George T. Novinger is officer for supervisory general services and first secretary at the American Embassy in Seoul.

With more than 16 years in the U.S. diplomatic corps, he assumed his post in August 2004 after serving four years in Japan.

Majoring in music education from Occidental College in California, he decided to apply for the foreign service after teaching English in Japan for four years and working in a high school in the United States.

Novinger recently gave a speech at an embassy-sponsored seminar on comparison of the South Korean and American educational systems.