See details, sponsors, and highlights from the most recent Van Fleet Memorial Golf Tournament.
View the 35th tournament →
A look back at more than three decades of the Van Fleet Memorial Golf Tournament. Select any year to view its details.
Proceeds from the Van Fleet Memorial Golf Tournament help sustain the Society’s mission year-round. Make a gift or join as a member to take part in the work.
Given annually “to one or more distinguished Koreans or Americans in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the promotion of U.S.–Korea relations.”
The award is named for General James A. Van Fleet, commander of the U.S. Eighth Army at the height of the Korean War in 1951. Beginning in 1957, General Van Fleet served as the first president of The Korea Society.
Each year, the award is presented to its recipient at The Korea Society’s Annual Gala.
Meet the most recent recipients of the General James A. Van Fleet Award and read about his contributions to the U.S.–Korea relationship.
View 2026 honoree →
Three decades of Van Fleet Award recipients, from 1995 to today. Select any year to view its honorees.
The Van Fleet Award is conferred each year at The Korea Society’s Annual Dinner—the organization’s signature celebration of the U.S.–Korea partnership.
The Korea Society · Signature Events
Beyond our four department-led programs, The Korea Society convenes leaders, members, businesses, and partner organizations across the United States — moving beyond traditional programming to create opportunities for collaboration, celebration, and lasting relationship-building.
Beyond its four department-led programs, The Korea Society expanded its national and regional engagement in innovative ways, convening leaders, members, businesses, and partner organizations across the United States.
These efforts moved beyond traditional programming to create opportunities for collaboration, celebration, and lasting relationship-building. By marking major milestones in the alliance and recognizing those who advance it, we strengthened trust across government, business, civil society, academia, generations, sectors, and regions.
Through our expanding corporate and individual membership programs, we connect people and institutions to The Korea Society’s work and to one another — building enduring communities of leaders and partners for a more dynamic, resilient, and meaningful U.S.–Korea partnership.
From flagship galas to the fairway to emerging regional centers, each gathering builds trust in a different register.
Through the Van Fleet Award and our flagship Annual Gala in New York City, The Korea Society elevates the U.S.–Korea alliance on the international stage. Distinguished leaders, cultural figures, and partners come together to honor achievement, celebrate artistic and cultural connections, and reaffirm a shared commitment to the people-to-people relationship.
For more than three decades, our highly regarded golf tournament has provided a more personal setting for American and Korean leaders to deepen relationships, build trust, and open new channels of communication and cooperation.
We continue to cultivate partnerships in emerging centers of the relationship, including Tennessee and Georgia, where Korean corporate investment is expanding into communities with historically limited Korean presence. Strong local relationships are essential to building understanding, matching economic ties with trust — and responding quickly in moments of crisis to preserve confidence in the broader relationship.
Through our expanding corporate and individual membership programs, we connect people and institutions to The Korea Society’s work and to one another. By building enduring communities of leaders and partners, we help create a more dynamic, resilient, and meaningful U.S.–Korea partnership.
By marking milestones and recognizing those who advance the alliance, we strengthen trust across every sector, generation, and region.
Please provide the following legal information to your IRA custodian to facilitate your contribution.
Please make your check payable to The Korea Society, Inc. and mail it to:
For direct transfers from your financial institution, please contact us and we will be happy to provide our banking information.
To comply with IRS requirements for Qualified Charitable Distributions:
A QCD must be a 100% charitable contribution. No goods or services—including Gala tickets, meals, admission, or other benefits—may be provided in exchange for the contribution.
If your QCD is intended to support The Korea Society’s Annual Gala, the contribution will be recorded as a pure charitable donation rather than a ticket or sponsorship purchase so that no goods or services are provided in return.
Once the contribution is received, The Korea Society will provide a written acknowledgment confirming the amount of the contribution and that no goods or services were provided in exchange.
To help us identify and properly acknowledge your QCD, please contact us when initiating the transfer.
Please consult your IRA custodian, tax advisor, or financial advisor regarding your individual eligibility for a Qualified Charitable Distribution and its tax treatment.
