South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is in the United States this week on a multi-state visit marking the 70th anniversary of the alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea.
President Joe Biden hosted a state dinner at the White House on Wednesday evening for Yoon. It was only the second state visit of the Biden administration following last year's visit from French President Emmanuel Macron.
His meetings in Washington come at a sensitive time not only for regional security issues, but also for trade.
"Korea, as you know, has made enormous progress in its economy, its footprint in diplomacy, its regional role, its cultural power in terms of movies and music and soft power. It comes at a very important time for issues of diplomacy, defense, security, trade, high technology," said Washington-based Vice President of the East-West Center Satu Limaye.
"I think there's a lot of anticipation as to what will happen over the next couple of days, including expected remarks to a joint session of the United States Congress."
During Yoon's visit to the U.S., Limaye said he's watching for announcements about investments in manufacturing on U.S. soil, as well as how national news portrays modern South Korea.
Yoon has already visited NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and met with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos about the streaming platform's $2.5 billion investment in Korean entertainment over the next four years. Yoon is also scheduled to visit Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston.
"There's lots of ways in which Korea now has made a mark. There are 2 million Korean Americans in the United States, large numbers of Korean American elected officials at national and state levels. So in all ways, Korea is arriving on the 70th anniversary as a major U.S. partner and as a major global player," Limaye added.
Satu Limaye also created and directs the Asia Matters for America initiative, including the recently released “Korea Matters for America.”
The East-West Center is hosting a public discussion on U.S.-Korea relations at 2 p.m. on May 3 in partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi Center for Korean Studies and the Korean Consulate.
This interview aired on The Conversation on April 26, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
