The 1970s
Fulbright During Korea’s Rapid Industrialization supervisory bodies concerned with controlling a mere handful of grants.”39 In 1970, after pleading unsuccessfully with congressional appropriations committees for restoration of the program, Fulbright found a way of retaliating. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he pushed through an amendment to the foreign aid authorization bill that would force the Defense Department to cut its training program for foreign military leaders that year from 5,026 to 4,428—the number of exchange grantees coming to the United States. The Committee said the restriction would “tell the world and our own people that the Senate is taking steps to reorder our national priorities to reflect our true national values.”40 Not surprisingly, then, budget matters were a priority item at the first meeting of the Fulbright Commission in the 1970s, which took place on February 18, 1970. The chairman, Daniel E. Moore, counselor for public affairs, called the meeting to order at 2:15 p.m. at the commission office. During a discussion of graduate student Fulbright awards, Albert Barr, manager of the Chase Manhattan Bank, Seoul Branch, and a board member, emphasized that people should be made aware of the fact that they were not required to spend their entire incidental allowance. A resolution was passed unanimously stating that incidental allowances were not to be used for lifetime memberships in the Royal Asiatic Society.41 Another agenda item for the February 18 board meeting was the “Department of State’s Response to the Commission’s Letter Inquiring about the Basis for Deciding the USEC/K Budget Level (Attachment F).” Albert Barr expressed the opinion that the letter was remarkably detailed and forthright for a Department of State letter. It was noted that it had nonetheless avoided the essential question of what was the basis of the original allotment of funds to various countries.42 In a discussion of non-grant program priorities, Wright stressed the need to weigh priorities very carefully because of cuts in the budget. Funds for a high school science workshop were eliminated, as was a proposed joint meeting in Japan and an American studies seminar in India, unless a cost-sharing arrangement could be worked out with the Indian commission. At its very next meeting on March 10, the commission approved a recommendation by Carl Bartz, the cultural affairs officer, and appointed a standing committee to look for new sources of money and to explore new ideas for generating funds for appropriate programs within the Korean context. At its October 1970 workshop and meeting, held at Soraksan, the commission decided to investigate the possibility of using PL480 (better known as the Food for Peace program) funds as a possible source of Korean government contributions to the
85