Song Kyung-jin, country representative for the Asia Foundation's Korea office, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times, July 25. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk First Korean national steers Asia Foundation's Korea Office By Kim Ji-soo When her doctoral thesis was under review at the University of Kansas, the evaluating professors asked Song Kyung-jin where she saw herself in 10 years. She responded that she envisioned working at the United Nations or serving the underprivileged.
Now, as the new country representative for the Asia Foundation's Korea office, she has the opportunity to do both. Song is the first South Korean national to lead the Korea Office in the U.S.
NGO in the Asia Foundation's 70-year history. She replaces Kim Kwang-wook, a Korean American whose tenure ended two years ago. If the Asia Foundation's Korea office in the 20th century was vital in helping post-war South Korea achieve growth and democracy, the office in 2024 is another "beast" so to speak.
It is at a juncture to serve an intellectual and strategic role in helping others nations in Asia and the Asia-Pacific, Song said. "As the foundation celebrates its 70 years, I suggested that it host the ceremony in South Korea, the country that achieved the leap from a developing nation to a developed one in the 20th century," she added. The foundation is expected to celebrate its 70th anniversary in Korea in early 2025.
It marks how far South Korea has come, from a war-ravaged authoritarian nation t.