Through ‘Korean-American Association’ where I am acting as a director, I’ve met quite a few prior U.S. ambassadors.
As for the Ambassador Harry Harris, who also served in the U.S. Navy and was nominated as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea this year, his picture in a paper caught my eye.
There was a surprise party for General Paik Sun-yup, celebrating his 100th birthday. The general had thought that only a few would attend the party, but 200 U.S. soldiers including Commander Abrams surprised the 100-year-old general. In the picture for the paper, Harry Harris, the US Ambassador to Korea that President Trump nominated, politely kneeled before General Paik and paid his respect. This deeply impressed the Koreans.
Harris gave a lecture before 150 personnel at a Korean-American Association luncheon recently.
He retired as a naval commander and was nominated as the Ambassador to Australia by the US president; it was out of a sudden that he got nominated as the ambassador to Korea instead and sent to Seoul. Judging from his previous experiences, he is a man of presence; his previous army experiences as Commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command would have contributed to his being nominated to the Korean peninsula in present rough situations.
He would have carefully considered about the U.S.- North Korea Summit, U.S.-China relations & U.S.-South Korea-Japan relations. Harris’s mother is Japanese.
He is raising his voice more than any other previous US Ambassadors ever did.
He is urging Korea to stand on the US’s side in Korea-China relations and Inter-Korean Relations. He is also encouraging Korea-Japan relations and urging Korean companies to avoid using Huawei. This would be Trump’s opinion – he is representing his own country well.
Considering the circumstances, there was some tension and expectation in the luncheon.
“There is no country that is more important to be sent to as an ambassador than Korea, considering current situations” he started. His voice and tone were full of confidence.
He talked about why we should be allies, and that every single thing that we decide today would be shaping our future – and that as we have become allies due to the Korean war, we should strengthen our alliance and protect the peace of Korea, Asia and beyond together. He also said that the US will defend Korea no matter what and will carry out duties as an ally. All these words had been expected, yet the powerful tone and attitude of his overwhelmed the audience. It seemed that other ambassadors to Korea from other countries were also overwhelmed; it wasn’t due to the national power of the U.S., then.
Fortunately, I sat next to Harris and found out that we both went to Graduate School at Georgetown University. I was curious if he spoke Japanese as his father served as an officer in the U.S. Navy at Japan and his mother was Japanese. He said that his mother emphasized on his being raised as American and he didn’t learn the language.
I handed him the English translation of my mom’s poetry collection. I told him that when the two leaders of Korea and Japan were having problems over history, they recited my mother’s poem that sings about the desire for peace and pondered on the spirit of peace. I read him the poem and handed him the collection.
One desperate hope that I hold dear May countries be without strife
Some people were surprised to see a US ambassador kneel before Korean general. That surprise makes sense, as he came representing the U.S. president. Yet, General Paik is not only a war hero who saved Korea in the Korean war but also a ‘living legend’ and ‘the symbol of Korea-US alliance’ to the US; he is a hero to them, too , and is thought to be the only Korean general that the US army can trust.
Harris’s father was also an officer in the U.S. Navy, and Harris also worked as commander in charge of Indo-Pacific Command. This kind of things can be often found in history of war, yet his expressions of respect were very wise and striking, and a great country like US showing respect for a hero of a small country meant showing respect for Korea and Koreans – that made me like him.
He started growing mustache after retiring as naval commander.
