Remembering President George H.W. Bush’s Legacy in Korea: Ambassador Donald Gregg

Last Friday, on November 30, 2018, President George H.W. Bush passed away. In the days that followed, there were many discussions in the foreign policy community about the late president's handling of the many dramatic events during his tenure: the collapse of the Soviet Union, unification of Germany, democratization of Eastern Europe, the Gulf War, etc. Here, the Korean Peninsula often gets sidelined - however, President Bush senior should be remembered for strengthening not only the U.S.-Korea relationship but also extending critical support to the nascent democratic institution in South Korea. Moreover, it was during the Bush administration that the two Koreas joined the United Nations and began discussing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. To talk about these developments in greater detail, KEI sat down with Donald Gregg who served as ambassador to South Korea between 1989 and 1993. 

A good accompanying piece for this episode is the article on President H.W. Bush's legacy in Korea by our president, Ambassador Kathleen Stephens, on KEI's Peninsula Blog. Find the post here