Articles by mgedwards

What is a Foreign Service officer?

Update 1/4/12:  I am no longer a Foreign Service officer as of 2011. Visit my updated blog entry on the Foreign Service for additional information.
 
Whether you’re a new visitor to this site or a long-time reader, you might be wondering–what do I do for a living?  What brought me and my family to Korea?  Am I a soldier?  No, I am a civilian assigned by the U.S. Department of State to work in the Republic of Korea (South Korea).  I am a Foreign Service officer, also known as a Foreign Service generalist or diplomat.  I am an officer commissioned by the U.S. Congress to perform a specific duty.  I’m commissioned by the U.S. Government to protect U.S. interests overseas and promote American values.  The term “diplomat” is a general term that can apply to anyone who works in an official capacity overseas.  The term “diplomat” conjures images of cocktail affairs, intense negotiations, and photo ops.  While these events happens from time to time–usually at a more senior level–reality is different than perception for Foreign Service officers. 
 
I presently work at the American Embassy in Seoul, although my wife and I will leave soon to return to the U.S. for vacation and for training in Washington, D.C.  Next year, we will move to Paraguay, where I will serve for two more years in the Foreign Service.  In Korea, I have issued visas to foreign nationals to visit the United States, and I have helped many Americans who need assistance.  I absolutely love my job.  Although no job is perfect, I consider myself blessed to be in a career that I love and serve my country.  There is no job like it in the world.  No other job would give me the opportunity to do consular work in Asia one year and political work in South America the next.  If I weren’t doing what I’m doing now, I would probably be in Phoenix, Arizona with my family, working in the semiconductor industy and living a quiet, suburban lifestyle.  Instead, I’m overseas, living a dream.
 
If you are interested in working overseas and serving your country, consider becoming a Foreign Service officer.  Many people do.  BusinessWeek Magazine recently named the U.S. State Department the sixth best place to launch a career.  According to BusinessWeek, recent college undergraduates named the U.S. State Department their third most desireable employer, after Walt Disney and Google (I don’t know about you, but I would much prefer working on cutting edge diplomacy than working at a theme park or writing code).  Simply put, this is an exciting career, and there is never a dull moment.  You see and do things you would never have an opportunity to see or do in other fields.  It isn’t easy to become a Foreign Service officer.  The selection process is competitive, and few who apply are chosen to serve.
 
If you’re interested in pursuing a career in the Foreign Service, visit the State Department’s Careers web site (careers.state.gov) to learn more about jobs with the Department and how to begin your career as a Foreign Service officer or specialist.  The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) also offers great information about the Foreign Service.  AFSA’s “Inside a U.S. Embassy” book is perhaps the best resource for learning more about what Foreign Service personnel do for a living.  AFSA also publishes the Foreign Service Journal (FSJ), a monthly publication dedicated to the Foreign Service community.  The FSJ offers in-depth analyses of contemporary foreign policy issues.  Finally, my friend Editfish writes one of the best Foreign Service-oriented blogs, Tumbleweeds (http://editfish.blogspot.com/).  His site chronicles his quest to join the Foreign Service.  It includes a variety of helpful links related to the Foreign Service, including a list of other blogs written by members of the Foreign Service community.
 
I know this doesn’t give you a detailed description of what I do for a living, but I hope it gives you an idea of what it means to be a Foreign Service officer.  I hope you’ll also consider a career in Foreign Service.  Chances are, you won’t regret it.

Korean set to head United Nations

Reuters and other news sources are reporting that Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon is set to become the next United Nations (U.N.) Secretary-General.  Mr. Ban would succeed Kofi Annan of Ghana, who has held the post for 10 years.  Mr. Ban won all four straw polls of the 15-member U.N. Security Council.  More importantly, he did not receive any vetoes from Security Council members, clearing the way for him to be officially nominated by the Council on October 9.  If chosen, he would take over from Mr. Annan on January 1, 2007.
 
I heard Mr. Ban speak last year when he was keynote speaker at a banquet in Seoul honoring former President George H.W. Bush.  He is understated, yet eloquent.  My impression of him during his address and from his two-year tenure as head of Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) is that Mr. Ban will make a fine Secretary-General.  In a country where politics can be brutal and scandalous, Mr. Ban is one of the few statesmen who remain above the political fray, succumbing to neither the pull of the Left nor the Right.  Although his political views are not widely known, he exudes the persona of a moderate and a consensus builder.  The United Nations has been quite contentious in recent years.  Mr. Ban has a big job ahead of him as Secretary-General, but I am sure that he is up to the task.  I am happy for Mr. Ban and for the Korean people, who will soon have one of their own in one of the world’s most important diplomatic posts.
 
