• I also participated occasionally in traditional Korean kisaeng parties with
some generals and other Korean friends from the business community. The
normal practice was for these events to be officially hosted by a military
officer, but the actual bill was usually paid by one of the businessmen, who
enjoyed a much higher salary. I always enjoyed these events and learned
several Korean songs in order to participate more actively. All Koreans seem
to have beautiful voices, but most Americans sound like frogs when they
sing. With a little practice, however, I became above average in talent among
my friends.
One requirement of my job was to occasionally escort Korean VIPs when
they would visit the United States on official business. This included such
people as the ROK minister of defense, army chief of staff, and sometimes
the Korea DIA director. One such trip occurred in conjunction with the
Security Consultative Meeting, which was hosted by Secretary of Defense
Dick Cheney in Washington. My assignment was to escort Korean Defense
Minister Lee Sang Hoon.
If ordinary Korean and American citizens realized exactly how these
VIP trips are structured and conducted on both sides, I think they would
have every reason to be frustrated about the way their tax dollars are spent.
In this case, it was truly a first-class trip. We began in Los Angeles, but the
only real business conducted there was a short visit on the second day to
the facilities of a major American defense company; most of the time was
spent visiting with Minister Lee and his wife’s relatives and playing golf.
The third day we flew on our private jet, flown and staffed by U.S. Air Force
personnel, to Seattle, where we visited the Boeing Company, then we flew
to nearby Fort Lewis, Washington, for some briefings and to observe mili-
tary training. After that we traveled to Colorado Springs for a tour of the
North American Air Defense headquarters; then we flew to the resort area
of Williamsburg, Virginia, for more golf, some historical tours, and a visit
to a U.S. nuclear submarine. This was about a five-day taxpayer-financed
vacation followed by the three-day security consultative meeting in Wash-
ington.
Even the “business” portion of this and similar trips was pretty relaxed,
with cocktail parties and receptions each evening and fancy luncheons
hosted each day. Most of the so-called business conducted was routine in
nature and could easily have been accomplished without the trouble and
expense of an international meeting.^9 Each side brought thirty or forty se-
nior aides, generals, and their staff members, far more than were needed to
transact the relatively simple government business on the agenda.