Swanson Finds Special Meaning in Receiving Seoul Mayor’s Award
By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
For Eric Swanson, receiving a special commendation from the Seoul Mayor has particular meaning. It is like being recognized for giving something back to his ``home'' country.
Though Swanson is an American at heart, his mother is very much Korean. She is Cho Chang-soo, a seasoned curator for the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C.
As an East Asian specialist, Cho has made valuable contributions to introducing Korean culture and history to America by running numerous exhibitions and was instrumental in opening the Korea Gallery in 2007.
What makes Swanson's profile even more intriguing is that his uncle, Cho Chang-ho, was the first reserve officer who escaped from North Korea after a grueling 43-year imprisonment.
Held captive as a prisoner of war in the Korean War in 1951, Cho escaped to China after crossing the Yalu river. He returned to South Korea in October 1994 and was honorably discharged from military service after being reinstated to the rank of First Lieutenant.
With such heritage, Swanson, a hotelier by trade, found several opportunities to work in Korea, including as an executive assistant manager at the Ritz-Carlton, Seoul in 1996 when he met his wife, the professional photographer Shin Hyun-ah who is based in New York. And yes, she is very much Korean as well.
Having traveled to various locations since his last assignment in Seoul, Swanson was appointed general manager of the Millennium Seoul Hilton, the capacity in which he received the mayoral commendation.
For more than 10 years, the hotel in downtown Seoul has been making numerous charitable donations to the Hyeshimwon Orphanage and Swanson was singled out for his contributions to the welfare of children in Korea.
For example, the Millennium Seoul Hilton sets up its 10 meter-tall Christmas tree and a Christmas village complete with working model trains. Local and international businesses sponsor the railroad cars and all proceeds are donated to Hyeshimwon Orphanage.
``I feel so much at home here and it is sort of embarrassing to win an award for doing something that is very much a part of my job and the hotel's position as a business entity,'' Swanson told The Korea Times.