Korean-American Andy Kim was not allowed to work on Korean matters by US StateDep

I’ll never forget the feeling when I learned that my own government questioned my loyalty. Before Congress I worked in diplomacy at StateDept. I once received a letter banning me from working on Korea issues just because of my last name. I was stunned.

I had previously worked in Afghanistan for State. I had a top secret security clearance. But here was a letter saying we don’t trust you. What confused me more is that I didn’t even apply to work on Korea. The StateDept was proactively telling me they didn’t trust me.

And it wasn’t just me. I learned that other Asian Americans at State had same thing happen. It was called “assignment restrictions” - a bureaucratic way of saying “failing loyalty test.”

I thought to myself how I was born here in America. I don’t even speak Korean well at all. I have relatives in South Korea but I barely know them. I kept asking Why did my government not trust me?

I understand security concerns all over the world. I understand that I share a last name with a brutal dictator. That’s why I endured grueling clearance processes multiple times. But once I received a Top Secret clearance, why this letter?

I raised my concerns about this letter to more senior people at State and was advised by several to not make a fuss about it since I wasn’t actually interested in working on Korea. They missed the point. I wasn’t thinking of my career path, I was thinking of respect.

I started to feel like maybe I didn’t have a place in government. I started to think about quitting. Everyone keeps saying our diversity is our strength. That letter from StateDept said otherwise. How do I do foreign policy if my own government treats me like I’m foreign?

StateDept and our government as a whole needs to confront the lack of diversity in its ranks. We need a government that looks a lot more like the rest of America. And State is meant to be a place where we show rest of the world our diversity...

In 2018, I stepped up to run for Congress. Many people told me I had no chance to win this seat because it is over 80% White with less than 3% Asian. But I won’t let others define what I am or am not capable of accomplishing and what jobs I am allowed to do for my country.