For its final presidential speaker series event of the year, set for April 24 in Washington, a city with so much international culture, it made perfect sense for the Emory Alumni Association (EAA) to take full advantage of its access to the world. Which is exactly what happened.

Hosted in his home by Lee Tae-sik, ambassador of South Korea to the U.S., the event drew some 250 members of the Emory community in Washington to meet President Jim Wagner and Mrs. Debbie Wagner, Ambassador and Madame Lee, and several Emory faculty members in town for the National Press Club event that followed the next day.

The D.C. reception was the largest EAA regional chapter event of year and the excitement was evident. The entire evening was accompanied by a steady buzz of upbeat conversation and movement that echoed from room to room. Still, taking place just a week after 32 members of the Virginia Tech community were murdered by a gunman born in Korea, the event did have a significant undertone of seriousness. Prior to his remarks, Lee asked for a moment of silence to remember the victims and he wore a maroon and orange ribbon (Virginia Tech’s colors) on his lapel.

The core of Lee’s 10-minute address revolved around the relations between South Korea and the United States. “They are in excellent shape,” he said, as an introduction to his subject-by-subject roundup about why they are great. His list included items the ranged from trade agreements to military partnerships to security.

President Wagner’s talk of relationships centered on Emory’s relationship with Korea. He noted that Emory’s first international alumnus was Korea (Yun Ch’I Ho 1893C, who later went on to write South Korea’s national anthem). Also included among Emory’s Korean alumni are a former Korean prime minister (Hong-Koo Lee 57Ox 59C) and the head of the Korean Red Cross (Wan-Sang Han 64G 67PhD 99H).

Wagner also spoke of the tighter bonds Emory continues to form with Korea—some 7 percent of theology students are Korean nationals, several Emory schools hold exchanges with Yonsei University, the oldest university in Korea, and Department of Russian and East Asian Languages (REALC) is forming a Korean studies program. And both Wagner and Lee spoke of former Emory President James Laney, who served as ambassador to Korea.

Wagner concluded with a discussion of the Strategic Plan the University has just begun to implement, touching on each of its cross-cutting themes. He also talked up many of Emory’s accomplishments, such as its culture of volunteerism.

“One of our goals is to help our students and faculty understand the responsibility they have to be engaged in society and not just encased in the ivory tower,” Wagner said. “Student involvement in volunteer activities is around 59 percent around the country. At Emory, that number is 80 percent.”

The presentations by Lee and Wagner were only part of the evening’s festivities. Student Government Association President Emily Allen 06Ox 08C introduced Ambassador Lee and provided an engaging student perspective the Emory community, and Emory Alumni Board President Walker Ray 62C 65M served as master of ceremonies.

Then there was the venue. Located a few blocks of Embassy Row northwest of downtown Washington, the ambassador’s residence was remote enough to be private but busy enough to be very exciting. While 250 guests might cause most homes to burst at the seams, the Emory crowd mingled not only inside but also in the lush gardens, which included a brook and green spaces that appeared to stretch on forever. As a testament to the fun, the event was slated to end at 8:30 p.m., but the last cab didn’t pull away until after 9:30 p.m.