Hotly contested and viewed by many as a bellwether for the December presidential election in Korea, the April 11 parliamentary election pits the conservative, incumbent Saenuri Party, led by Park Geun-hye against the liberal Democratic United Party, under Han Myeong-sook. The conservative Liberty Forward Party (Sim Dae-pyung) and left-progressive United Progressive Party (Rhyu Si-min, Lee Jung-hee and Sim Sang-jeong), as well as center-right K Party and center-left New Progressives, also weigh into the mix. Though the liberals have formed a coalition, the conservatives appear more fragmented, with Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak loyalists seemingly at odds. Stanford University Professor and Director of the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center Gi-wook Shin and Columbia University Professor and Director of the Center for Korean Research Charles Armstrong lead an intimate conversation on the results the day-after, their implications in the near-term, and their impact on the upcoming presidential elections. This is a special rapid reaction podcast recording session for regular policy attendees at The Korea Society.

Author and journalist Blaine Harden speaks about his remarkable and harrowing account of refugee Shin Dong-hyuk’s birth into and eventual escape from the North Korean gulag. A monumental and moving book, Harden reveals the hardships of prison life and provides a lasting testimony to the endurance of the human spirit. Former political prisoner and the subject of this book, Shin Dong-hyuk will be participating alongside Blaine Harden for this program. This literary event features a special display of refugee artwork.

This event has been postponed to a later date.
Please check out Japan Society's website for further details. 

The Korea Society in cooperation with the Japan Society co-hosts this second policy discussion in “Korea and the World” series on April 10, 2012 at the Japan Society (333 East 47th Street New York, NY 10017) at 6 PM. The Korean Peninsula lies at the crux of a Northeast Asian region that is at once the most dynamic and the most potentially volatile and dangerous in the world. Director Calder and Ambassador Minton will look at future relations among Korea and its neighbors, Japan and China, together with options beyond the six-party talks for stabilizing the region and safeguarding its economic prosperity in an uncertain world.

Dr. Sheila Smith, Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow and Ambassador Thomas Hubbard, Chairman of The Korea Society, address the political, security, and economic challenges confronting Japan-Korea relations. The two assess recent developments and opportunities in this significant Northeast Asia bilateral relationship.

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