Emanuel Pastreich, president of the Asia Institute in Seoul, delivered a moving speech about the current economic, political and social crisis that has seized the United States at the Gwanghwamun Plaza in front of the American Embassy on June 9. It was the first time an American has made his first declaration of candidacy in Korea.
In a location often used alternatively by conservative forces promoting a stronger Korea-US alliance and progressive forces demanding greater independence, Pastreich spoke honestly about his deep concerns about the deep contradictions in his nation and described how his study of Korean moral philosophy had inspired him to take this unique step of declaring himself an independent candidate. He drew positive responses from both the conservatives and progressives gathered there.
Pastreich published his original declaration on February 23 in Medium and has since given numerous speeches outlining a comprehensive new vision for what the United States could be, encompassing education and culture, economics and society, diplomacy, and security. He has since given six additional speeches and plans to publish a book in English, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese in the near future.
As an Asian expert trained at Yale, Harvard, and the University of Tokyo, he is fluent in Korean, Chinese and Japanese—a first for a candidate for president. Moreover, he was granted dual Korean and American citizenship, thus making him uniquely capable of running for president while being Korean.
After his speech in front of the American Embassy, Pastreich put on the costume of a traditional Korean scholar and spoke in front of the statue of King Sejong nearby. He described the Korean tradition of moral commitment of intellectuals best known as the spirit of “Seonbi.” He suggested that Korea’s traditions had inspired him to take this step towards massive political reform in the United States at this moment.