I harbor some misgivings about selecting a South Korean to head the United Nations.  It isn’t anything personal, because as I mentioned, Mr. Ban will likely make a fine U.N. Secretary-General.  My concerns stem from geopolitical realities.  Traditionally, the head of the UN does not come from a conflict area where U.N. troops or peace keepers may be needed.  Presently, North and South Korea are technically at war, and today’s news that North Korea will conduct its first nuclear test highlights the fact that this peninsula is still very much a hot spot.  Mr. Ban will have to separate himself–quickly–from politics on the Korean Peninsula and subserve any nationalist inclination to impartiality.  In a recent vote on North Korean human rights, South Korea chose to abstain.  The Security Council also voted to sanction North Korea for its missile tests.  Mr. Ban must separate himself from the government that now employs him as foreign minister and build a multinational concensus, even when it conflicts with official South Korean policy.
 
Secondly, Mr. Ban could become a political lightning rod, drawing furor for siding too closely with Japan and/or the United States or by not adequately engaging them.  The unique nature of South Korean politics is such that the South Korean people tend to regard Japan, North Korea, and the United States to be the three greatest external threats to their internal stability.  Occasionally North Korea and the U.S. change places when geopolitical realities change, such as when North Korea launches test missiles.  Japan consistently ranks first in the minds of many Koreans.  At the same time, the U.S. and Japan are the top two contributors to the United Nations’ budget, and in recent years, both nations have called for significant United Nations reform.  Although Mr. Ban obtained his master’s degree from Harvard and is an astute diplomat, he is still South Korean.  He was born during the Japanese occupation and was six years old when the Korean War began.  He was nine years old when the 1953 ceasefire went into effect.  He grew up in an era when the United States played a significant role in Korea’s development–economically, militarily, and to an extent, politically.  The events of the years 1950s-1980s, from the assassination of former President Park Chung-hee to the Kwangju Massacre, are etched into the Korean psyche.  These were Mr. Ban’s formative years, when the U.S. loomed large in Korea and relations with Japan played an influential role in Korean affairs.  Mr. Ban will need to work closely with both the U.S. and Japan in the multinational context of the United Nations and put aside biases he may have for or against these nations.
 
Finally, Mr. Ban’s selection as Secretary-General could directly impact U.S.-Korean bilateral relations.  If U.S. policy differs significantly from that of the U.N., and by fiat, Mr. Ban, the Koreans will be more likely to support Mr. Ban than the United States.  Many Koreans were outraged when Korean Skater Kim Dong-sung was disqualified during 1500 meter speed skating competition at the 2002 Winter Olympics for allegedly blocking American Skater Apollo Ono.   They were also outraged during the 2004 Summer Olympics, when American Paul Hamm was awarded a disputed gold medal in the Men’s Gymnastics All-Around.  Most Koreans believed Korean Gymnast Yang Tae Young should have won the gold.  Although neither incident led to a direct shift in U.S.-Korean relations, both indicate that international disputes can strongly influence Korean public opinion.  If relations between Mr. Ban and the United States are less than cordial, the affect could spill over to U.S.-Korean relations.  Mr. Ban will be on a much more visible–and contentious–stage than are Olympic athletes.  Hence, the risk is greater that the Korean public’s mood could sour vis-a-vis the U.S., if they believe that the U.S. is leaning too heavily on Mr. Ban.  This could negatively impact U.S.-Korean bilateral relations.
 
With these thoughts in mind, I still believe that Mr. Ban will make a good United Nations Secretary-General.  His candidacy has prompted the Koreans to further engage the international community and increase their international obligations, such as increasing their financial contributions to the U.N. Millennium Development Goals.  Mr. Ban is well versed in global development, and he bridges the gap between developed and developing nations.  Korea is an optimal model of economic and political development that Mr. Ban can share with the world.  I wish Mr. Ban well and godspeed in his new mission.

What’s My Story?

I’m honored that the editorial staff at Microsoft again chose World Adventurers to feature on this week’s “What’s Your Story?”  I also want to send a shout out to fellow bloggers Ladybug’s Life, A Teacher’s Teacher, and Healthy Cooking, whose blogs were also featured this week by Windows Live Spaces.  As Jim Carrey said while portraying Stanley Ipkiss, a man bestowed with powers by the Norse God Loki in the movie, “The Mask“–You love me!  You really love me!  Someone on the Spaces.live.microsoft.formerlyknownasmsnspaces.canwemakethisdomainanylonger.com staff must like what I write (I’m only kidding MSN–you know I love you).  World Adventurers was initially featured on “The Best of MSN Spaces” in September 2005 and again in February 2006.  From time to time, Windows Live Spaces features the same blogs again.  Because this week is Chuseok, one of Korea’s most important holidays, I think it’s fitting that Spaces chose to highlight a blog about Korea this week.

