Sejong in Washington DC

By Jason Lim

It almost seems that the road to the Korean Peninsula is paved through Washington D.C. these days. Let me explain.

Last week, Venerable Pomnyun, the founder of Goodfriends, a Seoul-based human rights organization known for their weekly English language e-newsletter detailing the suffering of ordinary North Korean people, reported that about 200,000-300,000 North Koreans will starve to death in May and June if emergency food aid is not made available. This was the message that he delivered to American officials and policy think tanks in D.C. during his three-day visit here.

Partly in response to such warnings by credible organizations such as Goodfriends and World Food Program, an interagency team from the United States led by USAID visited Pyongyang last week to hammer out the details on how to deliver significant food aid to North Koreans. Although the food won't reach North Korea for at least two months, it is nevertheless a very generous example by the United States acting true to America's declared principle of not linking humanitarian aid with politics.

Almost at the same time, Washington D.C. was the host to the annual North Korea Freedom Week, which pulls together a host of events in the capital to highlight the human rights abuses against North Koreans within North Korea and North Korean refugees in China. With strong supporters on both sides of the political isle, the Freedom Week this year also featured the showing of 'Crossing', a movie based on the true story of a North Korean defector, to key staff members on the Hill. In fact, the organizers of the Freedom Week, led by Suzanne Sholte, were instrumental in getting the North Korean Human Rights Act extended.

It's not only North Korean issues that are getting decided here in D.C. The deal on U.S. beef imports that President Lee Myung-bak signed off on during his summit trip to Washington is currently the cause of a nationwide furor that is threatening to completely overshadow his overall agenda and leave him fighting for political survival even before the first year is out. And the only way that this issue can be resolved in any fundamental way will inevitably go through a discussion process in the backrooms in D.C. in some way or fashion.

Perhaps the best example of Korea-related issue being worked through the consensus building and decision-making process in Washington D.C. was the passage of the Comfort Women resolution last July, whereby the U.S. House of Representatives called upon the government of Japan to take official responsibility and apologize for the forced and systematic rapes of countless Asian women during World War II. It was the most visible case of Washington D.C. acting as the platform upon which Korea elevated a previously Korea-centric issue to the international stage.

That is precisely the role that Washington D.C. can play: as an international stage upon which Korea can engage in consensus-building, deal-making, and battles with other nations to safeguard her national interests. This is not necessarily a bad thing and doesn't mean that the United States somehow has a hegemonic control over the fate of the Korean Peninsula.

However, it does mean that Korea has to know the rules of the game and know how to leverage them to its advantage. Not playing the game is not an option, since Korea is inextricably intertwined ― along with everyone else ― in the complex web of interdependencies that we call globalization. And Washington D.C., by virtue of being the political center of the United States, is the center from which future web patterns are spun out. If you want a say, you have to be here.

This is why works by organizations like Sejong Society of Washington D.C. (www.sejongsocietydc.org) are so important. Although Sejong is a non-partisan, non-profit organization run entirely by volunteers, it organizes small and large events on Korea-related issues in D.C. that act to constantly bring various Korea issues to the collective consciousness of Washington D.C. In fact, it's like Sejong is fiercely churning the water below the surface so that the mainstream awareness and discussion on Korea can remain afloat on the seemingly calm waters of the Washington surface. Without the labor of love done by Sejong and similar organizations, Korea issues would sink like a rock to the bottom of the lake and be forgotten.

They make Korea present and visible in many different ways, as Korea issues need not be purely political. Sejong also provides Washington D.C. public with opportunities to know Korea from a multi-dimensional perspective. It recently cosponsored a Kennedy Center Performance by Korean fusion group Haegumplus. This week, it will host a discussion on ``Hallyu, Korean Wave in a Global Context" featuring Park Jung-sook, who is best known for her acting role as the queen in the Korean blockbuster drama series Dae Jang Geum (Jewel in the Palace). Veteran journalist and author Donald Oberdorfer, who currently chairs the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, will preside over the panel and serve as a commentator. Korea historian Christine Kim, who is assistant professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, will provide further analysis.

By so deftly combining different elements of Korea issues that might interest Washingtonians, Sejong Society is creating the types of multidimensional exposure that will form the basis of ``discussion infrastructure'' that will undergird Korea discussions in D.C. for years to come.

Jason Lim is a research fellow at the Harvard Korea Institute, researching Asian leadership models. He can be reached at jasonlim@post.harvard.edu.