Statement of Ambassador Stephens's Arrival to the Republic of Korea
Incheon Airport
September 23, 2008
[English translation of Ambassador Stephens’s arrival statement]
Good afternoon. I am Sim Eun-gyeong, Kathleen Stephens, U.S. ambassador to Korea. Thank you for coming here.
It is a great honor for me to come to Korea as the new U.S. ambassador.
As you well know, I came to Korea for the first time as a Peace Corps volunteer 33 years ago. Coming back today as the U.S. ambassador to Korea makes my heart full.
Among the Korean sayings that I remember is, “Even the rivers and mountains change in ten years.” In the past 30 years, Korea has changed dramatically.
However, Korea still is the United States’ long-standing ally and close friend, and a key country in Asia. Our two countries have decided to upgrade the Korea-U.S. relations to a strategic alliance for the 21st century. Therefore, our two countries have to closely cooperate on the free trade agreement, the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, the search for lasting peace, the adjustments and transformation of our security presence on the peninsula, the visa waiver program and many other initiatives. I believe that accomplishing these important goals will take the Korea-U.S. friendship and relations to a new level.
During my tenure as the U.S. ambassador to Korea, I will strive to better understand and learn about how Korea has changed. Also, for the Korea-U.S. alliance and relations, I as the U.S. ambassador will not only do my best to explain and represent the U.S. government’s positions but also listen to the voice of the Korean government and the Korean people.
Last, I will make tireless efforts so that I may not fall short of your expectations and hopes. I need much support and help from you. Once again, thank you for coming. I am very pleased to come back to Korea. Thank you.
Ambassador Stephens: I just want to say – to my colleagues here from the American
Embassy, who met me today and those I look forward to working with, to my colleagues at USFK, to the wide and diverse American community, how much I am looking forward to serving again in Korea. It is a thrill beyond my ability to describe in either English or Korean to be back in the Republic of Korea. I have so much to learn, so much to catch up on, and I do believe that this is a time when our relationship really can move to a new level. I look forward to working with our many, many friends in Korea to achieve that new level of a relationship that really does reflect Korea today and the United States today, and our great friendship and our great alliance. Thank you very much.
I just got off a plane, as you know, so I’m already behind the news cycle. I know the news cycle moves very, very fast in Korea. I’m not sure I’ll have very much of current interest to say to you, but if there’s something you’d particularly like me to respond to, I’d be happy to.
Question 1: (Korean)
Ambassador: It’s certainly no secret that I very much value the experience that I have had in the past, living in Korea in the 1970s and the 1980s, and indeed I was very inspired by my time in Korea to pursue my diplomatic career. I am not alone among Ambassadors to Korea or indeed among Secretaries of States or other American diplomats and leaders in my great admiration for this country. I simply have had the good luck to maybe live here a little bit longer, to know it a little bit deeper, maybe live an ordinary life a little bit longer, and I hope that will help me. I know that there has been a lot of interest in my assignment here, and I appreciate that. As I said in my remarks, living up to people’s expectations is always a challenge. My job is to try to live up to what our two presidents have decided to do, and that is to really bring our alliance to a new level. I hope the experience I bring to [my job], both in Korean and my other diplomatic experience elsewhere, will help in that. Yes, you are absolutely right to say this is a big, ambitious agenda, which will not be easy. The Free Trade Agreement is one that I’ve talked with many, many people in the United States about before coming here over the last few months. There’s a very deep discussion going on about it, and that is a very good thing. I know there’s been a good discussion in this country for some time. I think we need to continue working on it. All of these things take a lot of work. Whatever the issue is, we always stand on the shoulders of our predecessors. I learned another Korean expression over the last few months, I think it’s something like: “인수인계 받았습니다.” I had the good fortune to meet with many former U.S. Ambassadors to Korea over the last few months and really benefited from their insights and their willingness to share their experiences with me.
Question 2: (Korean)
Ambassador: I’m tempted to answer in Korean, but I think I’ll just stick with English. Thank you very much for your comments. I think you ask a very good question. But, these are actually questions I need to explore now that I’ve arrived in Korea. You rightly said that what we saw happen in Korea over the last few months was not something I would have experienced in Korea in the 1970s, or indeed in the 1980s. What I would say to that is I would add to that: in the 1970s and 1980s that kind of demonstration was not permitted. It would have immediately become quite violent and people would have been arrested. So, on that level, I look forward to living in a Korea where democracy has really taken root and flowered. In terms of the issues at hand, the immediate issues, whether it is the beef issue or others, those are the question I want to ask all of you and my other Korean colleagues and friends as I settle in. How do you see Korean democracy? How do you see the relationship? This is where I need to do a lot of listening before I try to answer that question.
Question 3: (Korean)
Ambassador: I’m going to try to use this first week to get to know my staff at the Embassy. I have many old friends there, but also some people I haven’t met, and some people I’ve worked with over the past few years. I will get to know the staff at the Embassy. I’m sure I’ll meet with General Sharp at some point, and with others in the community. I hope to walk around and see a little bit of Seoul.
Your second question was about the issue of human rights and North Korea. This was something I had an opportunity to talk with a great many people about, not just the last few months but over some period of time. As someone who has seen the Republic of Korea over the last 33 years, who does feel such a deep personal feeling about the history of this peninsula, about that terrible and inconclusive war, one of the great tragedies of the 20th century, the suffering we still see into the 21st century – we must address this. We must find every way we can to hasten the day when the Koreans of the northern side of this peninsula enjoy some of the human rights and opportunities that we expect in the modern world. Clearly this is a task for the Korean people, and I hope the U.S., as allies and as a democratic nation, can help in that. This is a very high priority for me and I think it is for all of us in the United States.
Question 4: (Korean)
Ambassador: There’s really not much I can add to that, to what you’ve seen us saying in Washington about it. Even while I was on the plane flying over here, Secretary Rice and Assistant Secretary Hill in New York are having some meetings to talk about the overall situation in the Six Party Talks and so on. But on the question of what’s happening in the North, I’m afraid I don’t really have anything to add to what’s already out there.
Thank you very much. I hope to be a little more informed about Korea, and today’s Korea, when I see you the next time. 잘 부탁합니다. Thank you.
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