Gere's Nobel Efforts

By Stephen M. Silverman

07/15/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

South Korean President Kim Dae-jung won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in uniting North and South Korea, it was announced from Stockholm first thing Friday morning. There had been speculation that the prize (which carries with it a check for $915,000) might have gone to President Clinton for his attempts to give peace a chance in the Mideast, but that didn't happen. Coincidentally, earlier this week, Richard Gere had written to Kim Dae-jung, asking him to grant an entry visa to Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama (who won the 1989 Nobel Peace Price). "To not do so would send an unfortunate signal to the rest of the world and undermine (South) Korea's unique authority in Asia," Gere, head of the Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet, wrote. So far, reports the Associated Press, there has been no comment from the leader of South Korea, though it is known that a visit by the Dalai Lama could hurt South Korea's relations with China, which opposes the Dalai Lama's demand for an independent Tibet.