Obama lauds Korea for education, IT

Obama lauds Korea for education, IT

U.S. President Barack Obama Friday nominated Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim, a Korean-American, to head the World Bank, a surprise pick for the international financial institution's top job. Obama has often praised Korea since he took office. He lauded Korea for education zeal. He called for more investment in broadband and wireless to catch up with South Korea and other countries. Speaking at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in March 2009, Obama called for the United States to look to Korea in adopting longer school days and after-school programs for American children to help them survive in an era of keen global competition, according to Yonhap News Agency. "Our children -- listen to this -- our children spend over a month less in school than children in Korea every year," Obama said. "That's no way to prepare them for a 21st-century economy." In November same year, the U.S. president praised Korean parents for their enthusiasm in providing an excellent education to their children. At the launch of the “Educate to Innovate'' campaign at the White House, Obama said, “I just want to mention the importance not only of students but also of parents,'' as he mentioned talks he had with President Lee Myung-bak in Seoul. “He said even if somebody is dirt poor, they are insisting that their kids are getting the best education.'' Since his visit to Seoul in 2009, Obama has often talked about the education fervor that contributed to Korea's rapid economic development in recent decades, and has deplored the underperformance of American students, especially in math and science. President Obama has also called for more investment in U.S. infrastructure to catch up with South Korea and other countries, Yonhap said. "We're way behind countries like South Korea in broadband and wireless," Obama told a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser in Boston, Massachusetts, in March last year. "That's not a recipe for the future. We're going to have to invest in infrastructure. We used to have the best stuff -- best airports, best roads, best bridges, best ports. We don't anymore."