Where does a great recipe come from? For Kay Chun, it’s all about inspiration. And to a lifelong New Yorker, inspiration is all around. Drawing from a global pantry of ingredients—the Korean influences she grew up with and the many flavors that have shaped her—she shares fresh yet familiar dishes the whole family will love in her debut cookbook, Gather Around My Table.
In her conversation with Eric Kim, Kay Chun will discuss her career and her debut cookbook.
Speaker
Kay Chun is a chef, writer, and culinary consultant. She is a regular contributor to NYT Cooking and has been an editor at several food publications, notably Gourmet, Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, and Real Simple. Her restaurant, Share, received accolades from The New York Times, New York, and Time Out for her market-driven globally inspired cooking. She also specializes in innovative food product development for consumer packaged goods brands. Kay is a native New Yorker and lives in Manhattan with her husband.
Moderator
Eric Kim is a New York Times contributor and essayist born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. His debut cookbook, Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home, was an instant New York Times Best Seller. A former digital manager for the Food Network and contributing editor for Saveur magazine, he now hosts regular videos on NYT Cooking’s YouTube channel and writes a monthly column for The New York Times Magazine.
A go-to platform and hub for timely, credible policy insights on the critical issues shaping the U.S.-Korea relationship, South Korea, the Korean Peninsula, and the Indo-Pacific.
We build and empower communities of practitioners — connecting thought leaders and stakeholders from policy, industry, academia, media, and civil society.
The Korea Society's Geopolitical Affairs Department cultivates dialogue and action on pivotal developments affecting the U.S.-Korea relationship.
We serve as a trusted platform and hub for timely, credible policy insights, empowering our audiences and participants to better understand the crucial security, diplomacy, political, and geoeconomic issues shaping the U.S.-Korea relationship, the Korean Peninsula, and the Indo-Pacific.
We inform both general audiences and decision-makers, equipping the U.S. and Korea to navigate uncertainty, reduce risk, and seize on new synergies.
We build and empower communities of practitioners by hosting programs, building networks, offering perspectives, and providing engagement opportunities for diverse U.S. and Korean stakeholders from policy, industry, academia, media, and civil society organizations.
We convene thought leaders and policymakers for discussions, balancing rapid-response content with deeper examinations of Korea's historical, political, and societal dynamics.
Each organizes our programming across the relationship, the region, the peninsula, and the next generation of leaders.
Program Pillar
Program Pillar
Program Pillar
Program Pillar
We inform both general audiences and decision-makers — equipping the U.S. and Korea to navigate uncertainty, reduce risk, and seize on new synergies.
Delve into the frontlines of humanitarian aid in North Korea. Join us for a special discussion with seasoned experts Kathi Zellweger, Mike Chinoy, and Jerome Sauvage as they share first-hand insights from years of experience on the ground inside North Korea.
In Miss Kathi: Saving Lives in North Korea, Swiss aid worker Kathi Zellweger collaborates with veteran journalist and author Mike Chinoy to chronicle her nearly three decades in North Korea. Dubbed the “Mother Teresa of North Korea” by local officials, Zellweger navigated state suspicion and international skepticism to deliver life-saving relief to thousands of vulnerable North Koreans, focusing especially on children. The book is available for purchase on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
In Witness to North Korea: Three Years on the Ground in the DPRK, former UN Resident Coordinator Jerome Sauvage offers a rare insider account of daily life and operational realities inside Pyongyang. Drawing on his tenure leading international aid operations, Sauvage reflects on the successes and challenges of delivering humanitarian assistance and offers strategic guidance for future engagement. The book is available for purchase here, with a 20% discount using the code: WITNESS20.
The discussion is moderated by Korea Society policy director Jonathan Corrado.
This program is made possible by the generous support of the Korea Foundation and our individual and corporate members.
Speaker
Mike Chinoy is a Nonresident Scholar at the 21st Century China Center at the University of California and the author of six books. Previously, he spent 15 years as a Senior Fellow at the U.S.-China Institute of the University of Southern California. From 2006-2009, he was a senior fellow at the Los Angeles-based Pacific Council on International Policy, focusing on security issues in Northeast Asia.
