Harry Harris, former US ambassador to Korea, said in his last interview before leaving Korea that he was “racially discriminated in Korea while in office.” Photo Source = Yonhap News
[아시아경제 나한아 기자] Former Ambassador Harry Harris, who served as US ambassador to Korea, revealed in his last interview before leaving Korea that he had been racist while in office.
In an interview released by the British Financial Times (FT) on the 5th (local time), former Ambassador Harris said, “I was very surprised by the race baiting.” When I personally didn’t know I would be attacked so much,” he said.
Former Ambassador Harris, who served as U.S. Ambassador to Korea from July 2018 to last month, was born to a father from the United States and a mother from Japan.
“Because former Ambassador Harris was of Japanese origin, he became the target of some Korean media, and the way former President Trump treated Korea in his tenure increased his anger toward him,” FT said.
Earlier, a Korean civic group performed a performance by removing the mustache from a photo of former ambassador Harris, saying that the mustache of former ambassador Harris reminds him of the governor of the Japanese colonial period. In addition, Democratic Party lawmaker Song Young-gil aimed at former Ambassador Harris He also said, “What kind of Joseon governor is the ambassador?”
In January of last year, the US CNN broadcast analyzed that “Harris’ mustache touched the sensitive feelings of Koreans about the Japanese colonial period,” and “it is also related to the rift of the ROK-US alliance.”
When the mustache of former Ambassador Harris became controversial, he explained, “It was raised to separate the lives of soldiers and diplomats.” In July of last year, he shaved his mustache saying, “It’s hot to wear a mask.
Meanwhile, in an interview with FT, former Ambassador Harris told FT about the Panmunjom meeting between former US President Donald Trump and North Korean Labor Party general secretary Kim Jong-un in June 2019, “It was quite exciting and encouraging to start from nothing and head to the summit.”
Following Regarding US-North Korea relations, he said, “I believe (the bilateral relations) are definitely in a better position than when I was in uniform.”
In addition, he said, referring to former Defense Minister Chung Gyeong-du, who he dealt with in the course of the ROK-US defense share negotiations, “We did not agree on everything, but as time went on, we had friendships.”
Intern reporter Han-ah Na [email protected]