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[HERALD INTERVIEW]American ‘ajummas’ promote Korea



Making Korea better known to the world has been one of the priority agendas for the government over the years. However, the government seems not to be the only one feeling responsible, as some American housewives here are rolling up their sleeves to promote the country they are in love with.
Three American `ajummas` -- Bev Sodan, Cindy Keil and Pam Smith -- spent more than a year arranging the annual FAWCO conference held in Seoul two weeks ago. The Federation of American Women`s Clubs Overseas is a non-governmental organization accredited by the United Nations and serves as a support network for American women living and working abroad. The international network has a membership of nearly 18,000 in 37 countries worldwide.
"It was the first big conference ever held in Asia," said Smith who was in charge of the communication center during the five-day conference. The annual conference held March 5 to 9 was filled with a record 160 members from 35 countries around the world.
▲(From left) Bev Sodan, Cindy Keil and Pam Smith [Ahn Hoon/The Korea Herald]The participants had an unusual chance to learn about Korea`s culture, politics and food, thanks to the help of other American women here.
"People mainly came from Europe and most of them were on their first visit to Korea. They were hesitant to come at first but I was quite impressed when I heard people come up and say that they like Seoul and want to come back," said Smith in an interview with The Korea Herald.
The main idea of the conference was to learn more about humanitarianism and especially how bad the situation is in North Korea.
"People didn`t know about this. But (after the seminar on North Korea and human right abuse) they got up close and personal perspective of what it is like being here and having a Northern neighbor that is close to you that have been so isolated and far way, yet they are just next door," said Smith.
Some 30 members even joined a Saturday protest held in Insa-dong after they attended a lecture about North Koreans escaping to China but forced to return to the communist country.
After attending different sessions on various issues, members hit the road to experience Korea, culture and people.
From Insa-dong to the DMZ, the three members were there to provide information on visiting places.
"They loved all of palaces: the DMZ, the War Memorial and the National Museum of Korea. People constantly came to me and said they want to come back," said Keil.
But there is one thing they feel regretful about.
"We all live it here and we had to see Namdaemun gate when it was beautiful. But it was really hard to explain what it was like before to the participants," said Sodan, the next president-elect of the American Women`s Club in Korea.
Keil agrees.
"For us Americans, the culture is so young. All ancient culture is fascinating to us and how well Korea preserves it. And we saw how much important it is. We respect that," said Keil who was in charge of the touring schedule.
Problems with language and finding food in an expensive city like Seoul are difficulties they often experience here.
But there is one common answer for why they enjoy living here and want to bring people to Korea: helpful "Koreans."
"Since I live downtown, there have been so many helpful people. Whenever I open up a map, 10 seconds later, a helpful Korean comes up to me and say, `May I help you?`" said Keil.
By Cho Chung-un
(christory@heraldm.com)

AJA AJA MIGOOK AUJUMMA!