Remarks
Korea Economic Institute (KEI)
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Washington , DC

• Ambassador Pritchard, thank you for inviting me to this special event celebrating Korean heritage in the United States, as well as KEI’s 25 th anniversary. What a great way to start the New Year.

• Ambassador Pritchard
  Secretary Gutierrez
  Ambassador Lee, Tae-sik
  Sam Kwak, Federation of Korean Associations
  Chancellor Michelle Rhee, DC Schools

• I am so honored to be here with such outstanding leaders from our community.

• Five years ago, as part of the Korean American centennial celebration, I spoke at the Korean American Coalition National Convention in Hawaii. I spoke about our need and desire to have more Korean Americans in decision making positions in federal, state and local government. Fast forward 5 years, we have leaders like Chancellor Rhee, who is the outcome of our desire and our dream. Her appointment tells the story of how far we have come.

• A sign of getting older is that lately I have been thinking alot about where I came from.

• I was born at the end of horse year. My mother waited 2 weeks to announce my birth so she could tell her friends Shinae was born in goat year – a small animal sign that men prefer! I don’t know my real birthday.

• Even growing up in a loving home with loving parents, I noticed that my beef soup did not have any beef! All the beef was with my brothers’ soup. Mine was full of vegetables. Ever since, I have been asking, “WHERE IS THE BEEF”?

• This is the story of women of my generation.

• Thanks to President George W. Bush and Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, I am the 1 stAsian American Director of the Women’s Bureau in 87 years of its history. I am working on 21 st Century solutions so that women can achieve Better Jobs! Better Earnings! Better Living!

• In between where I began and where I am now, I surrounded myself with good people, made many tough decisions, and always focused on results and outcomes.

• The journey to achieve our dreams comes with many challenges, but also with manyopportunities.

• In the early 1980s, so many newly-arrived Asian immigrants in Illinois presented a unique set of challenges – cultural differences; discrimination; and hate crimes. In a beautiful suburb, an old schoolhouse that had been converted into a Korean Presbyterian Church was burned down. A Thai temple burned down. A 2-bedroom apartment which 2 Indochinese refugee families rented so they could save money to buy their own homes, burned down. A group of us got together to serve the community and help state government to be more responsive to the needs of Asian Americans. Our small group of 13 became a movement – many more people joined, and the Asian American Coalition of Chicago (AACC) was born. That was 24 years ago.

• I was given credit for organizing 13 Asian American ethnic communities to create a united voice. This volunteer work led to my job as Governor Thompson’s Special Assistant for Asian American Affairs, and that led to becoming a member of the Illinois Cabinet.

• That was the 1980s. In the year 2008, we have many elected and appointed Korean Americans in very responsible positions. They are leading transformation at all levels of American society.

Labor Trends

• One of the 3 trends unique to the 21 st Century is a global economy. The 3 countries with the largest populations and largest labor forces are 1) China, 2) India, and 3) the United States.

• Do you know that:

• Nearly 1/3 of workers change jobs every year. In 2006, 59 million workers were hired into jobs and 56 million left their jobs for various reasons. The average 40 year old in America in 2006 had held 10 jobs since age 18.

• The mobility of the international labor force is a big trend that is going to grow and grow.

• U.S. born or naturalized workers increasingly will be working all over the world. My son, Greg, a composer, and 2 of his Stanford classmates are working for a Hong Kong based company, and commuting to Hong Kong with his portable studio. The animated episodes of Hello Kitty that they are working on will be launched this year targeting 50 countries.

• America is the world’s largest exporter of services (professional and technical services, financial services, educational services, etc.).

• Education is the foundation for success in the global economy.

• 2/3 of new jobs will be filled by people with some college education (Associate’s degree, Bachelor’s degree, or higher).

• In twenty years, today's college graduate may retain very few of the facts learned in four years of classes, but the most important thing is not retaining facts, but having learned how to think and how to learn. Employers want someone who knows howto learn new skills.

Korean Americans and the Global Economy

• I would like to share a story about what being KoreanAmerican means to me and my family. When my son Toby was about 10 or 11, we lived in a community where we were the only Asian American family. Toby was apparently teased by his school mates for being different. Of course, both my sons were born in Evanston, Illinois. They grew up thinking that they are just as American as anyone else. Every night, I told Toby that he was the best looking boy on earth.

• Toby was not totally convinced, so one day he went to see Miss Gordon, his 5 th grade English teacher, and asked her “Who am I? Am I Korean or American?” Miss Gordon looked at Toby and said: “Toby, you are both – like someone with $2.00 in your pocket as opposed to $1.00 in your pocket.” Miss Gordon was a great teacher and a wonderful human being. It was a wonderful way to look at someone’s ethnic heritage as an enriching and positive life experience. And my Toby ended up being a good looking Washington lawyer!

• Being Asian American and a woman, I could choose to let cultural and language barriers overcome me. Instead, I choose to realize that I HAVE $2.00 IN MY POCKET. I speak 2 languages, have a global perspective and experience, PLUS I have a valuable network and connections with people FROM and IN Asian countries.

• Going forward, it’s all about the global economy and countries coming together. I would like to see Korean Americans take advantage of their global perspective and expertise. We have much to offer this country, and America has much to offer us.

• Thank you, Happy New Year, and God bless you.