Korea became the first Asian country and a non-G8 nation to host a G20 summit. It was given a chance for playing a leading role for the first time in history to successfully stage the two-day international meeting amid increasing tensions over currency problems.

The G20 summit was seen by observers as a great success. Most of all, such a large-scale international event could not be held without citizens¡¯ cooperation. They did well to ensure the smooth hosting of the G20 summit. Because of citizens¡¯ mature behaviors, the summit was able to end with no traffic jam or security problems.

There were fewer cars than usual on the streets near Coex in southern Seoul, where the summit was held. Commuters and residents fully abided by a guideline from the government. Many people left their cars in their garage and commuted to work using subways and buses to reduce the traffic jam.

¡±We are thankful to our citizens. They really cooperated well and showed the world that they are mature citizens,¡± said one member of the Presidential Committee for the G20 Seoul Summit.

However, after two days of intense talks, the G20 leaders couldn¡¯t reach a concrete and satisfactory conclusion. It reached a vague compromise on two key issues -- currency valuations and trade imbalances. The leaders agreed to move toward a market-determined exchange rate system that reflects underlying economic fundamentals which will refrain intentional devaluation of currencies.

The diplomatic wording made the agreement sound positive, but they were unable to agree on concrete measures to resolve the current account imbalances between countries. The United States and China failed to narrow the gap in opinion over the reasons for current account imbalances.

The United States could not persuade the other leaders about currency issue because it implemented a weak-dollar policy through the massive printing of $600 billion recently. But it succeeded in setting the stage for installing a multilateral mechanism by IMF to monitor whether other countries are playing fair which would reduce direct confrontation with other countries.

¡±There was a general consensus on strengthening cooperation among nations. But each country¡¯s national interest was so strong that none of them tried to step back,¡± said one participant of the summit. All told, Korea became the agenda-setter on global stage through G20 summit, departing from the previous rule-taker.