2001 Van Fleet Award Honoree
KIM KYUNG WON
PRESIDENT
INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Over the past quarter century, Kim Kyung Won has made an indispensable contribution to the Republic of Korea's stunning rise to political prominence in Northeast Asia. Born in North Korea, Kim escaped to the South as a 15 year-old boy in 1950. Educated at Williams College and Harvard University, Kim left a comfortable, tenured position at New York University to return to Korea in 1971.
After four years of teaching at Korea University, Kim was appointed as a foreign affairs advisor to President Park Chung Hee. He served continuously at Blue House from 1975 to 1982, one of the most difficult eras in the modern history of Korea, encompassing President Park's assassination, the coup of General Chun Doo Hwan, the Kwangju massacre, and the arrest and death sentence of President Kim Dae-jung. During this period when U.S.-Korea relations were often strained by all these momentous events, Kim's voice and influence played a key, behind-the-scenes role in enabling solutions to be found and crises to be avoided.
From 1982 to 1988, Kim served brilliantly in the United States, first as chief of the Republic of Korea's Mission to the United Nations, and then as the Republic of Korea's ambassador in Washington. After his retirement from government service in 1988, Kim has served in a wide variety of private and public positions, all focused on foreign affairs. His influence has been, and remains a constant, positive ingredient in the shaping of relations between Seoul and Washington.
Kim's life exemplifies what the Van Fleet Award stands for, and he becomes one of its most distinguished recipients.