The WEST (Work, English Study, Travel) Program

Ambassador Stephens
Remarks to First WEST Participants at MOFAT Orientation
March 11, 2009

[Korean]  안녕하십니까.   주한미국대사관에 있는 Kathleen Stephens 입니다 (Good morning.  I am Kathleen Stephens from the U.S. Embassy Seoul).  (Applause)  여러분들의 미국에 가는 준비를 위해서 영어로 하겠습니다 (In order for you to be prepared to go to the U.S., I will make my speech in English).  (Laughter)

Foreign Minister Yu,  Chairman Park, Chairman Lee,  National Assemblyman Hong, National Assemblyman Moon,  National Assemblywoman Shin, I am so pleased, so pleased to join you here today along with Stanley Colvin, my colleague from Washington, D.C.   I am so pleased to see all of you here today, especially those of you who have just joined the WEST program as the pioneer inaugural members.  [Korean] 축하드립니다 (Congratulations)!

I want to especially thank Foreign Minister Yu and his ministry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Global Internship Support Center they set up to work with my colleagues at our Embassy and the Department of State in Washington, D.C. along with our private sector colleagues, to establish this program.   As the Foreign Minister already mentioned, this program was only agreed to less than six months ago -- less than six months ago when the Foreign Minister and his counterpart, our Secretary of State, signed the Memorandum of Understanding on WEST.   I don’t think there is any other country in the world that would be able to work with us to put together this program in less than six months.  This is a great tribute to the Republic of Korea and its commitment to this relationship, and I think it is a great tribute to the very, very special U.S. – Korea  relationship, the 한미관계, 우리관계 (U.S.-ROK relationship, our relationship).  Very special.   And this is our program – the WEST program.

Now, I talk a lot about what makes this relationship special , what makes it 우리관계 (our relationship) --and you know, it is people.  It is our people-to-people ties that have grown so much since the years I first came to Korea.   Now, some of you know that I first came to Korea on a different kind of program about 34 years ago.  It was a different program, and Korea was a different place.   When I see all of you students here I think about what I learned from coming to Korea on my adventure 34 years ago.  First of all, I learned a little bit of the Korean language.   I know you all are hoping to go to the United States to learn some more English language.  Now, unlike me, you have already studied English for many, many years but I still have one piece of advice for you:   [Korean] 자신있게 하세요 (Be confident).   Be confident.  I am sure you will have a very good classroom program.  But go there, speak English --really use it -- and do not be afraid to make mistakes.  I make mistakes all the time – in English and in Korean.  Do not be afraid. 

You will learn, I hope, some skills in an internship that will help you in your future careers.   But maybe you do not yet know what your future career is.  How many of you know what your career will be?   Not many.  Be open to the new experience.   When I came to Korea in 1975, I knew  that I did not want to be a teacher as a career.  But I was a teacher in 예산중학교 (Yesan Middle School).   What did I learn there?  I learned to be a diplomat.  I learned skills that would help me in my career as a diplomat.

I do not know what internship you will have in the United States, and maybe you do not know either.  I do not know what your future career will be.  Maybe you will have professions that have not yet been invented because our world is changing so much.   But I want you to be in internships where you gain the skills and the experience that will help you in your lives and in your jobs wherever they take you.

Also, you already agreed that you are going to represent the Republic of Korea – this great country with whom we have such an important relationship, such deep shared history and shared experience.   But guess what?  Some Americans do not know much about this country.  Some Americans will ask you some really silly questions.  Maybe they will ask you “Are you from North Korea?”  Maybe that’s not silly.   “Are you next to Hong Kong?”  You will be a little surprised.  Please be patient.  (Laughter)  And please be, as I know you will be, and your Foreign Minister asked you to be, please be wonderful diplomats for Korea. 

I have a 부탁 (request) for you too.  When you come back here, be good “explainers” of America.  When you come back here you will have an experience in America that is different from going to Los Angeles for a week.   It is different even from studying for your master’s degree.   You will have an experience of living independently, maybe for the first time, of working, and of studying, and of traveling in America.  And when you come back here to Korea you may get into conversations with your old friends here about the United States and you may say to them, “No, actually, that’s not the way it is.  Not every American drives a large car and not every American lives in a large house.”   You will have some different experiences and I hope you will bring those back.

Most of all, I know you all will bring back, as I did when I left Korea, a deeper understanding of yourself and of your own country, Korea.  Because sometimes it is only when we leave our country that we bring back the most understanding of the place that we have left.  

So, here’s my advice when you go to America.  First of all, get out of your comfort zone.  Do you understand what I mean by that?  Already you are outside of your comfort zone; you are choosing to go to a foreign country to live and to work.  And because this is a pilot program, there is still some uncertainty.   So you are outside your comfort zone.  Stay outside your comfort zone.  Do something that is a little harder.  If you have always lived in a big city, think about living in a small city or even in the countryside.   If you have always thought you wanted to work at a very large company, think about maybe a small one and see what that is like.  This is a time to get, and stay, outside of your comfort zone.

Finally, have fun!   I do not need to tell this group of Korean students to study hard.  I know you will study hard, so I will not tell you that.  And I do not need to tell this group of Korean students, so carefully selected, to work hard; I know you will work hard.   But remember, this is also about having fun.  This is about something that goes beyond the classroom and the workplace into an experience that you will take with you for the rest of your life.  So please have fun and travel.  And when you come back I want to hear that at least some of you have gone to places like Arizona and Montana – those are the places where I am from -- and had some great adventures.  Come back and tell us about it and tell us how we can make this program what we want it to be, which is both a symbol and a reality of what Foreign Minister Yu, President Lee Myung-bak, and my President and Secretary of State call our partnership, our alliance for the21st Century.  This program is a big step on the way, a symbol of that relationship which is going to take us to a new level in the 21st Century, and it is all of you who are going to take us there. 

So again, [Korean] 축하드립니다. 잘 다녀오시고, 돌아오시면 또 뵐께요. 감사합니다(Congratulations.  Have a safe trip to the U.S. and will see you when you come back.  Thank you).

• December 15, 2008 - The WEST (Work, English Study, Travel) Program
• September 22, 2008 - The WEST (Work, English Study, Travel) Program
• Additional information about the WEST program is available at mofat or westwhp