News

Still here

Yes, it is still here.  Yes, we are still here.  Despite North Korean claims that it had conducted an underground nuclear test yesterday morning, life in Seoul was fairly calm by Korean standards.  The air was a bit more agitated than usual with news of the test and with new Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in town for a visit with Korean President Roh Moo-hyun.  I spent the afternoon touring the Insadong area of Seoul with my mom.  (During our tour yesterday, we spotted Abe’s wife Akie strolling through the shopping area).  The air was truly still–no public panics, no riots, no protests, virtually nothing happened.  If the news is indeed true, it seemed almost anticlimactic, but that’s fine with me.  We are still here, and that’s good.  If we weren’t, that would probably be bad.  For those in the U.S. wondering whether this will lead to the unthinkable, rest assured that at this moment, life seems to be focused on business as usual in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula.
 
Few really know what truly happened yesterday in North Korea.  Some experts even speculate that the "test" was a ruse by the North Koreans to convince the world they had detonated an atomic device, when they really had not.  Right now, speculation about what happened is running rampant, and the Powers That Be are huddling behind closed doors around the world, trying to decide how to respond to North Korea’s claims, sorting through the evidence to discern the truth.  No matter what, I hope that North Korea’s claims that whatever happened was fully contained are in fact true, because I don’t want anyone–particularly my family–exposed to any radiation drifting down from the North.

Korean set to head United Nations

Reuters and other news sources are reporting that Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon is set to become the next United Nations (U.N.) Secretary-General.  Mr. Ban would succeed Kofi Annan of Ghana, who has held the post for 10 years.  Mr. Ban won all four straw polls of the 15-member U.N. Security Council.  More importantly, he did not receive any vetoes from Security Council members, clearing the way for him to be officially nominated by the Council on October 9.  If chosen, he would take over from Mr. Annan on January 1, 2007.
 
I heard Mr. Ban speak last year when he was keynote speaker at a banquet in Seoul honoring former President George H.W. Bush.  He is understated, yet eloquent.  My impression of him during his address and from his two-year tenure as head of Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) is that Mr. Ban will make a fine Secretary-General.  In a country where politics can be brutal and scandalous, Mr. Ban is one of the few statesmen who remain above the political fray, succumbing to neither the pull of the Left nor the Right.  Although his political views are not widely known, he exudes the persona of a moderate and a consensus builder.  The United Nations has been quite contentious in recent years.  Mr. Ban has a big job ahead of him as Secretary-General, but I am sure that he is up to the task.  I am happy for Mr. Ban and for the Korean people, who will soon have one of their own in one of the world’s most important diplomatic posts.
 
I harbor some misgivings about selecting a South Korean to head the United Nations.  It isn’t anything personal, because as I mentioned, Mr. Ban will likely make a fine U.N. Secretary-General.  My concerns stem from geopolitical realities.  Traditionally, the head of the UN does not come from a conflict area where U.N. troops or peace keepers may be needed.  Presently, North and South Korea are technically at war, and today’s news that North Korea will conduct its first nuclear test highlights the fact that this peninsula is still very much a hot spot.  Mr. Ban will have to separate himself–quickly–from politics on the Korean Peninsula and subserve any nationalist inclination to impartiality.  In a recent vote on North Korean human rights, South Korea chose to abstain.  The Security Council also voted to sanction North Korea for its missile tests.  Mr. Ban must separate himself from the government that now employs him as foreign minister and build a multinational concensus, even when it conflicts with official South Korean policy.
 
Secondly, Mr. Ban could become a political lightning rod, drawing furor for siding too closely with Japan and/or the United States or by not adequately engaging them.  The unique nature of South Korean politics is such that the South Korean people tend to regard Japan, North Korea, and the United States to be the three greatest external threats to their internal stability.  Occasionally North Korea and the U.S. change places when geopolitical realities change, such as when North Korea launches test missiles.  Japan consistently ranks first in the minds of many Koreans.  At the same time, the U.S. and Japan are the top two contributors to the United Nations’ budget, and in recent years, both nations have called for significant United Nations reform.  Although Mr. Ban obtained his master’s degree from Harvard and is an astute diplomat, he is still South Korean.  He was born during the Japanese occupation and was six years old when the Korean War began.  He was nine years old when the 1953 ceasefire went into effect.  He grew up in an era when the United States played a significant role in Korea’s development–economically, militarily, and to an extent, politically.  The events of the years 1950s-1980s, from the assassination of former President Park Chung-hee to the Kwangju Massacre, are etched into the Korean psyche.  These were Mr. Ban’s formative years, when the U.S. loomed large in Korea and relations with Japan played an influential role in Korean affairs.  Mr. Ban will need to work closely with both the U.S. and Japan in the multinational context of the United Nations and put aside biases he may have for or against these nations.
 
