On May 12, 2023 (Friday), HUFS held a town hall meeting with U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip S. Goldberg in Aekyung Hall of the International Building on the Seoul Campus.

 

Moderated by the chair of the Division of Language & Diplomacy (LD), Professor Kim Jin-Ah, the event featured a special lecture by Ambassador Goldberg on the theme "The U.S.-ROK Alliance at 70," followed by a Q&A session with students. The town hall meeting was particularly meaningful in that Ambassador Goldberg emphasized the significance of reaching the diplomatic milestone right after the bilateral summit to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-South Korea alliance.

 

Extending warm greetings to the student audience in the Korean language, he shared the reasons why he chose HUFS for his first speech after returning to Seoul from the summit: first, because HUFS students, driven by their global perspective, understand the complexity of current global issues; and second, because HUFS is one of the academic institutions that produce the most successful candidates for the Korean diplomatic service examination

 

During the town hall meeting, he stressed the importance of recognizing that the U.S.-South Korea alliance goes beyond the abstract notions covered in the news. He also encouraged the participating students to embrace a global mindset and actively pursue their academic and career goals, receiving warm applauds from them.