Katia: First, tell us a little about yourself and
walk us through your background.
BELARUS
Mr. Baik: I am a diplomat of the Republic of Korea and I joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1985. My major was in English Literature but I
also received intensive Russian language education from Defense Language
Institute, a U.S. Department of Defense educational and research institute in
Monterey, California. I studied Russian for two years then went to Moscow
in 1990. At that time, Republic of Korea did not have any relationship with
the Soviet Union for over 75 years, so I was a pioneer to reestablish diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. My dream and ambition was to expand
the network between Korea and Russia, China, and Eastern European countries. Korea is an export-oriented economy heavily dependent on external
economic relations with other countries, so our ambition and our vision was
to widen the counterparts. We got a hint from U.S. policy towards China in
the early 1970’s which normalized the U.S.-China relations that also established diplomatic relations between the two nations.
I am proud to be a pioneering member to reestablish the diplomatic relations with Russia and I worked in Moscow twice during my diplomatic
career. Before assuming my current position in Houston last year, I served
as an Ambassador to the Republic of Kazakhstan. Working as a diplomat for
over thirty years, I gained extensive knowledge and experience in promoting
trade, cultural awareness, exchange programs and building strong relations
with Korea. I was also deeply involved in the energy sector in Russia and
Kazakhstan, so my government sent me here to continue my job as a specialist
in the energy sector.
Katia: What does a Consul General in your capacity do?
Mr. Baik: My duties as a Consul General revolve mainly around diplomatic
relations between Korea and the U.S., building international relations and
promoting the interests of Korea. I am also responsible for spearheading
different initiatives to strengthen our ties to the community and provide assistance and protection for my fellow Korean nationals.
We have a big Korean community in the United States comprised of more
than 2.5 million Koreans. The Greater Houston area is one of the key areas
for Korea, because we have many engineers and specialists working in the energy sector as well as in the medical sector. There are more than 300 Korean
medical doctors and medical engineers within the Texas Medical Center and
more than 500 Korean engineers in the energy sector. Houston is quickly
emerging as one of the key posts in the United States.
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