President Kim's Nobel Prize prompts flood of congratulatory calls, e-mails

Following the announcement of President Kim Dae-Jung winning the Nobel Peace Prize, various international and domestic VIPs have contacted the president with congratulatory messages.

According to Chong Wa Dae, on Sunday, President Clinton formally issued a congratulatory statement and followed it with a personal call.

Other leaders who have made personal calls include Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German President Johannes Lauo, German Prime Minister Gerhart Schroeder, Italian President Carlos Champi, Italian Prime Minister Juliano Amato, President of Chzekoslavia Bachlau Havel, Denmark Prime Minister Paul Rasmusen and Brazilian President Fernando Enrique Cardozo.

Others who sent their congratulations were former President of Poland Lech Walenza, former German President Pfon Baizcheker, U.N. General Secretary Kofi Anan, International Olympic Committee Chairman Antonio Samaranch, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Head of the Democratic Party in Japan Hatoyama Yukio.

There has also been a flood of calls and e-mails from the general public and Koreans abroad. The prior average number of 500 e-mails daily jumped to 10,000 after the announcement, causing the server to break down several times.

In one of the e-mails, Professor Kim Jung-Soon stated, "It was always difficult when the Nobel Prize was touched on, as Korea never had a winner. But now, President Kim has opened the long-closed door."

A middle school student, Kim Hyun-Jin, wrote, "I am so happy, I stopped playing computer games to send this e-mail." Some have also added requests for solutions to the various problems facing Korea, including the economy.

The e-mails from Koreans living abroad mostly stated, "It is a great pride for Koreans," and "It will greatly encourage the Koreans living abroad." Rather than answering each and every e-mail personally, President Kim has uploaded his message of thanks on the government's homepage.

Choi Young-Mook ymook@donga.com