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About 100 University of Michigan students and staff gathered in the Michigan League Monday evening to hear from current and former ambassadors on the importance of the relationship between the Republic of Korea and the United States. The event — titled Ambassadors’ Dialogue: U.S.-Korea Relations in the Indo-Pacific Era — was hosted by the Weiser Diplomacy Center and the Nam Center for Korean Studies.
The panel-style discussion featured Hyundong Cho, the 28th ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the U.S., and Philip Goldberg, the U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Korea. The discussion was moderated by Daniel Shields, former U.S. ambassador to Brunei, and then opened up to the crowd for attendee questions. During the Q&A portion of the event, the ambassadors discussed topics such as the current economic relationship between the two countries and student’s exploration into careers in foreign service.
Cho responded to questions on the newly signed Treaty on the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, a mutual defense agreement between Russia and North Korea and its impact on the U.S. and South Korea.
“When I say North Korea has been emboldened (by Russia), they have shut down any opportunity of engagement with the international community,” Cho said. “So now we are working very closely with the United States and other like-minded countries.”
Goldberg discussed the rise of Korean influence in U.S. pop culture in the past 30 years following the nation’s rebuilding after World War II.
“The whole concept of Hallyu — the Korean Wave — how Korean movies, TV dramas, music (and) of course K-pop, that has become so popular here in the U.S. are very emblematic of a new kind of Korea,” Goldberg said. “It’s a huge tribute to the hard work and innovation of the Korean people, but it’s also a tribute to the security relationship that we’ve had (with the U.S.).”
In addition to strong security engagements, Cho further emphasized the strength of current ROK-U.S. trade relationships. Cho said the U.S. and South Korea have been securing supply chains in the semiconductor industry, as shown by the creation of the “Fab 4” chip partnership between Taiwan, Japan, the U.S. and South Korea.
“The Korean-U.S. economic relationship has never been stronger with bilateral trade doubling over the past decade to reach $200 billion annually,” Cho said.
Goldberg also described the technological exchange between the two countries, highlighting the dynamic shipbuilding industry in South Korea and how it has helped the U.S.
“HD Hyundai and Hanwha Ocean have now signed contracts with the U.S. Navy to do work for a couple ships and take some of the pressure off our domestic industries,” Goldberg said. “As we get closer as countries, that’s what we can do together.”
Scott Snyder, president and CEO of the Korea Economic Institute of America and a sponsor for the event’s program, emphasized the importance of better understanding the ROK-U.S. relations through programs like Monday’s ambassador panel.
“Right now in the United States, Korea is touching the lives of Americans in new ways, in different ways,” Snyder said. “And one of the things we want to do at KEI is to explain how that matters and why that matters.”
Goldberg reflected on his past position as a political-economic officer in Pretoria, South Africa at the event. He said working within the foreign service field afforded him the opportunity to witness impactful historical moments.
“When I think back about my career and the opportunities that I’ve witnessed in history — I was in South Africa at the time of the transition, the last days of the all-white government and the first democratic election and saw Nelson Mandela inaugurated President just before I left,” Goldberg said. “There is a great feeling in representing your country.”
In an interview with The Michigan Daily at the event, LSA senior Teagan Frye said she believes events like the panel discussion provide students an opportunity to explore their interests in the foreign service field.
“I think going into the foreign service is something that I may be interested in,” Frye said. “We go to such a prestigious university that has the resources to host cool events like this, that it’s important for students to learn about the field they may want to go in and make use of those resources.”
Daily Staff Reporter Elizabeth Stafford can be reached at libstaf@umich.edu.
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