The Marmot’s Hole

Doing some work-related Googling today, I noticed that a university I will not mention by name on this blog has named a lecture series in honor of late Ambassador Han Pyo-wook, who passed away in 2003. The lecture’s site has a little section on the late ambassador:

Ambassador Han was a 1942 graduate of xxxxxxxx University and, as First Secretary, helped to establish the Republic of Korea’s embassy in Washington, D.C. in 1949. He subsequently served as Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations, Thailand, Austria, and the Court of St. James (London). He retired from the Foreign Service and taught at xU?s sister university in Korea, Kyung Hee University. Ambassador Han has been awarded the George Arents Pioneer Medal (1957) and the Chancellor’s Medal (2001) by xxxxxxxx University. Ambassador Han passed away in August of 2003.

This was really nice to see. I took one of Ambassador Han’s final classes right before he retired from Kyung Hee University. The class was ostensibly on UN Peacekeeping Operations, but Ambassador Han was already well up there in age and couldn’t really keep a lecture going. In the end, I learned next to nothing about UN peacekeeping, which was probably for the best. What he did do, however, was tell a lot of fascinating tales, particular about former president Syngman Rhee, with whom he was apparently quite close (and, it should be said, greatly resembled. Strikingly so). Moreover, he was one of the warmest, kindest and classiest men I have ever met. Period. As true a gentleman as there ever was.