He spent 24 years as a foreign correspondent for CNN, including serving as the network’s first bureau chief in Beijing. He also worked for CBS and NBC in Hong Kong. He has received numerous awards for his journalism, including the Emmy, Peabody, and Dupont awards for his coverage of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crisis, and a Dupont Award for his coverage of the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami.
He has also covered North Korea extensively, traveling there 17 times since 1989. In 1994, he became the only journalist invited to accompany President Jimmy Carter on his historic trip to Pyongyang and was the first journalist ever to file live TV reports from North Korea.
He holds a BA from Yale University and an MS from Columbia University. He lives in Taipei, Taiwan.
Speaker
After a career with the United Nations taking him and his family to Africa, Asia and at Headquarters in New York, Jerome Sauvage became the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in North Korea. He negotiated new control arrangements with the North Korean Government to re-open the UNDP office in Pyongyang; coordinated the delivery of humanitarian aid and the international response to natural disasters and facilitated visits from the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s political envoys and from Jimmy Carter. Jerome Sauvage is an international affairs consultant specializing in humanitarian affairs and human resource management. He is a graduate of Paris’ Sorbonne University and Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Speaker
Kathi Zellweger is a senior aid manager with over thirty years of experience in Hong Kong, China, and North Korea. She was based in Pyongyang during 2006–2011 as the North Korea country director for the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Before that, Zellweger worked in a senior post for the Catholic Agency Caritas in Hong Kong, where she played a key role in pioneering Caritas’s involvement in China and North Korea. She later established her own NGO, the Hong Kong–based KorAid Limited, to serve children in institutions and people with disabilities in North Korea. Zellweger is affiliated with the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University and a Non-resident Fellow at the European Center for North Korean Studies at the University of Vienna. She holds a master’s degree in international administration from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont.
National Programs
Five program divisions, one purpose: informed dialogue, capable leaders, and durable ties between the United States and Korea.
Our national programs turn that conviction into work: convening the people who shape policy and commerce, teaching the next generation, presenting Korean culture on its own terms, and doing it in cities across the country — not only in New York.
Inform
Clear, nonpartisan analysis of Korea and the alliance.
Connect
Leaders across sectors, generations, and regions.
Develop
The people who will carry the partnership forward.
Divisions
Five program divisions advancing understanding between the United States and Korea.
5 of 5 divisions
Where trade, investment, and technology meet policy: semiconductors, AI, energy, mobility, and advanced manufacturing, read by the executives and investors closest to them.
Learn moreReach
Founded in New York in 1957. Today the partnership is lived in factory towns, campuses, and state capitals across the country — so that is where we work, with regional partners and Korean American communities.
New York · Washington · Southeast · West Coast
Two artists transform traditional materials–textile and paper–to explore themes of identity and memory.
Tai Hwa Goh creates intricate, layered installations from printed and cut paper, inspired by organic forms, landscapes, and the relationship between the interior and exterior. Goh’s process pushes the limits of traditional printmaking, as she modifies the characteristics of paper and thin fabric by covering with batik or ironing thin sheets of beeswax onto her prints, deliberately obscuring the underlying images. She then uses techniques like sewing, gluing, and manipulating printed materials to construct intricate, honeycomb-like structures. Found objects seamlessly integrate into the work, reflecting the blending of the personal and the universal, as well as natural and artificial elements.Through this process, the imagery gradually moves away from recognizable forms, and the dense layers serve as a space where nature, memory, and personal experience intertwine. Her installations invite viewers to contemplate the balance between the natural world and human existence, and how everyday moments can reveal deeper insights into our lives. Julia Kwon sews interpretive Korean textiles, specifically in the form of patchwork bojagi (Korean object-wrapping cloth), to critique received notions of Asiatic femininity and challenge reductive, easily legible identities. Although her bojagi textiles may initially be perceived as traditionally Korean, the patchwork designs are actually derived from urgent contemporary sociopolitical issues and events. Her work moves beyond simply representing minority identities as she aims to comment on the interconnected systems of oppression. Kwon’s practice contests the notion of authenticity and explores the complexities involved in constructing identities within the current framework of cultural hybridity, intersectionality, and the collective pursuit of social justice.| Artist Talk: Tai Hwa Goh |
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Tai Hwa Goh is a Korean-born artist who primarily works with printmaking and paper installation. From 2000 to 2007, she established a significant career as both a professional artist and a lecturer in the Washington D.C. area. Since relocating to the New York Metropolitan area in 2007, Goh has continued to exhibit her artwork widely.
