U.S. Embassy’s diplomacy program for Korean students kicks off 4th iteration, eyes shipbuilding cooperation
Published: 28 Sep. 2025, 15:52
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- LEE SOO-JUNG
- [email protected]
![Student participants of the American Diplomacy House Academy and U.S. foreign service officers pose for a commemorative photograph after a kick-off ceremony at Dragon Hill Lodge in Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul on Sept. 26. [U.S. EMBASSY IN SEOUL]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/09/28/06d38e94-c217-4cc7-b699-154063a523c9.jpg)
Student participants of the American Diplomacy House Academy and U.S. foreign service officers pose for a commemorative photograph after a kick-off ceremony at Dragon Hill Lodge in Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul on Sept. 26. [U.S. EMBASSY IN SEOUL]
A group of 100 Korean undergraduates, whose majors ranged from electrical engineering to economics, teamed up with the U.S. Embassy to develop ideas on pressing diplomatic policies between Seoul and Washington, with a focus on strategic issues like shipbuilding.
The U.S. Embassy in Seoul held a kickoff ceremony for the fourth cohort of the American Diplomacy House (ADH) Academy at Dragon Hill Lodge in Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul on Friday.
The ADH Academy, a 10-month-long educational program run by the U.S. Embassy, aims to cultivate the next generation of Korean leaders who can later contribute to bolstering the Korea-U. S. alliance.
The new cohort, unlike in previous years, will also explore new foreign policy priorities set by the Donald Trump administration.
Nicholas Namba, minister-counselor for public diplomacy at the U.S. Embassy, told the Korea JoongAng Daily in a written statement that this year's program is "closely aligned with the Trump administration's foreign policy goals."
The new focus is to ensure students' efforts "reflect the issues that matter most to the U.S. leadership — whether in security, economic growth or people-to-people ties," Namba said.
Adam Hennings, a U.S. diplomat who oversees the embassy's youth programs, including the ADH Academy, told the students that they would hear him speaking about shipbuilding frequently over the next 10 months.
"It's because shipbuilding is a policy priority of the U.S. government," Hennings said during his speech.
"I have been trying to solve this problem: How do I try to make shipbuilding cool?" Hennings said, explaining that as a topic, it is not as appealing to youths as AI, for example.
Hennings noted that making the shipbuilding sector more appealing to the younger generation is also related to security and the alliance.
"There is a lack of students who study engineering for shipbuilding," Hennings said. "It affects our ability to build more ships […] and this is important to our alliance, because our economic security depends on freedom of navigation."
![Student members of the ADH Academy attend a youth town hall event featuring Sen. Andy Kim at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul on Aug. 20. [U.S. EMBASSY IN SEOUL]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/09/28/dce2411b-8bf2-4e3e-a942-e8897c77ebf2.jpg)
Student members of the ADH Academy attend a youth town hall event featuring Sen. Andy Kim at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul on Aug. 20. [U.S. EMBASSY IN SEOUL]
While the program offers U.S. diplomats opportunities to appeal to Korean students about Washington's interests, it also provides a platform where students can present their voices at a policymaking level.
The 100-person cohort will be divided into 10 teams, each with 10 student members and a foreign service officer as a mentor.
Besides the regular curriculum, which includes speech training and career mentoring, the students for the first time will undertake outreach missions targeting high schoolers in provincial regions.
The new assignment is a move to harness local young talent and strengthen bilateral ties at the grassroots level. Of the 100 student members, 27 are from nonmetropolitan areas, such as the Gyeongsang and Jeolla regions. They are expected to help connect U.S. policy goals with their local communities.
"What we want is to bring the United States and Korea closer together at the individual level," Hennings said.
Park Ji-yun, 23, an ADH Academy alumna who led the third cohort, said the program helped her become a "better communicator."
"Throughout the program, I learned how to manage 100 people, each with different interests and priorities, and guide them toward a shared vision and goal," Park said.
Eom Ji-hyun, a 20-year-old economics major at Yonsei University who aspires to become an immigration lawyer, said she was looking forward to gaining a deeper understanding of the United States in the next 10 months.
"I believe this program will help me learn more about American politics and international political issues," Eom said. "The program will also help me make smarter decisions."
Beyond the ADH Academy, the U.S. Embassy plans to maintain robust youth exchanges with its allies in the Indo-Pacific region — in line with the upcoming APEC summit in Korea.
"We will soon announce the third Young Trilateral Leaders' Summit, which will bring together rising leaders from Korea, Japan and the United States," Namba said. "They will exchange views on the same issues that APEC leaders will be tackling, and also demonstrate how the next generation is already preparing to shape our shared future."
BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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