Embassy of Korea
How did you become a diplomat?
When I graduated from the Korean military academy, I was naturally interested in national security and national interests. After briefly serving in the Korean military, I quickly realized that national security and national interests are not only guaranteed by military personnel but the brotherhood of international relations. This prompted me to join the foreign service. I found great honor in representing my country internationally and have been grateful to serve the nation. I have always been fascinated with meeting new people and experiencing different cultures.
Tell us more about how you came to be posted in Saudi Arabia
I have been in the service for 33 years. My first post was in Washington DC, around 30 years ago. Since then I’ve been to many places; one of my previous posts was in Ottawa, Canada. The weather there was very interesting with wind chill sometimes reaching -40 degrees Celsius. They had long, cold winters: two weeks of unshoveled snow would be 2 storeys high. When I arrived in Ottawa in late March 2008, my predecessor told me that there are only two seasons in Ottawa: winter and construction season to repair the dam.age salting snow had done to the streets. After that, I really needed some warm weather and I was very excited to come to Saudi Arabia.
What were your thoughts when you were assigned to become the ambassador to Saudi Arabia?
When I heard I was assigned to Riyadh, I knew this would be a new experience and felt honored and privileged to be assigned to a nation with such historic and current significant ties with my country. I realize the Kingdom is going through historic transformations and it is quite an honor to be here now in the center of it. I will not remain as a bystander of this reform process, but rather an active partner.
What do you like the most about living in Riyadh?
I feel very proud to be here, especially when I come across historic and monumental signature architecture built by Korean architects like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense, King Saud University, Jubail Industrial City. About three months ago, I met with the governor of the Eastern Province, and he told me that he remembers how industrious and hard working Korean people working on these structures were. He said that the structures still stand and look like they were built last year. These remarks made me proud and are very rewarding.
How does your typical day go?
My day starts even before I come to the office. When I wake up at around 6:00 AM, the first thing I do is check the news headlines. After this, I watch the news before I come to the office. Once at the office, I start by checking urgent messages. Then I meet my personal staff to check and fine tune my schedule of the day. After that, I have a meeting with the other staff and other meetings inside and outside the embassy. My meetings cover politics, economics, commerce, even consular affairs and culture. Finally, some of my time is also allocated to housekeeping in the embassy, like man.aging personnel and the upkeep of the embassy itself. Most evenings, I have diplomatic functions or dinners to attend which keep me occupied until the end of the day around 10 or even 11 PM.
What is the most challenging part of being the ambassador to Saudi Arabia?
What is the most rewarding? Since I am new to this culture and environment, the language has been the most difficult part for me. I want to learn more though I’m finding the Arabic alphabets quite challenging. Luckily I can read the numbers, so that I don’t have trouble on the streets with speed limit signs.
I enjoy meeting with people the most, whether they are new or old acquaintances. It’s always exciting to meet new people and cultivate a deeper friendship. That is one of the most rewarding and fascinating parts of my job. Whenever I hear encouraging remarks from Saudis, often the older generation of Saudis who remember the work of the Korean archi.tects in the Kingdom, I feel rewarded. The kindness of the Saudis has really touched my heart and I’ve enjoyed hearing many stories. I’ve even heard stories of Saudis playing soccer games with some of the 200,000 Koreans who used to work here back in the late 1970s. All of this has been a rewarding experience, and I want to cultivate our relation into a much closer one.
What do you like most about the DQ?
One of the best benefits of living inside the DQ is that my fellow ambassadors are all nearby, within walking distance, making it convenient to meet them. Initially I would walk along the trails and parks; nowadays I spend more of my free time in the Nofa Resort and Riyadh golf courses. At least once a week, my wife and I visit Scalini for its Italian food and almost every weekend we go to Pancake House. We also really enjoy visiting Oud Square, iHOP and Starbucks inside the DQ.
Embassy of South Korea
Amr Aldamri St., Al Safarat District, Riyadh
Contact Nos: 011-488-2211
Email: emsau@mofa.go.kr
Website: http://overseas.mofa.go.kr/sa-ar/index.do
Twitter: @emsaukr
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/koreanembassyriyadh