Her exhibitions include Sunroom at Wavehill (Bronx, NY), Torpedo Factory Art Center (Alexandria, VA), NARS Foundation (Brooklyn, NY), Wave Hill (Bronx, NY), William Paterson University (Wayne, NJ), Frances M. Maguire Art Museum, Saint Joseph’s University (Philadelphia, PA), Seton Hall University (South Orange, NJ), Children’s Museum of Manhattan, Art (New York, NY), International Print Center (New York, NY), DUMBO Art Festival, Islip Museum (East Islip, NY), Gallery Aferro (Newark, NJ), AIR Gallery (Brooklyn, NY), Snug Harbor Center for The Art (Staten Island, NY) and more. She has been awarded grants and residencies from Museum of Art and Design, Lower East Side Print Shop, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, Aljira A Center for Contemporary Art, and Vermont Studio Center. Goh is a recipient of National Endowments for the Arts, New Jersey Individual Artist Fellowship Awards, the Gold Award winner of the AHL Visual Art Competition and The Artist of The Year from Korean Cultural Center (Washington, D.C.). Her work is in the collection of Booker- Lowe Gallery (Houston, TX), Art Bank (Washington, D.C.), DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (Washington, D.C.), and Sadat Collection, University of Maryland (College Park, MD). Goh received a MFA degree at the University of Maryland specializing in printmaking and sculpture. She also received a MFA in printmaking at Seoul National University in Korea.Join The Korea Society for an insightful discussion on Korea’s Energy Evolution with Henry Haggard, former senior U.S. diplomat and Founding Principal of Seekonk LLC. Facing acute resource scarcity and intensifying geopolitical pressure, can South Korea improve its energy resilience through innovation? And how is the U.S.-Republic of Korea (ROK) alliance positioned to pioneer next-generation energy solutions?
This is the second installment of Korea Expert Desk, a new video interview series from The Korea Society delivering sharp insights to help decision-makers and analysts understand the critical issues driving the U.S.–Republic of Korea (ROK) partnership. Concise, dynamic, and visually engaging, Korea Expert Desk unpacks the strategic statecraft and geopolitical shifts shaping the bilateral relationship and the region beyond. Watch the first installment, about South Korea’s New Industrial Defense Strategy with Dr. Lami Kim, here.
As the global community faces an unprecedented surge in energy demand, the intersection of energy security, technology, and geopolitics has never been more vital. South Korea is grappling with a dependence on imported fossil fuels, which historically comprise over 60 percent of its energy mix. Recent supply shocks have underscored the vulnerabilities inherent to this import-dependent strategy. To power its high-tech manufacturing base while meeting its 2050 carbon neutrality commitments, Seoul is executing a dramatic energy pivot to a nuclear-centric future, with plans to expand domestic nuclear-generated power to 35 percent by 2038. Yet, this evolution forces South Korea to navigate treacherous geopolitical waters. Seoul must balance trade dynamics with the United States, manage a delicate diversification away from China’s overwhelming dominance in critical mineral supply chains, and compete directly with state-backed nuclear offerings from Russia and China.
