hankyoreh

New United States Ambassador to Korea Kathleen Stephens (Eungyeong Shim is her Korean name) represents several firsts. To begin with, she is the first woman among the 21 American ambassadors to Seoul and she is the first to speak fluent Korean. She worked at a middle school in South Chungcheong Province as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in the mid-seventies. She married a Korean and had a child here, so she knows how Koreans live and feel better than most. This is why there is so much interest and high expectation regarding her arrival.

She is also a fitting choice for the changing state of U.S.-Korea relations. All American ambassadors are just diplomats who must be controlled by Washington, but U.S. ambassadors to Korea have long been seen by Koreans as holding considerable power over the past few decades. The position was sometimes even compared to a “governor” in the sense that during the military dictatorships that lacked political legitimacy, American ambassadors deeply involved themselves and exerted influence in Korea’s domestic affairs. This excessive view of the American ambassador did not disappear entirely even after the end of the Cold War. Ambassadors themselves sometimes acted authoritarian. An example would be Stephens’ predecessor, Alexander Vershbow, who earned public criticism for tactless public comments about North Korea and the issue of American beef imports. Stephens, on the other hand, is being viewed as a free and easy person who will work for communication and mutual understanding.

The political situation on the Korean Peninsula is at its biggest turning point since the end of the Korean War. Stephens is well aware of this. At her swearing-in ceremony in Washington early this month, she said that the United States and Korea have a higher goal now, to achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and a permanent peace so that all Koreans can enjoy better lives and human rights. We expect her to work to connect the two countries governments and peoples and contribute to that goal.

The position of U.S. ambassador to Korea is not an easy one. There will inevitably be discord in this time of transition, and there remain problematic practices that originated in a problematic history. However, developing U.S.-Korean relations in a new and future-oriented direction is a necessity and not a matter of choice. Stephens says she is going to say what needs to be said, work to understand, and ask for help when she needs it. There indeed must be no instances in which anything is spoiled because of a lack of understanding, even when there are differences. We have hope in the open-mindedness and sincerity of this rare “jihanpa” (“Korean expert”) ambassador.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]