President Obama’s Mention of Korea During The State of the Union 2011

During President Obama’s State of the Union, he mentioned Korea several times. The number of mentions were greater than that of other countries.

As he was speaking about how America must invest in educations and the problem of raising talented teachers, he stated: “…teachers are known as “nation builders.” He also went on to say, “Here in America, it’s time we treated the people who educate our children with the same level of respect” and “We want to reward good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones. “

As he presented his intentions of building a national high-speed internet network to encourage trade and commerce, he mentioned Korea again. He stated “South Korean homes now have greater Internet access than we do” to further his resolve for national high-speed internet access in America.

In regards to the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, he went onto say that the FTA, supported by unions, businesses, and both Democrats and Republicans, will create 70,000 new American jobs. He urged the Senate to pass the Agreement as soon as possible.

To prevent worldwide nuclear proliferation, he stated that Korea and the US are striving to convince North Korea to halt its nuclear program.

The State of the Union is a speech made in the beginning of the year by the President with Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches in one place with the world as its audience. The speech deals with the current state of the United States and how the United States should evolve. During this occasion, Korea was mentioned regarding four issues. Out of four, two cited Korea was mentioned as examples which the US must follow.