Corporate Supporters

Supporters | The Korea Society
The Korea Society

Corporate Supporters

We gratefully acknowledge the corporations, foundations, and individuals whose generosity sustains our mission to deepen understanding between the people of the United States and Korea.

Leadership Circle$300,000 & Above
Benefactor$100,000 & Above
Patron$50,000 & Above
CitigroupCitigroup Kia GeorgiaKia Georgia, Inc.
Y.T. Hwang Family FoundationY.T. Hwang Family Foundation
Sustainer$25,000 & Above
Supporter$15,000 & Above
Contributor$10,000 & Above
Associate$5,000 & Above
Alex Chi
Bryan Cave Leighton PaisnerBryan Cave Leighton Paisner BridgBridg
B. Riley Securities
Corning IncorporatedCorning Incorporated Dentons US LLPDentons US LLP Doosan Business Research InstituteDoosan Business Research Institute, DBRI Ernst & Young LLPErnst & Young LLP The Federation of Korean IndustriesThe Federation of Korean Industries
Francis Kang
Hamlin Asset Management
HLP IntegrationHLP Integration Industrial Bank of KoreaIndustrial Bank of Korea
John J. Moon & Hee-Jung S. Moon
KB Kookmin BankKB Kookmin Bank
Korea Investment CorporationKorea Investment Corporation
Lazard Asset ManagementLazard Asset Management
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLPNelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP
NH Financial GroupNH Financial Group
PwCPwC
Roman DBDRRoman DBDR
General (Ret) Skip and Joanne Sharp
Friend$2,500 & Above
Anthrop-J Investment Group
Aprio LLPAprio LLP
Carter Booth
Export Import Bank of KoreaExport Import Bank of Korea First Republic BankFirst Republic Bank KCCIKCCI KOTRAKOTRA
Mark Lippert
National Securities
Paul & Yoshiko Sheard
Philip D Sherman
Point Seven Labs
Thomas Holt Jr.
Young Joon Kim
Member$1,000 & Above
3LAB Inc.
Abraham Kim
All Dimension ConstructionAll Dimension Construction Alquist 3DAlquist 3D Amkor TechnologyAmkor Technology
Andrew C Kim
Andy Laub
AtkinsRéalisAtkinsRéalis BlockchainsBlockchains CBOL/Pacific Century/CelltronCBOL / Pacific Century / Celltron
Clifford Rosenberger
CorstoneCorstone
DK Donghyun Kim
DR&AJUDR&AJU
Ethos Asset ManagementEthos Asset Management
Grace Jong Eun Lee
Hae Young Kim
Hamilton AdvisorHamilton Advisor
HembioHembio
IceMillerIceMiller
James McPherson
Jihoon Hong
Joshua Rim
Junil Lee
Kathleen Stephens
KCIF, Inc.KCIF, Inc.
Kelly Ahn
Kessler FoundationKessler Foundation
Kevin Shanley
Linda Kim
Maekyung Media GroupMaekyung Media Group
Mee Kim
Milan Hejtmaneck
Multicultural Broadcasting Group
Relay Human CloudRelay Human Cloud
rePlant Hemp AdvisorsrePlant Hemp Advisors
RFR Realty LLCRFR Realty LLC The Royal Bank of CanadaThe Royal Bank of Canada
Saxby Chambliss
Sun Shin
Sun-Hyee Kahng
Tech Council VenturesTech Council Ventures
Thomas Byrne
Victor Cha
Vincent O’Connor
William Rhodes

Thank you to all who make The Korea Society’s work possible.

Staff Bios

Staff | The Korea Society
The Korea Society

Staff

Leadership

Dr. Abraham Kim
Abraham Kim, Ph.D.
President & CEO
The Korea Society

Abraham Kim, Ph.D. is the President & CEO of The Korea Society, where he leads the organization’s efforts to strengthen ties between the United States and Korea through policy dialogue, business engagement, and cultural exchange.

Dr. Kim brings more than 25 years of experience in public policy, national security, and nonprofit leadership, with a career focused on U.S.–Korea relations and Northeast Asia. He has worked closely with senior government officials, business leaders, and international organizations, providing analysis and guidance on geopolitical and economic issues related to the Korean Peninsula.