This conversation will examine how the U.S.-ROK alliance is uniquely positioned to innovate and solve these challenges. Grounded by the historic January 2025 Memorandum of Understanding on the Expansion of Peaceful Nuclear Energy, the alliance combines U.S. research innovation and capital with South Korea’s world-class engineering, which has permitted the ROK to construct nuclear plants three times faster than the global average. The conversation will also unpack recent efforts to offset critical minerals dependence through multilateral coordination through the US-led Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement (FORGE). Beyond traditional nuclear energy facilities and Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), Haggard will also highlight how the alliance is driving cutting-edge green technologies with breakthroughs in clean hydrogen and ammonia-cracking infrastructure.
This program is made possible by the generous support of the Korea Foundation and our individual and corporate members.
Read more by Henry Haggard on this topic:
How the U.S. and South Korea Can Power the Globe with Nuclear Energy – KEI
Profit and Power: Opportunities in the US-South Korea Energy Sector – Rice University’s Baker Institute
Episode 1: Why South Korea Builds Nuclear Reactors 3x Faster Than Anyone Else
In the first episode of this Korea Expert Desk miniseries on Korea’s Energy Evolution, former senior U.S. diplomat Henry Haggard explores how South Korea is driving its energy strategy through technological innovation and strategic alliance partnerships. To power its high-tech manufacturing sector while aiming for carbon neutrality, Seoul is executing a nuclear-centric shift to raise domestic nuclear generation to 35 percent by 2038. Haggard examines South Korea’s nuclear construction efficiency—building reactors three times faster than the global average—and explains how combining Korean engineering with U.S. intellectual property creates a global partnership. The conversation highlights joint U.S.-ROK ventures in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) designed to meet soaring electricity demands driven by AI data centers. Finally, Haggard details how the bilateral alliance is advancing cutting-edge clean energy infrastructure, from commercial clean hydrogen investments to innovative ammonia-cracking trials.
Episode 2: Solving South Korea’s Energy Trap
In the second episode of this Korea Expert Desk miniseries on Korea’s Energy Evolution, former senior U.S. diplomat Henry Haggard examines South Korea’s acute energy vulnerabilities. With imported fossil fuels comprising over 60 percent of its energy mix, recent geopolitical disruptions in vital shipping lanes like the Strait of Hormuz directly threaten Seoul’s export-driven economy. Haggard details the global nuclear energy marketplace, warning against expanding state-backed dominance from Russia and China while emphasizing the need for deeper U.S.-Korea collaboration. He further addresses China’s leverage over critical mineral supply chains and how multilateral allied initiatives like FORGE aim to protect the building blocks of clean technology. Tune in to explore how the U.S.-ROK alliance can leverage statecraft and innovation to ensure long-term energy security.
About the Speaker:
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Henry Haggard is the Founding Principal of Seekonk LLC, Global Strategy Group. He is a former U.S. diplomat who completed a twenty-five-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service, retiring at the rank of Counselor in the Senior Foreign Service. Henry is a Principal at WestExec Advisors, Non-Resident Fellow at the Baker Institute Center for Energy Studies (CES) at Rice University, Senior Associate of the KF-VUB Korea Chair at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy (CSDS), Senior Fellow at Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI), and Partner at Albion East Ltd, Global Development Advisors. From 2021-2023, he served as Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at the United States Embassy in South Korea. Prior to that, he served as Director at the National Security Council under both the Trump and Biden administrations, coordinating United States policy and engagement with Turkey, Greece, and the United Kingdom. Previous assignments at the State Department include Director of Energy Diplomacy for Asia and the Middle East, Acting Political Minister Counselor at the United States Mission to the European Union, Chief of Staff to the Secretary’s Special Representative for Syria Engagement, Deputy Principal Officer in Erbil, Iraq, Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for European Affairs, three tours in the State Department’s Executive Secretariat for Secretaries Powell, Rice and Kerry, a tour in Baghdad, and one stint as political-military team lead at the United States Embassy in Paris. Participated in four diplomatic missions to North Korea between 2000-2008.Henry speaks fluent Korean and French and received a BA in International Relations from Brown University and a MA in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College. He founded The Twenty-Five Year Apprenticeship, a resource for diplomatic tradecraft and frequently contributes to news and media on global affairs and the Korean peninsula. |
