Ambassador proud of his role in Sino-ROK ties

By Zuo Likun (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-09-25 19:41

When former US president Richard Nixon took his landmark visit to China in 1972, a sophomore student of in Seoul cannily realized that "there would be substantial change in the situation of northeast Asia".

The young man, named Shin Jung-seung, later becomes Republic of Korea's ambassador to China.

"At that time, I became aware of the importance of China. So I began to focus on this kind of affairs." Shin recalled.

After studying international relations in college, he served in many diplomatic positions in Seoul and Washington before he arrived in Beijing.

In 1990, Shin helped manage the contacts between China and the ROK during the Beijing Asian Games, as officials from both countries were quietly and unofficially discussing ways to improve relations.

The next year, Shin led a secret delegation to Beijing to discuss the establishment of trade offices in both countries, signaling a further thaw in the bilateral relationship.

"That was before the normalization of relations between (the Republic of) Korea and China, so we have to make ourselves like civilians, not the government officials," he recalled.

The trade offices at both countries' capitals were finalized early that year and civil trade between the two countries increased quickly.

"That was in fact my first job in China, and it was successful. So I am very proud of it," Shin said.

In 1998, six years after China and the ROK formally established official relations, Mr. Shin returned to Beijing, publicly this time, as a minister at the Korean Embassy in China. His job enabled him to travel widely across the country.

"I remember I visited about 26 cities and provinces. That was a great experience for me to know Chinese people," he recalled.

He served in several diplomatic positions in both Beijing and Seoul before he was promoted to be the ROK's Ambassador to China in 2008.

Shin is married, with a son and a daughter.

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