The Korea Society

Latest Episodes:

A Conversation with Minister Kyung-wha Kang Oct 02, 2024

Show notes

October 1, 2024 - With the ever-growing need to understand ourselves and humanity as a whole, it is necessary to examine the concepts of morality, ethics and universal values as guiding principles of the human condition. With generous support from Y.T. Hwang Family Foundation, The Korea Society presents a Series on Ethics and Common Values. This series promotes the understanding of central themes of our human existence - morality, ethics, personal responsibility, compassion and civility - through a series of lectures by distinguished speakers and conversation with extraordinary individuals who exemplify the universal values in line with the mission of Y. T. Hwang Family Foundation and The Korea Society. The Korea Society and Y. T. Hwang Family Foundation is proud to present Minister Kyung-wha Kang, President and CEO of Asia Society, in a conversation with Ambassador (ret) Kathleen Stephens.

For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/arts-culture/item/1858-y-t-hwang-family-foundation-series-on-ethics-common-values-a-conversation-with-minister-kyung-wha-kang

Force Multiplier: The U.S.-Korea Alliance Amid Strategic Competition Oct 01, 2024

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October 1, 2024 - How can the U.S.-Korea Alliance rise to the challenge of an increasingly complex and fraught geopolitical environment? As competing strategic triangles solidify in Northeast Asia, what new challenges and opportunities will arise for the U.S.-Korea relationship and peace and security in the region? This conversation seeks to see through the cycle to identify underlying trends, plot trajectories, and propose policy recommendations. Join us for a conversation with three thought leaders on the security and diplomacy of Northeast Asia: Seth Bailey, Director for the Office of Korean and Mongolian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, Markus Garlauskas, Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative of the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, and Rachel Minyoung Lee, Senior Fellow for the Stimson Center's Korea Program and 38 North. The discussion is moderated by Korea Society policy director Jonathan Corrado. This program is produced in cooperation with the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative of the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.

For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/item/1863-force-multiplier-the-u-s-korea-alliance-amid-strategic-competition

The South Korean Film Industry with Sangjoon Lee, Dal Yong Jin, and Jason Bechervaise Sep 11, 2024

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September 10, 2024 - South Korea's film industry is producing movies and original series eagerly anticipated by the global audience, and it is now arguably considered one of the few countries outside the United States to have captivated the world's hearts and minds through pop music, TV dramas, and film. Similarly, the exponential growth in the South Korean film industry has been mirrored by increasing interest from the press and academia all over the world.

The South Korean Film Industry is the first detailed scholarly overview of the South Korean film industry, discussing topics from short films to popular television series that have engaged global audiences and exploring the major changes in South Korean film making and marketing, as well as the international popularity of South Korean films.

Join us for a conversation about the South Korean film industry with three contributors to this new volume: Sangjoon Lee, Dal Yong Jin, and Jason Bechervaise.

For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/arts-culture/item/1851-the-south-korean-film-industry-with-sangjoon-lee-dal-yong-jin-and-jason-bechervaise

Korean Couture: Generations of Revolution | A Curator's Perspective Sep 10, 2024

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September 5, 2024 - Korean Couture: Generations of Revolution is a compelling exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art about the history and transformative legacy of Korean fashion, presenting garments ranging from excavated 17th-century aristocratic garments to contemporary Korean couture by leading and emerging designers, including André Kim (1935–2010); Lie Sang Bong (b. 1954); Lee Chung Chung (b. 1978), for LIE; Lee Jean Youn (b. 1978); and Shin Kyu Yong (b. 1988) and Park Ji Sun (b. 1988), for Blindness. Through juxtaposing historical and contemporary ensembles, Korean Couture: Generations of Revolution recounts the definition of "couture" from an inclusive perspective, amplifying how tradition has empowered contemporary Korean fashion designers to invent a new artistic language. Join us for a conversation with Darnell-Jamal Lisby, who co-curated the exhibition with Sooa Im McCormick.

