Montana has something more than big sky

By Kim Jae-won

The governor of Montana said that the U.S. state has something more to offer than views of its famous big skies; from beautiful national parks to abundant natural resources to good universities, appealing to Korean tourists and students to pay attention to these.

Steve Bullock said he wants to improve the relationship between Montana and Korea across a wide range of fields, including business, tourism, energy and education. Korea is the second-largest trade partner of the state, ranked only below neighboring Canada.

“The reason that I wanted to come here is because it is one of the most significant trade partners we have and to build on what can be an incredible business, cultural and educational relationship,” said Bullock in an interview with The Korea Times at the Millennium Hilton Hotel in Seoul last week.

It was part of his one-week East Asian trip and the first one to Korea. The Democrat governor brought eight business leaders as well as a few educational experts in the trip. The 48-year-old politician has served the state since January 2013.

Bullock said that Montana is home to big skies and beautiful mountains where grizzly bears and cattle live peacefully. Thanks to its blessed natural circumstances, millions of tourists visit to enjoy outdoor activities in the summer and the winter, according to the governor.

He also said that the state has abundant natural resources, such as gold, copper and coals, many of them are exported to Korea. The country is also a key importer of wheat and beef cattle.

In particular, Bullock is proud of its beef cattle, saying they are the finest in the world. About three million are in the state populated by one million people.

And his pride in the state continued to its higher education institutions. He said the state has two universities ― the University of Montana and Montana State University ― which offer research opportunities in everything from energy and computing to bio sciences and agricultural studies. Its educational programs also include liberal arts and hard sciences, he said.

“Many states in the U.S. are less committed in education, but we’ve actually been freezing tuitions, adding state funds because it is important for the future of our state,” the governor said.

Montana also offers two-year college programs across the state. The state government seeks to change its educational systems further to train its workforce and draw students from the U.S. and all over the world.

Abraham Kim, a director at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center, the University of Montana, is bridging between the state and Korea, the governor said. The center spearheads many of the universities of international outreach programming and policy-related research, particularly those in the Asia Pacific.