul.