Embassy of South Korea, Washington, D.C.

Embassy of South Korea, Washington, D.C.
Coordinates 38°54′52″N 77°3′16″W / 38.91444°N 77.05444°W / 38.91444; -77.05444Coordinates: 38°54′52″N 77°3′16″W / 38.91444°N 77.05444°W / 38.91444; -77.05444
Location Washington, D.C.
Address

-

Ambassador Ahn Ho-young
Website http://usa.mofa.go.kr
Embassy of South Korea, Washington, D.C.
Hangul 주미국대한민국대사관
Hanja 駐美國大韓民國大使館
Revised Romanization Ju Miguk Daehanminguk daesagwan
McCune–Reischauer Chu Miguk Taehanmin'guk taesagwan

The Embassy of South Korea in Washington, D.C. is the diplomatic mission of South Korea to the United States. Its main chancery is located at 2450 Massachusetts Avenue, Northwest, Washington, D.C., in the Embassy Row neighborhood.[1] The current ambassador is Ahn Ho-young, a senior career diplomat whose most recent position was the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs.[2]

Due to the rather small size of its main chancery building, the embassy has an annex nearby in Arlington County, Virginia.[3] It also occupies two additional buildings close to its main chancery building to house its Consular Section and a Korean Cultural Center.[4] The ambassador's residence is located in the nearby Spring Valley neighborhood, close to American University.[5]

The embassy operates consulates general in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco and Seattle. In addition to those consulates general, the embassy also maintains a consulate agency in Guam as well as two consular offices in Anchorage and Dallas.[6][7]

A statue of Dr. Philip Jaisohn, an independence activist and journalist, was dedicated in 2008 in front of the Consular Section building at 2320 Massachusetts Ave. N.W.

Main Chancery at 2450 Massachusetts Avenue
Consular Section at 2320 Massachusetts Avenue
Statue of Dr. Philip Jaisohn in front of the Consular Section

List of ambassadors

After the independence of Korea from Japanese rule in 1945, and the founding of South Korea in 1948, South Korea immediately restored normal diplomatic relationship with the United States and has since been sending ambassadors to the United States.[8] Although Chang Myon is officially recorded as the first ambassador serving from February 1949, Chough Pyung-ok was recognized in August 1948 as the Special Representative of the President of South Korea with a personal rank of Ambassador. Chang replaced Chough in January 1949 in the same capacity, and was appointed as the first ambassador the following month.[9]

South Korea has so far sent twenty-four ambassadors to the United States, excluding 2 Chargé d'affaires a.i. (Koo Chong-whay and Oh Jay-hee).[10] As Chung Il-kwon served twice as the third and fifth ambassador, a total of twenty-three different people have served in the position.[11]

Reflecting the United States' significance to South Korea's diplomacy, almost all of these ambassadors have been chosen from elites in their respective fields. For instance, the four most recent ambassadors have all been either career diplomats who had already served as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (e.g., Ahn Ho-young, Choi Young-jin, and Lee Tae-sik), or in high government positions such as Prime Minister and head of the Finance Ministry (e.g., Han Duck-soo) before being dispatched to Washington D.C.

A complete list of ambassadors is provided below in the order of appointment. All held the title of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary while in office.[12]

