In a lecture to be given at The Korea Society on Thursday, February 10, 2011, Dr. Charles K. Armstrong, director of Columbia University’s Center for Korean Research, explores the history of conflict—and sometimes cooperation—between North and South Korea from the time the two contemporary Korean states were established in 1948 until the present day. The presentation is the first in The Korea Society’s Korea In-Depth series, a program of lectures by noted scholars on the history, politics, art, literature, and architecture of Korea.

The military clashes in the West Sea of Korea in 2010 have focused the world’s attention once again on the unresolved problem of divided Korea. Professor Armstrong’s lecture will survey the historical landscape, including how Korea was divided, the causes and consequences of the 1950-53 Korean War, how a divided Korea interacted within the dynamics of the Cold War, and why the country remains divided two decades after the Cold War ended. Other topics include the impact of the Korean conflict on the East Asian region and the international community at large, America’s role in the North-South confrontation, prospects for reconciliation, and ultimately reunification, on the Korean peninsula.

Armstrong will also look at instances of cooperation between Seoul and Pyongyang since 1972, including economic and cultural exchange across the DMZ in the 1990s and early 2000s, as well as the history of the confrontation between North Korea and the United States, especially over the North’s nuclear program. Armstrong will propose that the issues that drive North-South conflict cannot be resolved between Seoul and Pyongyang alone, and must include the active cooperation of the surrounding countries, above all the United States and China.

Thursday, February 10 @ 6:30 PM

NORTH-SOUTH KOREAN ISSUES

Charles K. Armstrong
Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Studies in the Social Sciences
Department of History
Director, Center for Korean Research
Columbia University in the City of New York

This lecture series is supported by a grant from the