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| U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a speech at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies before attending the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit later in the day in Seoul yesterday. He is the first incumbent U.S. president to speak to college students on a campus in Seoul. [REUTERS/YONHAP] |
Amid heightened security ahead of the Nuclear Security Summit which runs until today, United States President Barack Obama spoke to Korean students yesterday morning on a Seoul campus, the first incumbent U.S. president to do so.
In his third visit to the South Korean capital, Obama addressed some 700 students of the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), several hundred of its faculty and press in the school’s Minerva Complex auditorium in Imun-dong, Dongdaemun District, northern Seoul.
He spoke of South Korea’s role in the global community, calling Korea “one of the world’s most dynamic economies,” and the “urgent work of preventing nuclear terrorism by securing the world’s nuclear materials” that needed to be addressed at the summit.
The U.S. president opened by acknowledging that it was the two-year anniversary of the Cheonan sinking, then stated his broader comprehensive nuclear disarmament agenda and issued a warning against countries who continue to challenge international security.
Obama warned North Korea that “there will be no rewards for provocations” regarding its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
“I want to speak directly to the leaders in Pyongyang,” he said. “The U.S. has no hostile intent to your country .?.?. but by now, it should be clear your provocations and pursuit of nuclear weapons have not achieved the security you seek.”
He stated that Pyongyang was following a path of aggression that will only lead to isolation and said, “Today, we say Pyongyang has the courage to pursue peace and give a better life to the people of North Korea,” earning loud applause from the students.
Obama said regarding Korean reunification, “Koreans are one people. And if just given the chance and given their freedom, Koreans in the North are capable of great progress as well.”
He cited the division between East and West Germany as an example and said, “The day that all Koreans yearn for will not come easily nor without great sacrifice. But make no mistake, it will come.”
When the times comes, he said, “checkpoints will open and watch towers will stand and families long separated will be reunited, and Korea people at long last will be whole and free.”
The president also spoke harshly against Iran along the same vein as North Korea.
He further discussed the advantages of nuclear technology, especially its contributions to clean energy to protect the environment.
Obama ended his speech by stating “We go together” in Korean, “Gachi gapsida.”
There was no question-and-answer session for the students, but students were encouraged to post questions to the U.S. president via social networking services such as Facebook.
The president admitted the most amusing question he received from a Korean student via SNS was when he was asked if he had ever disguised his identity to post messages in support of himself on Web sites. He said he hadn’t, though one of his daughters might have.
Obama was also made an honorary alumnus of the school by HUFS President Park Chul.
The university indicates that the school was chosen out of many Korean universities eager to invite the U.S. president because of its dedication to an English-based global education since its founding in 1954, demonstrated in part by the nation’s oldest Model United Nations (MUN) program, founded in 1995.
Furthermore, the campus has exits which can be secured and an auditorium platform which is relatively higher than other schools.
Park also indicated that because of Obama’s personal interest in foreign languages, he was attracted to the fact that HUFS offers 45 different foreign languages.
Security was tight around the school as guards checked students’ identification before they entered the campus, and unregistered vehicles were not allowed to pass through the school gates yesterday.
Some protesters rallied in front of the school to voice discontent with U.S. nuclear policy but were quickly dispersed.
After the speech, students had a brief opportunity to shake hands with the U.S. president and some exchanged brief words, mentioning shared interests they had with Obama, such as basketball and Model United Nations.
Kim Sung-min, a 20-year-old English major at HUFS, was one of the 700 students selected by lottery from a roster of 20,000 students of the school. “It’s such a great honor for the leader of the United States to come speak at our school. All the students who did not get selected were very jealous.”
By Sarah Kim [sarahkim@joongang.co.kr]
한글 관련 기사
오바마 강단에 세운 한국외대의 노력
유엔모의총회 노하우 … 한국외대 노력이 오바마 데려왔다
미국 대통령 특강하던 날
버락 오바마 미국 대통령의 강연이 있었던 26일. 서울 이문동 한국외대 미네르바 컴플렉스 앞에는 새벽녘부터 수백 명의 학생들이 줄을 서 있었다.
학생 김성민(20·영문과)씨는 “지난 22일 참석자로 뽑혔다는 연락을 받았을 때 매우 기뻤다”며 “좋은 자리에 앉기 위해 새벽 6시 50분부터 와서 기다렸다”고 설레는 듯 말했다.
이날 강연엔 서울과 용인캠퍼스 학생 700명이 참석했다. 한국외대 측은 “주한 미국 대사관에 전체 학생 명단을 전달했고 대사관 측이 참석자를 무작위 선발했다”고 설명했다.
오전 10시20분쯤 한국외대에 도착한 오바마 대통령은 지하주차장을 통해 강연장으로 곧바로 들어갔다. 연단에는 태극기와 성조기가 번갈아 가며 세워져 있었다. 오바마 대통령이 한국말로 ‘같이 갑시다’라고 말하자 우레와 같은 박수가 쏟아졌다. 이어 “여기 오기 전에 주한 미국 대사관 소셜미디어로 ‘웹사이트에 들어가 지지자인 것처럼 글을 남긴 적이 있느냐’는 질문을 받았다”며 “난 그런 적이 없는데 내 딸들이 그랬을 수도 있다”고 웃음을 유도했다. 오바마 대통령이 “한국외대가 세계 최고의 외국어 학교 중 하나” “한국은 가난한 나라에서 가장 역동적 국가로 발전했다”고 한 부분에선 박수갈채가 이어졌다.
외대는 이날 보안을 이유로 오전 강의를 모두 취소했다. 강연장은 백악관 경호팀이 직접 경호를 맡았고, 경찰과 한·미 양국의 정보요원들이 캠퍼스 곳곳에 배치됐다.
오전 10시30분부터 30여 분간 이어진 이날 강연엔 질의응답 시간이 없었다. 연설을 마친 오바마 대통령은 연단 앞의 일부 학생들과 악수를 나눴다. 맨 앞줄의 귀빈들과 악수하는 과정에서 자연스레 이뤄진 일이었다. 장문준(21·국제학부)씨는 “나한테도 악수 차례가 오나 했는데 결국 못했다”며 “오바마 대통령과 악수한 친구들은 손을 씻지 않겠다고 한다”고 말했다. 이날 강연은 미 정부가 한국외대에 제안한 것이다. 주한 미국 대사관 측은 “강연 계획을 전달받고 여러 대학을 미 정부에 추천했고 백악관이 최종적으로 한국외대를 택했다”고 밝혔다.
한국외대 관계자는 “우리 학교는 1995년부터 한국유엔협회와 대학생 유엔모의총회를 여는 등 국제화 교육에 앞장섰다”며 “평소 외국어 교육을 강조해 온 오바마 대통령이 한국외대가 외국어 전문교육기관이란 점을 높이 산 것으로 알고 있다”고 말했다. 한국외대가 다른 대학의 요청을 물리칠 수 있었던 요인이다.
박철 한국외대 총장도 “오바마 대통령은 다시 태어나면 스페인어를 공부하겠다고 할 정도로 외국어 교육을 강조했다”며 “45개 외국어를 가르치는 한국외대가 매력적이었을 것”이라고 설명했다.[중앙일보]