Order Name Name in Korean Appointed Left Career Highlights
1st Chang Myon 장면 February 1949 February 1951 Vice President, Prime Minister, Speaker of National Assembly, leader of opposition party
2nd Yang You-chan 양유찬 April 1951 April 1960 Medical doctor
3rd Chung Il-kwon 정일권 May 1960 September 1960 Prime Minister, Speaker of National Assembly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Armed Forces Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff
4th Chang Lee-wook 장이욱 October 1960 June 1961 President of Seoul National University, independence activist
5th Chung Il-kwon 정일권 June 1961 April 1963 Prime Minister, Speaker of National Assembly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Armed Forces Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff
6th Kim Chung-yul 김정열 May 1963 October 1964 Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, Member of National Assembly, Armed Forces Chief of Staff
7th Kim Hyun-chul 김현철 December 1964 October 1967 Minister of Strategy and Finance
8th Kim Dong-jo 김동조 October 1967 December 1973 Minister of Foreign Affairs
9th Hahm Pyong-choon 함병춘 December 1973 April 1977 Presidential Chief of Staff, Professor
10th Kim Yong-shik 김용식 April 1977 June 1981 Minister of Foreign Affairs
11th Yu Byung-hyun 류병현 July 1981 November 1985 Armed Forces Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff
12th Kim Kyung-won 김경원 November 1985 April 1988 Presidential Chief of Staff, Professor
13th Park Tong-jin 박동진 May 1988 March 1991 Minister of Foreign Affairs, Member of National Assembly
14th Hyun Hong-choo 현홍주 March 1991 April 1993 Minister of Legislation, Prosecutor
15th Han Seung-soo 한승수 April 1993 December 1994 Prime Minister, Minister of Strategy and Finance, Member of National Assembly, Professor
16th Park Kun-woo 박건우 January 1995 April 1998 Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, President of Kyunghee Cyber University
17th Lee Hong-koo 이홍구 May 1998 August 2000 Prime Minister, Minister of Unification, Member of National Assembly
18th Yang Sung-chul 양성철 August 2000 April 2003 Member of National Assembly, Professor
19th Han Sung-Joo 한승주 April 2003 February 2005 Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor
20th Hong Seok-hyun 홍석현 February 2005 September 2005 President of Joongang Daily (newspaper) and JTBC (broadcasting company)
21st Lee Tae-sik 이태식 October 2005 March 2009 Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor
22nd Han Duck-soo 한덕수 March 2009 February 2012 Prime Minister, Minister of Strategy and Finance
23rd Choi Young-jin 최영진 March 2012 May 2013 Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
24th Ahn Ho-young 안호영 June 2013 Incumbent Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs

Consular locations and jurisdictions

South Korea maintains 9 Consulate Generals, 1 Consulate Agency, and 2 Consular Offices in addition to its main embassy in Washington D.C. to better offer diplomatic services to Korean and foreign nationals from every corner of the United States. The main embassy located in Washington D.C., 9 Consulate Generals located within the 50 states, and the Consulate Agency located in Guam split the United States territory into 11 non-overlapping consular jurisdictions, and each diplomatic post offers consular services within its exclusive jurisdiction only. On the other hand, the 2 Consular Offices located in Anchorage and Dallas do not control over an exclusive consular jurisdiction and instead offer consular services to those from Alaska and Dallas–Fort Worth metro area respectively, who otherwise would have to travel to the Consulate Generals in Seattle and Houston, respectively.[13]

The Consulate Agency in Guam was originally established in 1970 as a Consulate Agency under control of the Consulate General in Honolulu. Although upgraded to a Consulate General in 1977, it was eventually downgraded back to a Consulate Agency in 1999 and since then once again the Consulate General in Honolulu has been controlling the Agency.[14]

The Consular Office in Anchorage was originally established in 1980 as a Consulate General but was closed in 1999. It was reopened in 2007 as a Consular Office and has been under control of the Consulate General in Seattle.[15]

The Consular Office in Dallas, the most recent addition to the list of Korean diplomatic posts in the United States, was established in 2012 under control of the Consulate General in Houston. This reflects the rapid growth of the Korean community in Dallas–Fort Worth metro area as well as the strengthening business ties between Korea and northern Texas.[16]

The list of the 11 Korean diplomatic establishments in the United States as well as select information regarding those are provided below:

