The latest edition of the Korea Matters for America/America Matters for Korea publication was launched on Wednesday, December 11th with an event on Capitol Hill in Washington. Produced jointly by the East-West Center in Washington and The Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, Korea Matters highlights all aspects of the US-Korea relationship, including analysis of trade and investment levels, mutual travel and tourism rates, student exchanges, and the bilateral security alliance, among other things. The publication highlights state- and congressional district-level facts and figures to illustrate the importance of the relationship on a local level.
The event on the Hill included speeches by members of the U.S. Congress, talking about their own experiences with the US-Korea relationship, as well as a panel discussion by a range of experts in different policy fields and some remarks by Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, H.E. Ahn Ho-young. The members of congress who spoke were Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA), Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), and Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D-HI), demonstrating that the importance of the US-Korea relationship transcends party politics.
The expert panelists included Tami Overby, the Vice President for Asia at the US Chamber of Commerce and President of the US-Korea Business Council, Dr. Marcus Noland, the Executive Vice President and Director of Studies at the Peterson Institute of International Economics and Senior Fellow at the East-West Center, Jim Zumwalt, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the Department of State, and Dr. Choi Kang, the Vice President of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. The panelists touched on the various dimensions of the US-Korea relationship, from security issues to the current state of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement and prospects for Korea joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Dr. Satu Limaye moderated the panel as the Director of the East-West Center in Washington and creator of the Asia Matters for America initiative, of which Korea Matters is the latest installment.
The new booklet can be downloaded in PDF format here.