Senior U.S. officials visit Korean Empire’s legation in Washington

On Wednesday (local time), the Korean Empire’s legation building in Logan Circle, the first South Korean diplomatic mission established overseas in 1889 near the White House in Washington, D.C., welcomed senior officials from the U.S. Department of State, including Daniel Kritenbrink, the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and his deputy Mark Lambert.

Japan forcibly purchased the building for 5 dollars after the annexation of Korea in 1910. In 2012, it was acquired by the Cultural Heritage Administration and the Cultural Heritage Citizens' Trust and opened as a museum in 2018. This is the first visit by U.S. Department of State officials since its opening.

Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink and Deputy Assistant Secretary Lambert, guided by Ambassador Cho Hyeon-dong, toured the former office and exhibition spaces previously used by the inaugural Korean Minister to the U.S., Park Jeong-yang, and other officials. Mr. Kritenbrink wrote in the guestbook, "I am deeply touched by the long-standing history of cooperation between the United States and Korea. The strong bond between the two countries and peoples defines the current U.S.-Korea relationship."

"This museum is the only building among Washington's major structures that preserves the original form of a 19th-century diplomatic mission. It symbolizes the cherished bilateral ties between the two countries,” said the South Korean Embassy in the U.S. In commemorating the 70th anniversary of the South Korea-U.S. alliance, they also expressed their intention to continue inviting prominent U.S. figures to the legation building.


weappon@donga.com