1998 Korean Caravan Visits Campus

1998 Korean Caravan Visits Campus

BY LISA NUTTING
Rice News Staff
Oct. 1, 1998

Top Korean officials visited Rice last week, meeting with university President
Malcolm Gillis and participating in a program at the James A. Baker III Institute
for Public Policy.

The Korean delegation was in Houston as part of the 1998 Korea Caravan, a 10-city
ambassadorial tour across the United States.

Participating in the Rice visit were Ambassador Lee Hong-koo of the Republic of
Korea Embassy to the United States; Gov. You Jong Keun, of the Chollabuk-Do Province
and senior economic adviser to the Korean president; and William H. Gleysteen,
former U.S. ambassador to Korea.

During a meeting in the president’s office, Gillis and caravan participants discussed
the East Asian and Russian financial crises, the role of the U.S. Treasury and
State departments in helping Korea cope with economic turbulence, measures to
restrain the Korean budgetary deficit, the international oil market, and Japan’s
ongoing financial problems.

Lee, whose daughter is a student at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music, expressed
special interest in the university’s plans for the future, asking Gillis for an
update on plans for new buildings on campus.

"When you next return, you will see construction proceeding on at least three
new buildings," Gillis said, mentioning plans for a new humanities facility
and two new residential colleges.

Lee told Gillis he believes Rice is a great university, and added, "We’d
like to see a continued stream of students coming to Rice."

Gillis said that he’s working to get Rice students interested in study abroad
programs in East Asia, including Korea and Japan.

Every three years, the Korea Economic Institute (KEI), an economic think tank
located in Washington, D.C., organizes the Korea Caravan, a speaking a tour that
visits several major cities in a region of the United States. The Korea Caravan
is designed to promote public understanding of Korea and the U.S.-Korean relationship
and to promote business links between the two countries.

KEI, working with local sponsors, organizes programs in each city on the tour
that include major speeches by the participants, a "Doing Business with Korea"
panel discussion, and an event with a local university.