A chance to show Korea’s potential

By Bae Ji-sook

With just a week remaining before the G20 Seoul Summit, the streets are refurbished, media outlets are all abuzz with news associated with the historic meeting and residents of the capital are being asked to smile to incoming guests.

But what do people really feel about the event? And moreover, what do they want from the leaders?

“I want them to take a deep breath and talk frankly about themselves. I want them to step down, give back a little for the community and start talking with open hearts,” Han Hyo-joo, a popular actress and also goodwill ambassador of the G20 summit, said in an interview.

Han has just finished the hit MBC epic drama, “Dong Yi,” starring as an innovative queen who leads her king to stand up against corrupt aristocrats and seeks a better world, and said she has learnt that constant negotiations, talking and listening are what it takes to make a good decision.

“I hope they will seek what is good for the world,” she said.

Admitting that she is not familiar with political or economic affairs, she said the key issues for the summit are still tricky for her to understand.

But when she was first offered the goodwill ambassador position, Han — already a big figure throughout Asia with her dramas sold to more than 80 countries — instantly decided that the summit would be a great opportunity to show what Korea has and its potential.

“It is amazing that a great number of people express a good impression about Korea. They want to know us more and learn about us. When the whole world’s eyes are on Korea and a great deal of news coverage is dedicated to Korea, I am sure that building up a positive national brand image will be much easier,” she said.

Han spent a whole year wearing hanbok, Korea’s traditional costume, eating traditional Korean food and staying at traditional palaces and sets modeled on the houses of the nobility.

“I have fallen in love with hanbok. Look at the silhouette that stresses your neckline. Look how fair a woman looks in the vivid yet subtle colors of the jacket and skirts. Look how a woman walks under plump skirts. This is more than art and represents what Koreans weigh on in their real lives — they love nature and harmony within their surroundings,” she said.

Based on such an experience, she expressed her attachment to the Korean spirit and its uniqueness, which she definitely wants to share with the summit leaders, delegates and journalists coming to Korea.

“I would like to take them on a tour around Seoul. I want them to see the old palaces and feel the air of the history of Korea. But at the same time, I want to take them to Cheoggye Stream in central Seoul where they can see the very essence of Seoul,” she said.

For the first ladies of the meeting, she suggested that they meet Lee Hyo-jae, a hanbok designer, so that they can learn about the essence of Korean culture.

“The way we serve foods, the way we dress and the way we cook ... Doesn’t it sound much more fun? If they had time, attending a cooking class would be nice,” Han said.

And for the leaders? She proposed a different approach. “I want to introduce cycling around the Han River so that they could get rid of their stress and forget about silly things. Then I want to take them to the Garak Seafood Market in southern Seoul and buy them soju and delicious Korean dishes,” she said.

“I want to tell them that’s how Koreans live and how we make friends with others.”