Prior to joining The Korea Society, Dr. Kim served as Executive Director & President of the Council of Korean Americans (CKA), where he expanded the organization’s national footprint and strengthened its role in policy engagement and leadership development. He previously served as Executive Director of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center at the University of Montana and as Interim President and Vice President of the Korea Economic Institute of America, where he supported public diplomacy initiatives and educational programs focused on the U.S.–Korea alliance.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Kim worked as a policy and risk analyst at Eurasia Group, CSIS, and SAIC, focusing on political risk, crisis simulations, and regional security issues in Northeast Asia. He holds a Ph.D. and M.Phil. in Political Science from Columbia University, an M.A. from Harvard University, and a B.A. from Boston University.

Jiyoung Suh
Jiyoung Suh
Vice President
The Korea Society

Jiyoung Suh is the Vice President at The Korea Society, where she leads fundraising activities, corporate programs, signature events, and external affairs. With over a decade of service to the Society, Jiyoung has held various roles, including Senior Director of Development, Director of Special Events, and Development Officer. Her extensive experience encompasses all aspects of development and event management.

Before joining The Korea Society, Jiyoung served as a Manager at The Beautiful Foundation NY (aka NY Nanum Foundation). She earned her Master of Arts in Performing Arts Administration from New York University and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Diplomacy from Ewha Womans University.

Senior Staff

Hae Kyung Ahn
Hae Kyung “Haley” Ahn
Senior Advisor for Outreach

Hae Kyung “Haley” Ahn is Senior Advisor for Outreach at The Korea Society. In this position, she plays an important role in expanding the influence and activities of The Korea Society beyond its New York base and acts as the representative of The Korea Society in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining The Korea Society, Haley worked as Senior Advisor at Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI) and Head of the Protocol Office at the U.S. Embassy, Seoul. She also served as advisor and lecturer at the International Convention Management Center at Ewha Womans University and adjunct professor at Soongeui Women’s College in Seoul, Korea. Haley has received various awards from U.S. government including Meritorious Honor Award and Foreign Service National (FSN) of the Year Award. She has also received a Merit Award from the Republic of Korea Minister of National Defense. Haley was an undergraduate at Ewha Womans University. She holds a Master’s degree in International Studies from Yonsei University and Ph.D. in Political Science from Ewha Womans University.

Helen Cho
Hyunjung (Helen) Cho
Financial Controller

Hyunjung (Helen) Cho joined The Korea Society team in December 2020 as the Financial Controller. She has more than 25 years of finance experience including accounting, business process, budgeting and financial reporting in non-profit, retail, and bio-tech industries. Prior to joining The Korea Society, Helen held a Controller position for more than 12 years and an Accounting Manager for 4 years at The Partnership for New York City. She holds a master’s degree in accounting from University of Colorado Denver and bachelor’s degree in accounting from University of Colorado Boulder. She is a certified public accountant registered in Colorado.

Seho Kim
Seho Kim
Senior Creative Director

Seho Kim, Senior Creative Director at The Korea Society, oversees the organization’s visual identity, creative projects, and communication strategies across web, print, and mobile platforms. With a background in freelance artistry, including work for UNICEF, W Hotels the Store, and gallery exhibitions, he also illustrated the children’s book Go for Kids and taught at Parsons School of Design/New School University. Holding a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from Parsons, where he was the 2003 student commencement speaker, he has received numerous accolades for his excellence in communications design, including the ARC, Vision, Inspire, Spotlight, American Design, and Magellan Awards.

Jay Oh
Jungha (Jay) Oh
Senior Director of Arts and Culture

Before joining the Korea Society, Jay Oh has worked in publishing and non-profit art organizations in Greensboro, N.C., Minneapolis, and New York. She holds a B.A. in art history from Smith College and an M.A. in art history from Williams College.

Staff

Chelsie Alexandre
Chelsie Alexandre
Geopolitical Affairs Program Officer

Chelsie Alexandre is the Geopolitical Affairs Program Officer at The Korea Society. She works with the Director of Policy to develop and implement events that address issues shaping the dynamics of U.S.-ROK relations, the Korean peninsula, and Northeast Asia. Before joining The Korea Society, Chelsie received a Fulbright Research award to conduct research in South Korea on the role of middle power countries in the Korean peace process with Korea University’s Peace and Democracy Institute. During her time in Seoul, she also briefly reported on domestic Korean affairs for The Diplomat.

