December 11, 2024 - Join us for a program that explores recent political events in South Korea, including a brief history of martial law in Korea, the events leading up to the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s decision to invoke Martial Law, the National Assembly’s counter-action, and the long term consequences of the episode. How will this affect Korea’s domestic politics, the U.S.-ROK Alliance relationship, and inter-Korean relations? The expert panel includes Michelle Ye Hee Lee, Tokyo bureau chief for The Washington Post, covering Japan and the Koreas, and Aram Hur, the Kim Koo Chair in Korean Studies and Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Fletcher School, Tufts University, in conversation with policy director Jonathan Corrado and policy program officer Chelsie Alexandre.

The Korea Society thanks our corporate sponsors and individual members for their generous support, which has made this program possible.

For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/item/1942-martial-law-implications-for-south-korea-and-the-u-s-korea-relationship

December 5, 2024 - Join us for an inspiring and heartwarming story timed for the holiday season about the largest wartime humanitarian evacuation in history. During The Korean War, naval and merchant ships from America and its allies rescued almost 100,000 North Korean refugees. Among these ships was a humble freighter, the SS Meredith Victory. Although it was built to accommodate only a few passengers and crew, a staggering 14,000 refugees were crammed on board, filling five cargo holds and the entire main deck. The ship carried them all to safety despite lacking food, mine detection equipment, doctors, interpreters, sanitation facilities, and heat or lights in the cargo holds. The 75th Anniversary of this incredible event in 2025 will be marked by a major long-term exhibition at the American Merchant Marine Museum (AMMM), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, alongside exhibitions in Korea. Speakers include Burley Smith, who was just 21 when he took part in the rescue as Junior Third Mate fresh out of Kings Point. Today, aged 95, he is the last surviving crew member. Joining Burley is Dr. Joshua Smith, Director of the American Merchant Marine Museum, in conversation with Korea Society policy director Jonathan Corrado.

For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/item/1896-the-hungnam-rescue

December 4, 2024 - With a vibrant population of over 10 million, Seoul ranks as a top global destination on many travel lists. We invite you to an immersive book that offers a unique exploration of Seoul through the lens of a smart city. Join authors, Kristi Shalla and Sungjin Park, as they discuss their book Seoul: Tale of a Smart City with Anne-Sophie Mahle and explore Seoul’s transformation from a bustling, chaotic metropolis to a global model for sustainable urban development. From the revitalization of the Cheonggye Stream to the renewal and beautification of Seoul’s urban landscape, these ingenious initiatives shaped Seoul into a model smart city of advancement and innovation. Many areas in east and central Asia and Latin America have taken inspiration from Seoul’s smart city projects, widening the potential implications for international cities like NYC. Don’t miss the chance to learn how Seoul’s leading practices set the standard for smart city innovations worldwide!

For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/item/1880-seoul-tale-of-a-smart-city

November 22, 2024 - The Van Fleet Signature Policy Conference is The Korea Society’s landmark policy event. Held in the District Ballroom of The Mayflower Hotel in Washington D.C., the conference provides insights on the fast evolving threats and opportunities impacting the dynamic U.S.-Republic of Korea (ROK) relationship, including a panel on security, a panel on diplomacy, and a keynote address. The keynote speaker is Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Jedidiah P. Royal.

For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/item/1882-u-s-rok-indispensable-partnership-amid-increasing-geopolitical-competition

November 22, 2024 - The Van Fleet Signature Policy Conference is The Korea Society’s landmark policy event. Held in the District Ballroom of The Mayflower Hotel in Washington D.C., the conference provides insights on the fast evolving threats and opportunities impacting the dynamic U.S.-Republic of Korea (ROK) relationship, including a panel on security, a panel on diplomacy, and a keynote address. The diplomacy panel, “A Broadening U.S.-ROK Relationship in a Changing Regional and Global Landscape,” is moderated by Amb (Ret.) Kathleen Stephens and features former ROK Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, Dr. Victor Cha, and Dr. Katrin Katz. Policy director Jonathan Corrado and Policy program officer Chelsie Alexandre are emcees.

For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/item/1882-u-s-rok-indispensable-partnership-amid-increasing-geopolitical-competition

November 22, 2024 - The Van Fleet Signature Policy Conference is The Korea Society’s landmark policy event. Held in the District Ballroom of The Mayflower Hotel in Washington D.C., the conference provides insights on the fast evolving threats and opportunities impacting the dynamic U.S.-Republic of Korea (ROK) relationship, including a panel on security, a panel on diplomacy, and a keynote address. Korea Society president and CEO Thomas Byrne provides an introduction and a congratulatory message is provided by H.E. Cho Hyundong, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the U.S. The security panel, “U.S.-ROK Alliance Evolving to Meet Future Challenges,” is moderated by Gen (Ret.) Walter Sharp and features former ROK Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup, Admiral (Ret.) Harry Harris, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Affairs Alexandra Bell.

