From islanders’ manner of driving to clean air and natural beauty, here are five things the head of the Korean consulate on Guam, In Kook Kim, said have made his stay on the island pleasant and meaningful.
Kim, the guest speaker at the Rotary Club of Guam on Thursday, shared his reflections of Guam, which he also hopes to enhance the visitor experience.
“Every day I am seized with the feeling that God led me beside quiet waters well described in Psalm 23 of the Bible,” Kim told Rotary members and guests at Hyatt Regency Guam.
‘Yielding culture’
“I admire the driving manners of Guamanians,” Kim said, particularly the “yielding culture.”
When he exits a narrow road, drivers slow down their speed or give him signals with their hands or vehicle lights to let him get on the bigger road.
“Now I also love to yield whenever I have chances to do it as it is the way I learned here on Guam. When I yield, I feel happy. It is the kind of virtuous cycle,” he said. ”I am sure such yielding manners will also impact deep impressions to foreigners coming to Guam.”
Visitors from Korea have been leading Guam’s tourism recovery, and there have been high hopes that the Japan market will also follow in the months ahead.
‘Natural beauty’
Kim said he had high expectations of enjoying raw fish when he learned he would be posted on Guam. He realized later on that not having commercial fishery on Guam is a blessing.
The seashore would not have been as clean as it is now, and the colors may not be emerald and turquoise or not as crystal clear and transparent, he said.
Guam’s air, he said, is “unbelievably clean.”
”As for the natural beauty, Guam showcases it in every corner of the island,” he said. “Despite that, if I am asked to introduce some amazing places to recommend: Two Lovers Point, mushroom-shaped rock in Tanguisson Beach, Fai Fai Beach located between Tanguisson Beach and Gun Beach, Mount Jumulong Manglo, cliffline in the Inalahan natural pool are a few spots I can think of right now.”
Power projects; relationship with U.S.
Kim noted the completion of the Mangilao solar farm project in July 2022 and the ongoing construction the Guam Ukudu power plant in Dededo.
He also recognized the relationship between Korea and the United States.
At the Rotary Club meeting, he shared the letter he received from the Korean War Veterans Association of Guam.
“Ever since the signing of the 1953 ROK-US mutual defense treaty, the ROK-US alliance has not only served as the linchpin of peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and Indo-Pacific, but also served as a solid foundation upon which Korea’s democracy and economic prosperity could flourish,” he said.
Korean community
Guam is currently home to more than 5,000 Koreans, many of them involved in construction and markets.
There are also restaurants and barber shops operated by Koreans, he said.
“Furthermore, nowadays, we can meet Korean tourists in every corner of Guam,” he said. ”It is a great delight for me to see the tourism industry of Guam is gradually gaining its vitality with the increase of Korean tourists.”
Source: guampdn
