I imagine most working professionals have days when something occurs that make them think, "THIS is why I do what I do." Today was one of those days for me, and I'm still coming down from the high. Although my interview with North Korea expert Daniel Pinkston was intended to be on-camera, we ended up doing a phone interview in a radio studio because Dan has been in such high demand lately. With so much going on regarding North Korea, he has been pursued as an important source for news agencies across the world. Although it would have been great to get him on-camera and stream the interview on the KBS website, I was fortunate to have an interview with him, period.
I spent a few hours last night preparing for the interview, reading everything I could about North Korea and trying to dig deeper than just the past few years (what in the world did journalists do before the Internet?!?). I was so psyched for the interview that I woke up before my alarm this morning and did some further reading, constructed question list and headed to work early. For me, there's no greater feeling than confidently wrapping my mind around an issue, and although I know I'm just beginning to scratch the surface of the intricacies of inter-Korean relations, I can confidently say I know and understand much more about the issue today than I did two days ago. When Sophia called to tell me about the interview yesterday, I knew the last thing I wanted was to walk into the studio feeling unprepared and uninformed. Thankfully, that didn't happen and I was more than satisfied with how the interview played out.
About an hour after the interview concluded, I received an e-mail from Dan thanking me and offering to come into the studio soon for an on-camera interview. I quickly replied and suggested we talk soon about the possibility of producing a segment which specifically addresses the American perspective of North Korea. The last few days of research (and the last week of living on the peninsula) has taught me that Americans and American media are harboring a skewed perception of North Korea and inter-Korean relations. Most Americans immediately think "Axis of Evil" when the subject of North Korea is risen. It's been five years since President Bush used that neologism to characterize Iraq, Iran, and North Korea as terrorism-sponsoring states, yet the dramatic phrase remains one of the first things many people associate with North Korea. I'm certainly not trying to say there isn't reason to be concerned about North Korea--I believe there are major problems going on there, and I'm not sure South Korea's current government is handling the situation in the most effective and mutually beneficial way. My point here is that Americans are at best uninformed and at worst misinformed about North Korea and its real threat to the world.
So, I hope Dan takes me up on my offer. Obviously, he's just one expert with one opinion about a very detailed and divisive issue, but I believe any information grounded in research and personal experience is better than none. Perhaps Dan is just a place to start. Eventually, it would be great to have a panel of guests, Korean, American, and otherwise, discuss and debate the issue. I'm all about the marketplace of ideas!
All in all, it feels wonderful to be back in the news loop and feel like I'm really sharing my talents (and using those degrees I earned!). My days are flying by and when it gets to be 6:00, I don't even want to leave KBS.
My interview with Daniel Pinkston is embedded in the 10/04/07 "Seoul Calling" segment. Check it out!
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