Prior to her current role, Chelsie was a Partnerships Coordinator at the New York City-based nonprofit, The Concordia Summit, and she worked as a Legal Analyst at the global law firm Kobre & Kim. Chelsie also had previous experience as a research Intern at The Korea Society. She graduated with a B.A. in Politics from Princeton University, with minors in East Asian Studies and Diplomacy.

Rachel Bang
Rachel Bang
Arts and Culture Programs Associate

Rachel Bang is The Korea Society’s Arts and Culture Programs Associate. Rachel is responsible for supporting the development and implementation of various arts and culture initiatives within the organization. She also works to conduct research related to arts and culture, identifying potential partners and collaborators, and helping to build relationships! She holds a B.A. in Psychology and minor in Korean Culture and Studies.

Jonathan Corrado
Jonathan Corrado
Director of Geopolitical Affairs

Jonathan Corrado is Director of Geopolitical Affairs for The Korea Society. He produces programming and conducts research on a range of security, diplomacy, and socioeconomic issues impacting the U.S.-Korea Alliance, the Korean Peninsula, and Northeast Asia. He teaches a class titled, “North Korea: State, Society, Diplomacy, and Security” at The School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University and SUNY Stony Brook University. Jonathan is a member of The National Committee on North Korea (NCNK). He was previously a non-resident James A. Kelly Fellow at Pacific Forum, an Emerging Leader at the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP), and a contributor to NK Pro. He has published peer-reviewed articles in the International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, the Journal of Indo Pacific Affairs, the Journal of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, and Asian Politics & Policy. He has also published analysis in diverse outlets such as Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, War on the Rocks, 38 North, The Diplomat, The Japan Times, The National Interest, Yahoo News, Pacific Forum PacNet and Issues & Insights, NK News, and NK Pro. He has been quoted in The Washington Post, Bloomberg, Reuters, The South China Morning Post, The Korea Times, Radio Free Asia, and Voice of America. Jonathan was previously a translator for Daily NK (Korean to English), an FCPA due diligence investigator for Steele Compliance Solutions, a graduate fellow for McLarty Associates, and a volunteer analyst for the Congressional Research Service. Jonathan received an MA from Georgetown University’s Asian Studies Program in the Walsh School of Foreign Service and a BA in anthropology and philosophy from the University of Maryland College Park.

Stephanie Hwang
Stephanie Hwang
Development Program Officer

Stephanie Hwang is The Korea Society’s Development Program Officer. Along with providing general support to the Development Team, she is responsible for managing individual membership and programming the Young Professional Network. Prior to joining The Korea Society in 2023, she worked in Publicity and Marketing at Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Stony Brook University, and tutors high-school level English on the weekends.

Jamie Joo
Jamie Joo
Associate Director of Development

Jamie Joo is the Associate Director of Development at The Korea Society. She is responsible for managing corporate membership and coordinating special events for the organization. Before joining The Korea Society, Jamie served as an Operation Specialist in the United States Navy. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering Technology with a specialization in Avionics from Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology.

Eunjung Kho
Eunjung Kho
Director of Administration / Assistant Controller

Eunjung Kho is the Director of Administration / Assistant Controller at the Society. She graduated from the State University of New York at Binghamton with a BS in Accounting. During her years at Binghamton, she served on the Executive Board of various Korean-American groups—as a Secretary, Fundraiser, and Design Editor—that promoted and planned social, educational, and cultural events for Koreans, Korean-Americans, and students on campus. She was the Secretary for Korean-American Student Association, and the Magazine Design Editor and Secretary for Han Perspective, the only bilingual publication group on campus to provide news, opinions, reviews, and arts with a focus on Korean and Korean-American culture.