Type Location Initial Opening Date Consular Jurisdiction Address
Embassy Washington D.C. Jan. 1888 Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia * 2450 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
* 2400 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington County, Virginia (Annex)
* 2320 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. (Consular Section)
* 2370 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. (Korean Cultural Center)
* 4801 Glenbrook Road, N.W. (Ambassador's Residence)
Consulate General Los Angeles Nov. 1948 Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico * 3243 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90010
* 5505 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036 (Korean Cultural Center)
* 680 Wilshire Place, #200, Los Angeles, CA 90005 (Korean Education Center)
Consulate General New York City Apr. 1949 New York, Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania * 335 E. 45th Street, New York, NY 10017
* 460 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022 (Consular Section)
Consulate General Honolulu Apr. 1949 Hawaii, American Samoa * 2756 Pali Highway, Honolulu, HI 96817
Consulate General San Francisco Jun. 1949 Northern California, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming * 3500 Clay Street, San Francisco, CA 94118
Consulate General Chicago May 1968 Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin * NBC Tower Suite 2700, 455 North Cityfront Plaza Drive, Chicago, IL 60611
Consulate General Houston May 1968 Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma * 1990 Post Oak Boulevard, #1250, Houston, TX 77056
Consulate General Atlanta Dec. 1976 Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands * International Tower Suite 2100, 229 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30303
Consulate General Seattle Nov. 1977 Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon * 2033 6th Avenue, #1125, Seattle, WA 98121
Consulate General Boston Aug. 1979 Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont * One Gateway Center Suite 251, 300 Washington Street, Newton, MA 02458
Consular Agency Guam Feb. 1970 Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) * 125C Tun Jose Camacho Street, Tamuning, Guam 96913
Consular Office Anchorage Jul. 1980 Alaska * 800 E. Dimond Boulevard, Suite 3-695, Anchorage, AK 99515
Consular Office Dallas Nov. 2012 Dallas - Fort Worth Metropolitan Area * 14001 Dallas Parkway, Suite 450, Dallas, TX 75240

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.embassy.org/embassies/kr.html
  2. ↑ http://usa.mofa.go.kr/english/am/usa/mission/greetings/index.jsp
  3. ↑ "Korean Embassy offers Arlington County land to use for free". Washington Business Journal.
  4. ↑ http://usa.mofa.go.kr/english/am/usa/mission/location/index.jsp
  5. ↑ http://blog.naver.com/PostView.nhn?blogId=zandy3&logNo=60006021958
  6. ↑ http://usa.mofa.go.kr/korean/am/usa/legation/history/index.jsp
  7. ↑ http://usa-dallas.mofa.go.kr/english/am/usa-dallas/mission/greetings/index.jsp
  8. ↑ Some might argue that it was Kingdom of Joseon who established diplomatic relationship with the U.S. in 1882 and that as both South and North Korea stemmed from Kingdom of Joseon South Korea's diplomatic relations with the U.S. should begin in 1948 instead of 1882. Although this may be technically correct, as a matter of fact both South Korea and the U.S. consider their initial diplomatic relationship established in 1882, the evidence of which can be found from these websites: http://usa.mofa.go.kr/english/am/usa/main/index.jsp and http://www.state.gov/s/cpr/94073.htm
  9. ↑ "Diplomatic Representation for South Korea". Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Protocol. 2013-06-07. Retrieved 2013-10-17.
  10. ↑ "Diplomatic Representation for South Korea". Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Protocol. 2013-06-07. Retrieved 2013-10-17.
  11. ↑ http://usa.mofa.go.kr/korean/am/usa/legation/history/index.jsp
  12. ↑ http://usa.mofa.go.kr/korean/am/usa/legation/history/index.jsp
  13. ↑ http://usa.mofa.go.kr/korean/am/usa/legation/history/index.jsp
  14. ↑ http://usa-hagatna.mofa.go.kr/english/am/usa-hagatna/mission/greetings/index.jsp
  15. ↑ http://usa-anchorage.mofa.go.kr/korean/am/usa-anchorage/legation/greetings/index.jsp
  16. ↑ http://usa-dallas.mofa.go.kr/english/am/usa-dallas/mission/greetings/index.jsp

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