Alumni Profiles
Tyler Allen
MPIA '02
Tyler Allen currently serves as the U.S. Consul in Busan, Korea, his most recent assignment as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State. In this position, Tyler works to build bridges of greater mutual understanding and friendship between the United States and Busan, the second largest city in Korea, as well as the surrounding areas of Daegu, Ulsan, the Gyeongsang North and South provinces, and Jeju Island. He also supports U.S. businesses in and around Busan, and facilitates the greater goals and missions of the U.S. Embassy to Korea within the Busan consular district. One of his favorite activities in this role has been lecturing on U.S.-Korea relations, in front of hundreds of students and professionals.
Tyler joined the U.S. Foreign Service immediately following graduation from IR/PS in 2002. Since then, he has served in Dili, East Timor; Seoul, Korea; Bridgetown, Barbados (covering issues in neighboring St. Lucia and Dominica); and now Busan, Korea. Although formally a member of the political career track, he has enjoyed work in the consular, public diplomacy, economic, commercial, and political fields. His work has allowed him to visit refugees on the border of West and East Timor, perform original research on trafficking of persons in St. Lucia and Dominica, and visit various sets of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy.
Prior to IR/PS, Tyler studied international studies at Brigham Young University, graduating in 1999. He started at IR/PS in 2000, in the Korean regional specialization. While at IR/PS, he worked as Dr. Susan Shirk’s research assistant, supporting the Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue and its related Wired for Peace website, both programs of the University of California’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation.