For the video version with slides, please visit the link below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ5dgb1gSXE

For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/arts-culture/item/1853-korean-couture-generations-of-revolution-a-curator-s-perspective

Korean War Armistice Day Salute 2024 Jul 27, 2024

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July 27, 2024 - Join us at The Korea Society to honor Veterans who served in The Korean War. This ceremony marks the 71st Anniversary of the signing of the Korean War Armistice Agreement on July 27, 1953. This program will provide perspectives on the experience of a front-line soldier as told by a Korean War veteran, South Korea's wartime economy and financial situation, South Korean President Syngman Rhee's role in the Armistice and Alliance, and the state of the US-ROK Alliance today. The ceremony will feature remarks from president and CEO of The Korea Society Thomas J. Byrne, Republic of Korea New York Consul General Euy Whan Kim, President of the New York Department of the Korean War Veterans Association Salvatore Scarlato, Instructor of Economics in the Department of Social Sciences at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY Major Rachel Kim, and Associate Director, Center for East Asian Studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison Dr. David Fields. This program is presented in collaboration between The Korea Society and The Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in New York. For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/item/1848-armistice-day-salute-2024

Minsoo Kang: The Melancholy of Untold History with Ed Lin Jul 25, 2024

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July 24, 2024 - A beautifully crafted, enriching saga inspired by East Asian mythology, The Melancholy of Untold History is Minsoo Kang's debut novel, steeped in history and lyrically exciting, interweaving four complex yet entertaining stories as they shape and create a nation's literary narrative through the themes of love and grief. Famous for his dispelling of the national myth, a history professor understands the power of narrative. He has inspired another young professor to search for her own truths, while trying to understand the way fiction creates fact and how sometimes the past can only be understood by filling in holes with a new narrative. Which is exactly what he needs when his wife passes away to parse meaning out of a world that no longer makes sense. Together the protégé and the Historian find comfort in each other. Yet they know their time together is fleeting, as time usually is. Only the gods have an abundance of time, and yet—the two discover—even that might not be so clear cut. Part of their homeland's myth tells of four gods who squabbled and argued and destroyed and rebuilt time and again. Or did they? Spanning 3,000 years and multiple voices—with tales within tales woven expertly together—The Melancholy of Untold History reveals people who seek to confront the hardships of life through storytelling. Mixing the East Asian mythos with a postmodern approach to standard sci-fi/fantasy narrative tropes, Minsoo Kang has created a challenging, beautiful, sad, humorous, and ultimately unforgettable novel of love, grief, and myth-making. Minsoo Kang discusses his debut novel with Ed Lin.

For more information, please visit the link below: https://koreasociety.org/arts-culture/item/1845-minsoo-kang-the-melancholy-of-untold-history-with-ed-lin

Hyeseung Song: Docile with Emma Eun-joo Choi Jul 23, 2024

Show notes

July 18, 2024 - A daughter of Korean immigrants, Hyeseung Song spends her earliest years in the cane fields of Texas where her loyalties are divided between a restless father in search of Big Money, and a beautiful yet domineering mother whose resentments about her own life compromises her relationship with her daughter. With her parents at constant odds, Song learns more words in Korean for hatred than for love. When the family's fake Gucci business lands them in bankruptcy, Song moves to a new elementary school. On her first day, a girl asks the teacher: "Can she speak English?" Neither rich nor white, Song does what is necessary to be visible: she internalizes the model minority myth as well as her beloved mother's dreams to see her on a secure path. Song meets these expectations by attending the best Ivy League universities in the country. But when she wavers, in search of an artistic life on her own terms, her mother warns, "Happiness is what unexceptional people tell themselves when they don't have the talent and drive to go after real success." Years of self-erasure take a toll and Song experiences recurring episodes of depression and mania. So begins her sweeping journey to heal herself by losing everything. In her extraordinary debut memoir Docile: Memoirs of a Not-So-Perfect Asian Girl, Song expertly weaves together the beauty and complexity of her experience. It is an immigrant story, but also a mother-daughter story, a mental health story, and ultimately a redemption story. Poetic and unflinching, Docile is a lesson in the power of love and legacy to shape us and finding the bravery to be our authentic selves in spite of the expectations we carry. In a conversation with Emma Eun-joo Choi, Song discusses her memoir. Docile: Memoirs of a Not-So-Perfect Asian Girl will be available for purchase.

