Dr. Laurel Kendall, Chair of the Division of Anthropology and Curator of Asian Ethnographic Collections at the American Museum of Natural History, Adjunct Professor of Anthropology at Columbia University, and president–elect of the Association for Asian Studies, explores the divine nature of Korean shaman paintings in her new book, God Pictures in Korean Contexts: The Ownership and Meaning of Shaman Paintings, co-authored by Jongsung Yang, Director of the Museum of… Read More

Yeonmi Park, the 21-year-old North Korean defector and human rights activist, discussed her new book, In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom, with moderator David Hawk from the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. Yeonmi Park: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom Members: Free with registration Nonmembers: $10 Join our membership program here! E-News sign-up If you have any questions, please contact Jamie Tyberg… Read More

Three Korean authors, Seongmin Ahn, Christina Kang, and Katie Bomi Son, shared their respective experiences as an artist, an art advisor/consultant, and art-event organizer, as well as the inspirations behind writing books on New York’s art scene. New York Insiders by Korean Outsiders withSeongmin Ahn, Katie Bomi Son, and Christina Kang Members: FREE | Nonmembers: $10 If you have any questions, please contact Jamie Tyberg or (212) 759-7525, ext. 321.… Read More

Michael D. Shin, lecturer in Korean Studies at the University of Cambridge, and editor of the new historical atlas, Korean History in Mapsfrom Prehistory to the Twenty-First Century, discusses Korea’s history through maps, from early Choson to the present. Korean History in Maps provides overviews of the political, cultural, economic, and social systems for each period of Korean history, along with chronologies and lists of monarchs. With numerous images of… Read More

Authors Adrienne Leslie and Patricia Park discuss and read from Alice Again and Re Jane, contemporary retellings that pay homage to Alice in Wonderland and Jane Eyre, but with a Korean-American twist. These new love stories about identity and culture are just in time for summer beach reading! The books will be available for sale, and a reception and book signing will follow the discussion. Tuesday, June 2, 2015 |… Read More

Japan and South Korea are Western-style democracies with open-market economies, are committed to the rule of law, and are also U.S. allies. However, despite their shared interests, shared values, and geographic proximity, divergent national identities have driven a wedge between the countries. Brad Glosserman and Scott Snyder discussed the roots of this split and its ongoing threat to the region and the world. In their new release, The Japan-South Korea… Read More

Donald Southerton, CEO of Bridging Culture Worldwide and Author of Korea Facing: Secrets for Success in Korean Global Business and Hyundai Way: Hyundai Speed, discusses his latest book, Korea Perspective. Mr. Southerton’s new work distills years of experience consulting for top Korean corporations in the automotive, golf, land development, green technology, and retail sectors, and provides strategies and solutions for Korean companies operating globally. Korea Perspective with Don Southerton, Author… Read More

Interweaving cultural, intellectual, and literary history, Professor Janet Poole, author of When the Future Disappears: The Modernist Imagination in Late Colonial Korea, looks at Korean writers in the final decade of Japanese colonial rule.  Korean writers, including Yi T’aejun, Ch’oe Myŏngik, Im Hwa, Sŏ Insik, Ch’oe Chaesŏ, Pak T’aewŏn, Kim Namch’on, and O Changhwan, used various strategies to narrate life as colonial subjects of an empire headed toward total war,… Read More

Author and journalist Blaine Harden discusses his new book, The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot:The True Story of the Tyrant Who Created North Korea and the Young Lieutenant Who Stole His Way to Freedom, with Kenneth Rowe (No Kum Sok), the former fighter pilot in the North Korean Air Force who defected to South Korea in his MiG-15 in 1953. The book interweaves Rowe’s story with that of Kim… Read More

Author Jang Jin-sung, on his first visit to the U.S., discusses his new book, Dear Leader Poet, Spy, Escapee—A Look Inside North Korea, which describes his life in North Korea as a psychological warfare officer and one of Kim Jong-il’s revered “court poets,” as well as his dramatic escape to China and South Korea. Jang will also read selections from his poetry and share insights into North Korea shaped by… Read More