Dear Reader, thank you for stopping by to peruse World Adventurers and posting your comments.  Stop by anytime.  I’ll try to respond to as many comments as I can.  Lately I haven’t had as much time to write as I would like, so any extra time I have will be devoted to posting entertaining content and responding to your comments.  If you have a blog on Spaces that hasn’t yet been featured, you might be wondering…hey, how come this guy’s blog gets featured so often when my blog has never been featured?  Well, never fear.  Here are some suggestions that might help you curry favor with the Spaces editorial staff:

  1. Choose a theme for your blog, and write about related topics.  Pick a theme you think your blog audience will find interesting.  Some themes are more interesting than others.  Religion and politics always seem to attract attention, for better or for worse, while niche topics do not.  Travel and adventure are popular themes.  Sports, technology, fashion, and day-to-day insights are good.  Zany, quirky blogs do well, as do blogs chroncling quests to achieve challenging goals and objectives (e.g. if your purpose is to document your travels across the Sahara Desert or fight to overcome adversity, readers will be interested).
  2. Write frequently, and write well.  Frequent postings is definitely a plus.  Write in complete, grammatically-correct sentences.  Throw in a few witty remarks and some seldom-used words for good measure.  Don’t be too long-winded (I’m guilty of this) or too terse brief in your postings.  If your focus is on photography or art, then consider posting intriguing, high-quality photos or sketches like my fellow blogger mars_wolf.  If you’re an artist, try posting samples of your work.
  3. Add original content and document references.  It is better to document your own ideas than to recite from other sources.  Citing other sources is fine, but be sure to give credit when you refer to other people’s work.  I always use italics when I quote other sources.  If possible, avoid posting copyrighted material without permission.  Minimize the amount of recitation in a blog entry, unless it fits into the theme of your blog post.  For example, on Martin Luther King’s Day in 2005, I cited Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s entire “I Have a Dream” speech because few have read the speech in its entirety. 
  4. Unless it is absolutely riveting, avoid focusing too much on your personal life.  Expand your blog entries beyond discussions of your personal life, whether it be personal photos, discussions of friends, or family matters.  If you write about personal matters, tie it into your blog’s theme (e.g. your quest to win a marathon, taking care of children, or getting a good job).  You can also feature friends, family, and acquaintances on your blog.  I have occasionally bantered on this blog with readers I know, and each month I feature the blog written by someone I know.  Maybe you have a crazy uncle or a quirky friend.  People love soap operas, so decide up front whether you want to play out your life on a blog.  You’ll get a lot of hits, but you may regret playing your life’s drama out on the blogosphere.
  5. Enhance your blog with photos, lists, music, and a variety of topics.  Blogs are entertaining.  It is good to post entertaining content appealing to all five senses.  If you post a blog entry, try adding photos.  Photos truly are worth more than 1,000 words.  Adding a song is also good, but don’t loop it so that it plays on and on and…on.  No one wants to listen to “I Will Survive” five times in a row while they finish reading your last 10 blog entries.  As soon as the Internet can transmit smells, I will post a dallop of kimchi for you to enjoy.  Start an e-mail writing campaign.  If you think you have a good blog, don’t be shy!  Let MSN Spaces know.  Also, you can encourage your avid readers to submit your blog to Windows Live Spaces for a “What’s Your Story?” feature.
  6. Harness the power of the blogosphere.  The Internet is about interconnectivity.  Feature links to your favorite bloggers, and ask them to link to your own blog.  This will encourage cross-traffic.  Korea’s top blogger, R.J. Koehler (aka “The Marmot’s Hole”) and I are acquaintances, and we have links to each other’s blogs.  Linking to top bloggers or web sites typically do not increase traffic to your site because they don’t know you and probably won’t return the favor by linking to your blog.
  7. Be kind to the Spaces editorial staff.  I have referred to the Window Live Spaces staff off and on since I started this blog, because I know they read our blogs–or at least troll for good content.  Sometimes I pass along my preferences (I still prefer the old MSN Spaces format), and sometimes I’m complimentary (thanks for letting me blog for free).  One of these days, I will take the Spaces editorial staff to lunch to thank them for liking this blog so much. 

Blog Notes:  Dear Reader, you might be wondering, “OK, so, what’s your story, World Adventurer?”  I’m often intentionally vague about personal details, but in an upcoming blog entry I will tell you more about our life and what I do as a Foreign Service officer.  Check back again soon!

* This is an updated blog entry posted February 11, 2006.