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(Yonhap Interview) A man who bridges U.S. troops and Koreans
By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, July 4 (Yonhap) -- American soldiers here call him "Daebu" or godfather in English for his expertise and leadership. He was born in South Korea's southernmost island, Jeju, and has been working in the country's northernmost place, the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom.
Kim Yong-kyu |
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Having worked with the U.S. military here for three decades, Kim Yong-kyu has played the role of a bridge between the U.S. troops and South Koreans, many of whom are said to have anti-American sentiment.
He formed ties with the U.S. military by joining the Korean Augmentation Troops to the U.S. Army (KATUSA) in 1976. He was a reporter for the Indian Head, the newspaper of the Second Infantry Division stationed north of Seoul. When he was to be honorably discharged from military service, his American team leader offered him a civilian job in the press office of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).
Now, Kim wears three hats, just like his boss, Gen. Burwell B. Bell, the commander of the USFK, the United Nations Command (UNC) and the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC).
His business card reads "media relations officer" for these three organizations. Kim is so well-connected that he has become a must-know figure for any local or foreign reporter who writes about Panmunjom and the U.S. troops here.
In the 1970s and 80s, Kim was even busier as spokesman for the UNC, which monitors the armistice between the two Koreas and handles activities at Panmunjom, a traditional venue for inter-Korean dialogue and the North's talks with U.N. troops.
"I have been at Panmunjom for all the media coverage of events there. I have visited there more than one thousand times," Kim said in a recent interview with Yonhap News Agency.
He described Panmunjom as a microcosm for inter-Korean relations.
"Panmunjom equals inter-Korean relations," he said. "It was a scene of confrontation and competition between the two Koreas. It has been changed into a place for exchanges and reconciliation. Now, confrontational and reconciliatory moods coexist there, just like the current inter-Korean relations."
He pointed out that the two Koreas hold talks at Panmunjom, where heavily armed soldiers from the two sides stand face to face on the opposite side of the military demarcation line.
Kim's job as the press officer for the USFK and CFC has become more hectic since early 1990s, when Seoul and Washington began reshaping their alliance and the presence of American troops emerged as a socially sensitive issue.
"Until the 1980s, I usually met with security writers. But from the 1990s, I had to have frequent contacts with reporters covering social issues such as crime and the environment," he said.
He presented as an example the two South Korean schoolgirls crushed by a U.S. armored vehicle in 2002.
"Local media didn't pay attention to the U.S. soldiers' sorrow and mourning for the tragic incident, while focusing on the public uproar over the U.S. troops," he said. "Sometimes, I think Korean people view USFK-related incidents too emotionally."
Kim said his job is rewarding in that it is to deliver South Korean people's desires to the U.S. military, and vice versa.
"I am proud of working in the current job as a South Korean," he said.
He expressed optimism about the future of the South Korea-U.S. alliance, saying it was not forged overnight.
"The blood alliance, dating back to the (1950-53) Korean War, is solid enough to keep improving," he said.
Kim has just turned 60, the retirement age, but the USFK renewed a five-year contract with him.
He plans to write a book about his experiences at Panmunjom and the U.S. military after he quits the job some day.
"I will tell you more then, while drinking a bottle of soju (a popular Korean liquor)," he said, sidestepping some sensitive questions.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)
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