Finally, Mr. Ban’s selection as Secretary-General could directly impact U.S.-Korean bilateral relations.  If U.S. policy differs significantly from that of the U.N., and by fiat, Mr. Ban, the Koreans will be more likely to support Mr. Ban than the United States.  Many Koreans were outraged when Korean Skater Kim Dong-sung was disqualified during 1500 meter speed skating competition at the 2002 Winter Olympics for allegedly blocking American Skater Apollo Ono.   They were also outraged during the 2004 Summer Olympics, when American Paul Hamm was awarded a disputed gold medal in the Men’s Gymnastics All-Around.  Most Koreans believed Korean Gymnast Yang Tae Young should have won the gold.  Although neither incident led to a direct shift in U.S.-Korean relations, both indicate that international disputes can strongly influence Korean public opinion.  If relations between Mr. Ban and the United States are less than cordial, the affect could spill over to U.S.-Korean relations.  Mr. Ban will be on a much more visible–and contentious–stage than are Olympic athletes.  Hence, the risk is greater that the Korean public’s mood could sour vis-a-vis the U.S., if they believe that the U.S. is leaning too heavily on Mr. Ban.  This could negatively impact U.S.-Korean bilateral relations.
 
With these thoughts in mind, I still believe that Mr. Ban will make a good United Nations Secretary-General.  His candidacy has prompted the Koreans to further engage the international community and increase their international obligations, such as increasing their financial contributions to the U.N. Millennium Development Goals.  Mr. Ban is well versed in global development, and he bridges the gap between developed and developing nations.  Korea is an optimal model of economic and political development that Mr. Ban can share with the world.  I wish Mr. Ban well and godspeed in his new mission.

Remembering 9/11

Five years ago today I was in Washington State, walking into the plant where they built the four jets used as missiles that crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania.  I drove to work, not tuning into the morning news as I usually do during my morning commute.  I was oblivious to what had transpired.  As I walked into the facility, someone asked me, "Did you hear what happened?"  They proceeded to tell me the news of the World Trade Center crash.  The Pentagon had not yet been hit, and only one of the Twin Towers had fallen.  I thought they were joking, because what had happened at the time seemed nothing short of unreal.  I soon realized that this was no joke.  I sat silently with my fellow employees glued to our radios, hoping to hear any news amid chaos erupting on the East Coast.  The Internet was down due to overload, and web sites like CNN.com were inaccessible from heavy traffic.  Work had to wait.
 
Just two weeks later, I left that company to pursue my MBA.  Just two years later, determined to serve my country and make a difference in the world, I took a new assignment.  I am now on the front lines of foreign service and am dedicated to promoting American interests and helping keep Americans and America secure.  I love this job and wouldn’t trade it for the world.  This is where I need to be right now.  I don’t think it would have happened had not that fateful day on September 11, 2001, when the world changed, and America changed.  At the 9/11 ceremony today, with flag at half mast, taps, and a memorial speech, I was reminded of that day five years ago and how it changed my life.
 
On this fifth anniversary of 9/11, I hope and pray for peace.  I hope for peace in Iraq and Afghanistan.  I hope for peace between Democrats and Republicans.  I hope for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.  I hope for peace in the War on Terror.  I hope for peace between Blue Staters and Red Staters.  I hope for peace between the Two Koreas.  In all conflicts, I hope for peace.  There will likely never be true peace on earth in the life we live now, but one can hope that at least we’ll have a bit of respite and a temporary ceasefire of hostilities.  It’s probably more than we can hope for in this world.  There is a lot of fear, anger, and bitterness among people.  I wish that this day will help temper these feelings and create more goodwill.