For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/arts-culture/item/1844-hyeseung-song-docile-with-emma-eun-joo-choi

The 2024 U.S. Presidential Election - What It Could Mean at Home and Abroad Jun 28, 2024

Show notes

June 28, 2024 - Join us for a bipartisan pair of Former Members of Congress to hear a forecast unpacking how America's 2024 presidential and congressional elections will impact U.S. domestic politics, U.S. foreign policy, and America's dynamic relationship with South Korea.

The conversation features former Representative Bart Gordon, Former Senator Tim Hutchinson, and Chicago Council on Global Affairs senior fellow Dina Smeltz, with opening remarks by the Republic of Korea Consul General Euy Whan Kim, Former Members of Congress (FMC) Chief Operating Officer Sabine Schleidt, and Korea Society President and CEO Thomas Byrne. The conversation will be moderated by American University professor Leonard Steinhorn.

This program is presented in collaboration between The Korea Society and FMC's Congressional Study Group on Korea.

For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/item/1842-the-2024-u-s-presidential-election-what-they-could-mean-at-home-and-abroad

Cornerstone of the Nation: The Defense Industry and the Building of Modern Korea under Park Chung Hee Jun 26, 2024

Show notes

June 25, 2024 - Join us for a conversation with Dr. Peter Banseok Kwon, Assistant Professor of Korean Studies at the University at Albany, State University of New York, on his newly released book: Cornerstone of the Nation: The Defense Industry and the Building of Modern Korea under Park Chung Hee. Newly released by Harvard University Press, this book is the first historical account of the complex alliance of military and civilian forces that catapulted South Korea's conjoined militarization and industrialization under Park Chung Hee. Kwon reveals how Park's secret program to build an independent defense industry spurred a total mobilization of business, science, labor, and citizenry, all of which converged in military-civilian forces that propelled an unprecedented model of modernization in Korea. Kwon joins President and CEO Tom Byrne in conversation.

For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/item/1830-cornerstone-of-the-nation-the-defense-industry-and-the-building-of-modern-korea-under-park-chung-hee

Empowering Women with Holistic Care: A Conversation with Rael's Co-Founder and CEO, Yanghee Paik Jun 25, 2024

Show notes

Recorded June 20, 2024 - The Korea Society is pleased to invite you to a fireside chat with Co-founder and CEO of Rael, Yanghee Paik. In 2017, Yanghee joined forces with two other Korean-American women to revolutionize the stagnant American feminine-care product market by introducing clean, high-performing holistic feminine care products. Their innovative approach excited millions of Amazon customers with a single product-organic cotton cover pads- leveraging cutting-edge South Korean manufacturing technology. Under Yanghee's leadership, Rael quickly became the best-selling pad on Amazon and expanded into major retailers such as Target and Walmart, offering a wide range of holistic care products for women, from feminine products to acne-treatment beauty patches.

Join us to hear the trailblazing journey of Yanghee, who transitioned from a successful career as a Disney executive to leading a consumer-goods startup. You will learn the insights into how Rael could break through the global feminine product market, traditionally dominated by giant incumbents, by employing advanced South Korean manufacturing and beauty technology to empower global women with a better treatment of themselves.

Moderated by Celina Lee - a globally recognized executive and career coach, lawyer, award-winning writer, and podcast host.

This program is supported by Hanwha Life

The Korea Society is excited to present this Startup Scene program in partnership with the OKTA-NY (World Federation of Overseas Korean Traders Associations, New York).

For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/item/1832-empowering-women-with-holistic-care-a-conversation-with-raels-co-founder-and-ceo-yanghee-paik

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