The Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Nagoya, Mr. M. Max Kwak, started his career with the U.S. Government in 1976 as an international radio broadcaster at the Voice of America (VOA) in Washington, D.C. Joining the ranks of the Foreign Service in 1991, he served in Beijing, Port-au-Prince, Osaka, Jakarta and Seoul as the U.S. Embassy Press Attaché and Spokesperson or the Consulate Public Affairs Officer. In Osaka, Mr. Kwak concurrently served as the Director of the Kansai American Center from 2000 to 2003.

Born and raised in Seoul, Mr. Kwak attended Seoul National University, where he received a BA in French Literature. Subsequently, he received an MA in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Mr. Kwak arrived in Nagoya on August 5, 2008 to assume the position of the U.S. Consulate Nagoya Principal Officer.