Never mind the 100,000 Americans and 28,000-plus U.S. soldiers stationed here, or its defense alliance with South Korea ― the two countries are celebrating the 60th anniversary of their alliance this year.
On the Fourth of July this Thursday, America turns 237 years old, and its presence here is as big as ever.
In terms of politics, culture, economics and even the palpable Korean hunger for learning the English language, America’s influence in Korea can be a tad overwhelming for the uninitiated.
But this close Korea-U.S. relationship does not mean Koreans and Americans know each other any better. Quite the contrary, sometimes the enormous confluence of connections can actually result in mixed messages and misunderstandings.
Kim Su-nam, director of the U.S. Embassy’s American Center Korea, gestures during an interview with The Korea Herald in June at the center in the Yongsan district of Seoul. (Philip lglauer/The Korea Herald)
Kim Su-nam, director of the U.S. Embassy’s American Center Korea, tries to sort through it all to deliver what she thinks is the most reliable and authoritative information about America.
Located adjacent to the U.S. Army garrison in Yongsan, Seoul, the American Center Korea on a weekday morning in June had the look and feel of a high school library in the United States ― and was about as devoid of patrons.
Shelves of periodicals decorated the wall on one side, English classroom American classics including “The Catcher in the Rye,” “The Great Gatsby” and “Slaughterhouse-Five” filled rows of bookshelves on the other, and a collection of round folding tables populated the great empty space in between.
“There are many good things to know and share. I want to share the genuine image of America. America means freedom and liberty and great opportunity,” Kim said during an interview with The Korea Herald. “If you work hard there are always good results. This is based on my experience, my husband’s experience and the experiences of my sons.”
Such sentiments could come across as a little insincere or as platitudes if expressed by a stereotypical apparatchik. From the genteel Kim, however, it seemed matter-of-fact and without a whiff of irony.
“I am one of the public diplomacy practitioners in the Embassy’s Public Affairs Section,” she said. “My job is overall management of American Center resources and programs, and a key job of the American Center is telling America’s story.”
A 25-year career local staffer at the U.S. Embassy’s Public Affairs Section and director of American Center Korea since 1994, Kim said she has had a lifetime of positive associations with the United States.
“My first encounter with America was with American food. When I was 6 and in the first grade, each kid in my school was given cornbread during lunch, made from corn flour mixed with milk,” she said. The cornbread was part of a USAID program in Korea in the 1960s.
Kim grew up in Gwangju in the ‘60s and ‘70s.
“My mother said, ‘That is from America.’ And I thought of America as a wonderful country giving this delicious food to us.”
Her second encounter with America came from her second cousin, who had just returned in the summer of 1973 after three years fighting alongside U.S. soldiers in the Vietnam War. He was part of Korea’s “Tiger Division.”
“After serving a few years he came back with a big military field bag filled with American products, like cans of Campbell’s baked beans and corn, Taster’s Choice instant coffee, chocolate bars and hand towels.”
Following the cease-fire in his own country, then-President Park Chung-hee was enthusiastic in supporting the U.S. in the Vietnam War. From 1965 to 1973, Park sent some 300,000 troops, the largest contingent after the U.S. About 5,000 of them died.
“All our relatives gathered at his house and we opened up the field bag. We were all so curious ― ‘What is this?’ ― we drank coffee for the first time.”
In Kim’s teenage and university years she frequented the American Cultural Center in Gwangju to learn English and about American culture, and became fascinated with a country she said she idolized. Kim eventually traveled to the States for school and with her husband for his dissertation work in mathematics.
She described America, with glowing admiration, as “at the center of the new world order.”
“Korea is a strong ally of America, and this is a good thing,” she added.
Like Kim decades earlier in Gwangju, many young people visit the American Center in Seoul to learn English and get a slice of the “real” America. The American Center has a litany of programs for them: Window on America, the Mission Speaker Program and the Library Leadership Program.
Two worth mentioning are American Cinema Evenings, which screens films in an educational setting, and the Embassy Youth Forum, where a U.S. diplomat discusses current affairs or other issues with a group of young people.
The next Embassy Youth Forum is Tuesday. Edward Fiocchi, an attache from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, will talk about synthetic drugs at 4 p.m. The embassy requires an RSVP to be emailed to americancenterkorea@state.gov to participate.
The American Cinema Evenings aims to be as educational as well as entertaining. A moderator introduces a selected film and provides context and explanation for participants. The theme for the June 21 screening was the impact and lessons of the Korean War. The film was the war documentary “Korea: Battles Not Forgotten.”
For more information about the Embassy Youth Forum, the American Cinema Evenings and the American Center Korea, call (02) 397-4713 or visit the center’s website at seoul.usembassy.gov/americancenter.html.
By Philip Iglauer (ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)