Disturbance Concerning Phrase "an Easy Man to Talk to"

U.S. President George W. Bush rolled out the red carpet for South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun.

Appearing in the Rose Garden, the two leaders stood side by side for a 7-minute joint news conference, which was not scheduled. U.S media assessed the news conference as an exceptional step.

After the end of the summit talks, the two leaders were supposed to have a photo-op for a short time and go to another place for dinner. However, two hours before the summit meeting, the White House notified the visiting South Korean team of its plan for a joint press conference.

Right after the news conference, Bush took Roh on a 10-minute tour of the second floor of the White House, including the Lincoln Bedroom.

The news conference in the Rose Garden was broadcast live nationally in America by broadcasting companies including CNN.

During the dinner, Bush said, "My father and former President Bush called me and said that [Roh] would be congenial to me and he is a good man. As I have seen him, I think my father was right. I`ll call my father and say his saying was right."

At the end of the dinner, golf became a topic of conversation. Asked what kind of sport he does, the South Korean president said, "In the past, I enjoyed yachting and now I am considering playing golf. Then Mr. Bush asked how good Roh is at golf and said that he felt Korea had many golf courses during his last visit to Korea. At that time, Roh invited Bush to Korea.

Before entering the hall for the summit, Mr. Roh wrote in a visitors` book of the Roosevelt Room "For freedom and democracy" in Korean characters.

Meanwhile, during the press conference in the Rose Garden, U.S. President Bush referred to President Roh as "an easy man to talk to." But there was controversy over a U.S. interpreter` interpretation in Korean, which could easily be mistaken for an easy mark. In the end, South Korea`s press team changed the interpretation of that wording to "a comfortable man to talk to" in Korean translation.

Jeong-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com