South Korean high school students look on as a classmate tries on a "bomb suit" at Osan Air Base, South Korea, on Wednesday. The teens were guests of U.S. Forces Korea for a "Good Neighbor English Camp." Assisting with the suit is Senior Airman Jason DeRosa, an explosive ordnance disposal technician with Osan's 51st Civil Engineer Squadron. (Franklin Fisher / Stars and Stripes)
OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — South Korean high school student Lee Sub-gyu thinks the U.S. military is on the right track with a public relations program that aims to win the good will of the South Korean public — especially young people.
Lee, 18, was one of 40 smiling South Korean 10th graders who were guests last week of a program in which they stayed several nights with an American military family, toured U.S. military installations and met U.S. troops at Korea’s Demilitarized Zone and American students from Seoul American High School, all while practicing their English skills.
The program, set up by U.S. Forces Korea, was called the “Good Neighbor English Camp” and is part of USFK’s larger Good Neighbor Program, launched in 2003 to forge better relations with the South Korean public. It started Tuesday and ended Saturday.
Winning over South Korea’s younger generation has been a key aim of the Good Neighbor Program.
“As in any society, when you look at the younger generation, they’re the future leaders, so we want to make sure we establish good relations and understanding and cultural exchange with all facets, particularly with the future leaders,” said Army Col. MaryAnne Cummings, USFK public affairs chief.
Camp participants had “good impressions” of the Americans they met during the camp, Lee said.
“Most of all, my host families were very kind and friendly to me,” he said.
“The Americans’ high school is very different from Koreans’ high school,” he said.
“Their mood for study was so nice. They have kind of passion for study. And pay attention to the teacher.”
Similar camps have been held in Taegu and at Camp Carroll in Waegwan, but last week’s was the first English camp hosted by USFK.
The military command plans to schedule additional camps in the future, Cummings said.
South Korean high school students look on as a classmate tries on a "bomb suit" at Osan Air Base, South Korea, on Wednesday. The teens were guests of U.S. Forces Korea for a "Good Neighbor English Camp." Assisting with the suit is Senior Airman Jason DeRosa, an explosive ordnance disposal technician with Osan's 51st Civil Engineer Squadron. (Franklin Fisher / Stars and Stripes)
Lee Sub-gyu, 18, a student at Jangchoong High School in Seoul, was one of 40 Korean students who participated in a U.S. Forces Korea-sponsored "Good Neighbor English Camp" at Osan Air Base. "The Americans’ high school is very different from Koreans’ high school,” he said. (Franklin Fisher / Stars and Stripes)
South Korean high school students on Wednesday get a look at a robot used by explosive ordnance disposal airmen at Osan Air Base, South Korea. (Franklin Fisher / Stars and Stripes)