For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/item/1882-u-s-rok-indispensable-partnership-amid-increasing-geopolitical-competition

November 19, 2024 - The Korea Society is pleased to announce that the eighth annual Sherman Family Korea Emerging Scholar Lecture Awardee is Dr. David Krolikoski, assistant professor at the University of Hawai’i. In his lecture Dr. Krolikoski examines The Silence of Love (Nim ŭi ch’immuk, 1926), the acclaimed collection of eighty-eight poems by Han Yong-un (1879-1944), a Buddhist monk and public intellectual. Although the book is commonly celebrated as a metaphor for colonial subjugation, Dr. Krolikoski complicates this established reading to argue that its artistic significance lies in Han’s paradigm-shifting use of colonial poetry as a medium of communal expression during a time of national crisis. The lecture explores how Han uses fiction and symbols to collapse the boundary between private and public address, transmuting the individual voice of his poetic speaker into a platform for a community. Dr. Krolikoski also contextualizes The Silence of Love within the history of the translation of foreign poetic forms into Korea during the 1920s, with a focus on how Han incorporated elements from the lyric and prose poem into his verse. Dr. Emily Jungmin Yoon, author of Find Me as the Creature I Am (Alfred A. Knopf, 2024) and assistant professor of Korean literature at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, will serve as moderator.

For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/item/1859-sherman-family-korea-emerging-scholar-lecture-2024

November 18, 2024 - Inside a one-room apartment on the outskirts of Seoul, Oliver lives a happily quiet life, listening to jazz records and caring for his favorite plant. But what else is there to do when you’re a Helperbot 3, a robot that has long been retired and considered obsolete? When his fellow Helperbot neighbor Claire asks to borrow his charger, what starts as an awkward encounter leads to a unique friendship, a surprising adventure, and maybe even…love? Winner of the Richard Rodgers Award, MAYBE HAPPY ENDING, starring Darren Criss and Helen J. Shen, is the offbeat and captivating story of two outcasts near the end of their warranty who discover that even robots can be swept off their feet. Helmed by the visionary director and Tony Award winner Michael Arden (Parade, Once on This Island), with dazzling scenic design by Dane Laffrey (A Christmas Carol) and book, music, and lyrics by the internationally acclaimed duo Will Aronson and Hue Park, MAYBE HAPPY ENDING is a fresh, original musical about the small things that make any life worth living. Join us for a conversation with the cast members Helen J. Shen and Marcus Choi of this enchanting new Broadway musical.

For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/arts-culture/item/1881-maybe-happy-ending-a-new-broadway-musical

November 12, 2024 - Join us for a conversation with Stephen Biegun, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and Special Representative for North Korea. This discussion will examine past diplomatic efforts to achieve the denuclearization of North Korea, lessons learned, and future prospects. What are Mr. Biegun’s takeaways from his summitry engagement with North Korea? Is it still possible today to pursue mutually acceptable waypoints within the confines of a grand bargain or should more modest goals be pursued? How do geopolitical shifts and hardening regional rivalries undermine the U.S. and North Korean interest in improving bilateral relations? How does the public discourse create reductive dichotomies between deterrence vs. diplomacy and human rights vs. humanitarian efforts? The moderator for this program is Korea Society policy director Jonathan Corrado. 

The Korea Society thanks the Kim Koo Foundation, our corporate sponsors, and individual members for their generous support, which has made this program possible.

For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/item/1873-expert-take-stephen-biegun

November 8, 2024 - Is South Korea on the verge of a nuclear breakout? Join us for a discussion about South Korea’s nuclear option with Victor Cha, the president of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the distinguished university professor at Georgetown University. Much of the speculation in Washington and Seoul about South Korea’s nuclear ambitions has been informed by a handful of recent public opinion polls. This has created an echo chamber effect in Washington and Seoul where some experts have accepted South Korean nuclear ambitions as a reality. Using evidence derived from multi-question polling of South Korean strategic elites available to read here, Dr. Cha finds that concerns about a nuclear South Korea are exaggerated: 66 percent of South Korean strategic elites oppose nuclearization and confidence in the United States as a security provider remains strong. However, if the U.S. withdraws ground troops from South Korea or otherwise triggers abandonment fears, half of the strategic elites who presently oppose nuclearization would change their minds. This program is moderated by Korea Society policy director Jonathan Corrado.  

This program is co-sponsored by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University and the Columbia SIPA Korea Focus student club.  

The Korea Society thanks the Korea Foundation, our corporate sponsors, and individual members for their generous support, which has made this program possible. 

For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/item/1875-breaking-bad-south-koreas-nuclear-option