1. The 2015 meetings of consuls-general and honorary consuls/consuls-general of the Republic of Korea in the US took place in Seattle from August 28 to 30.

2. In the meeting of consuls-general of the ROK in the US, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, who made a stopover in Seattle to attend the GLACIER (Conference on Global Leadership in the Arctic: Cooperation, Innovation, Engagement and Resilience) in Anchorage, chaired a session under the theme “strengthening public diplomacy toward the US.” During the session, Foreign Minister Yun, along with Ambassador to the US Ahn Ho-young and participating consuls-general, had in-depth discussions on ways to further facilitate public diplomacy tailored to each issue, target audience and region in the US.

3. Minister Yun Byung-se said that in the complicated and multifaceted diplomatic landscape on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia this year, the ROK’s diplomacy attained various achievements by overcoming many challenges and difficulties. In particular, Minister Yun stressed that with public diplomacy toward the US, which was discussed in depth in the meeting of consuls-general, becoming increasingly important, the ROK needs to go beyond traditional ways of practicing diplomacy in the past, and facilitate public diplomacy through creative ways, such as further strengthening of diplomacy to win the hearts and minds of Americans, and diversifying the target audiences. In addition, Minister Yun requested that heads of diplomatic missions in the US redouble their efforts towards a successful visit to the US by President Park Geun-hye in October so that the visit can serve as an opportunity for the ROK-US alliance to take a new leap forward.

4. Meanwhile, by holding the 2015 meeting of consuls-general in the US, in conjunction with the meeting of honorary consuls/consuls-general in the US, the Foreign Ministry helped the headquarters of the Ministry, diplomatic missions in the US, and honorary consuls to establish networks through enhanced communications and seek to increase their roles, thereby creating the synergy effect in diplomacy towards the US.

o In particular, at a joint reception attended by consuls-general and honorary consuls/consuls-general, honorary consul to Portland Gregory Cladwell, who worked as a member of the Peace Corps in the ROK, made a congratulatory speech. In the speech, he said that the latest meeting provided honorary consuls with an opportunity to better understand the ROK’s history, culture and policy and strengthen communications with the ROK government. He added that he will serve as honorary consul with pride.

o The joint reception was also attended by Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen of Washington. He welcomed that the meeting took place in Seattle, and said that the ROK and the state of Washington have been cooperating in a range of areas, including economy, culture, and people-to-people exchange. He also expressed hope that the ROK and Washington will further deepen and develop such close relations in a mutually-beneficial manner.


*unofficial translation