KF뉴스레터-2007 Van Fleet Award Acceptance Speech

2007 Van Fleet Award Acceptance Speech

Ladies and gentlemen!
I am truly honored and privileged to be here tonight to receive the Van Fleet Award, on behalf of the Korea Foundation, for which I would like to express my most sincere appreciation to the Korea Society, that is now led by President Evans Revere.

First, I would like to briefly mention an episode of Korea’s ancient history. Back in the seventh century, three kingdoms 'Silla, Goguryeo, and Baekje' vied for supremacy over the Korean Peninsula. One day, Muwang, or King Mu, the 30th king of Baekje, asked his loyal advisor Seongchung: “How can I unite the three kingdoms?”
To this, Seongchung is said to have responded: “Those who steal other people’s things are thieves, but those who steal their hearts are sages.”

I recount this age-old story tonight because it can help to clearly explain the mission of the Korea Foundation, based on the insightful wisdom of Seongchung, from more than a thousand years ago.
Here, stealing someone else’s heart refers to your desire to become a friend of someone. You can make friends with people by meeting them, getting to know them through interaction, and developing a relationship built on understanding and trust. Based on today’s international diplomacy and political relations, it would be no exaggeration to say that Seongchung appreciated the significance of public diplomacy based on soft power. And therein lies the essence of the Korea Foundation’s primary mission and goal. The Korea Foundation has sought to win over the hearts of people around the world so as to make them friends of Korea.

As part of the considerable number of efforts being undertaken to contribute positively to the development of Korea-U.S. relations,
the Korea Foundation promotes public diplomacy through a variety of activities to help bolster the friendship of our two countries. For example, we render assistance for the establishment of professorships and the dispatch of visiting professors to enhance and broaden Korea-related scholarship and research in the U.S. We also organize a forum to discuss matters of mutual concern, which is held in Seoul and Washington, D.C.
And we extend support to U.S. museums for their opening of Korean art galleries to display the richness of Korea’s 5,000-year-old culture and arts. In addition, we regularly invite notable U.S. figures from various sectors to visit Korea so that they can acquire firsthand experience of the vibrancy and dynamism of Korea’s society and people.

All this while, the main emphasis of Korea Foundation’s exchange activities has been the U.S., for the purpose of gaining the heart of American society, by building a relationship based on trust and cooperation. In this way, it will be possible to sustain continuous advancement of Korea-U.S. relations. I believe that all of you here tonight agree on the importance of public diplomacy, now and in the future. And as such, the 2007 Van Fleet Award is being presented to the Korea Foundation in order to encourage us to redouble our efforts to reinforce the friendly relations between Korea and the U.S. In this light, I humbly and gratefully accept this prestigious Van Fleet Award, which will serve as a personal inspiration and motivation for me to lead the Korea Foundation in efforts that will help to optimize continuous advancement of Korea-U.S. relations. Of course, with the passage of the Cold War era, the 21st century has created a number of complex challenges for our past alliance relationship. So, it will be more critical than ever before to strengthen the mutual trust and close cooperation between our two peoples. Benjamin Franklin once said that building trust and gaining friends are like receiving a valuable treasure and sense of satisfaction. In this regard, I can assure you that the Korea Foundation will put forth its utmost efforts so that Korea and the U.S. can enjoy additional treasure and self-satisfaction.
And for this, I look forward to your continued interest in and encouragement of our future endeavors.

Again, I would like to express my profound gratitude to the Korea Society for selecting the Korea Foundation as the recipient of the 2007 Van Fleet Award.

Thank you.

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2007 Van Fleet Award Acceptance Speech

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