By Robert Koehler
Contributing Writer

As with any election, the expatriate community in Korea is divided in their reaction to Barack Obama's election as the 44th president of the United States.

But that division was more over enthusiasm for a president, and less over bitterness for the loss suffered by their candidate.

Michael Hurt (http://metropolitician.blogs.com/), researcher and photographer, looks forward to the new administration especially in contrast to the outgoing one. ``Now it's time for Obama to get down to work and lead, and show our country and the world the greatness of America, as opposed to Bush having shown the world our worst,'' he said.

``And with the mandate that it looks like he's building, and with the power he'll have in Congress, it's time to do it right.''

Brendon Carr, an American lawyer with law firm Hwangmok Park, worried about the impact Obama's election might have on Korea-U.S. relations.

He said, ``The Obama Democratic government could be bad for Korea because they are very much beholden to U.S. labor union interests, and U.S. labor unions have had Korea as a scapegoat since 1988. It's an ill-wind for the FTA and the interests of Korea in the continued favorable access to American markets.''

Expats of the conservative persuasion are not entirely pleased. Said Kurt Mohay, a teacher from Colorado, ``It's a good time for Obama, but a bad time for the country. He talks a good game, but he's way left wing and will divide the country more than he unites it.''

While expressing excitement about the election, Jacqueline Kim, a teacher and writer from Minnesota, pointed to the enthusiasm Obama has sparked.

``I feel Obama has rallied the enthusiasm of Americans in an unprecedented way,'' she said. ``And I'm very optimistic that the world will see positive change.''

At least one Obama supporter had reason for pause, however. Julian Moore, a young American from Connecticut, said, ``I'm glad Obama won, but he's still a largely unknown entity and has built up higher expectations than any other recent political figure and he has a lot of work to do.''

Still, the excitement is palpable. Yalinda Disla from New York put it this way. ``It's about time for me to be proud of who represents my country.''

Pete Brown, animation supervisor at 20th Century Fox, had this to say.

``Obama is definitely going to turn around the American culture of fear mongering which has gone on for too long.''

Dwayne Robertson, a Canadian, gave a third-party opinion, saying, ``As a Canadian citizen, most Americans probably don't care what I think about the election but I would have voted for Obama, if I were an American.

``In my personal opinion, Obama seemed very genuine in his approach. Hopefully, Americans will find a brighter future with this new president.''

Before Senator John McCain's concession speech, Jeff Veroff said, ``No need to wait until 1:30 (KST). It's quite obvious that this race isn't even close.''

Korea Times Copyeditors Bradley MacDonald and John Redmond contributed to this report. ― ED.