Sojeong Kim
Sojeong Kim
Director of Business and Economics Program

Sojeong is the Director of Business and Economics Program. Working with the Senior Director of Development, Sojeong manages the corporate program with a focus on startup business in America and Korea. Her program shines a light on the dynamic startup scene in Korea and America, helping to connect successful startup pioneers with aspiring entrepreneurs. Sojeong has extensive experience in fundraising and in managing youth leadership and community development programs. Prior to her current role, she was a Program Officer at the Korean National Commission for UNESCO, The Beautiful Foundation NY (aka Nanum Foundation), and The Korea Society. She holds a B.A. in English Education from Ewha Womans University, an M.A. in Political Science from Seoul National University, and an M.I.A. (Master of International Affairs) from the University of California, San Diego.

Gayoung Lee
Gayoung Lee
Executive Assistant to President/CEO Board of Directors Staff Liaison

Gayoung is the Executive Assistant to President/CEO and Board of Directors Staff Liaison at The Korea Society. She previously interned at Portman Square Group, a global investigations firm specializing in business intelligence, where she focused on due diligence, research, and data analysis. Gayoung also worked as an administrative assistant in Columbia University’s Undergraduate Admissions Office and as a communications associate at The Kaizen Company, an international development firm.

Passionate about foreign policy and U.S.-Korea relations, Gayoung was one of ten undergraduate fellows selected globally for the 2022 Nuclear Nonproliferation Education and Research Center (NEREC) Summer Fellowship program at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). There, she conducted research on potential challenges to the Nuclear Suppliers Group due to increasing global nuclear demand and changing attitudes surrounding nuclear energy. Gayoung graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in Political Science.

Sara Oh
Sara Oh
Business & Economics Program Associate

Sara is the Business & Economics Program Associate at The Korea Society. She provides support to the corporate programs, focusing on US-ROK economic relations, the startup sector, and related leadership programs. Prior to joining the Korea Society, she has interned at The Ditchley Foundation and at the US-Asia Institute and has conducted various research about Korea’s role in the world, such as Korea’s modern economic development, Korean diaspora studies, South Korea and China’s cultural diplomatic ties, and East Asian modern territoriality. She holds an MSc in International Relations from The London School of Economics and a double B.A. in Global Liberal Studies and Social Cultural Analysis (high honors) from New York University.

Yurim Oh
Yurim Oh
Education Program Officer

Yurim Oh is The Korea Society’s Education Program Officer and serves as the coordinator of the Society’s Korean Language Program (KLP). Yurim is responsible for supporting the development, management, and promotion of KLP. She focuses on marketing and outreach to expand the program’s reach while also contributing to curriculum development. Prior to joining The Korea Society in 2025, Yurim worked as a program director and instructor at Semonemo.US. She is currently a candidate for a Master of Science degree in Curriculum Development and Instructional Technology at the University at Albany. Yurim also holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Seoul.

Micala Shaffer
Micala Shaffer
Communication Officer

Micala Shaffer is The Korea Society’s Communication Officer. She is responsible for developing and executing the organization’s communications strategy, coordinating program promotions, fostering relationships with media personnel, and managing grant proposals and reporting. She first joined The Korea Society as Communication Intern in 2021 after graduating from University at Albany with a B.A. in East Asian Studies, double major in Globalization Studies, and a minor in Korean Studies. Prior to joining The Korea Society full time, she worked as the receptionist at the law office of McAdam & Fallon.

Bradley D. Sheen
Bradley D. Sheen
Media Program Associate

Bradley D. Sheen is the Media Program Associate at The Korea Society. With a strong background in media production and a B.A. in English from the University of Virginia, he collaborates closely with the Creative Director and IT Director to create engaging multimedia content, including video production, editing, and graphic design. His role also involves updating program webpages, ensuring a dynamic online presence for the organization.

Peter Stuehmke
Peter Stuehmke
IT Director

As the Society’s IT Director, Peter Stuehmke is proficient with technologies such as network administration, database administration, Web 2.0 technologies, and audio-visual production. Prior to joining the Society in April 2006, Peter Stuehmke worked in a variety of technology, support, consulting, and media-design positions. Mr. Stuehmke graduated from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 2005 with a BA in philosophy and a minor in engineering science.

Lessons Learned with Karen Choi

Join us for an upcoming program in The Korea Society’s Young Professionals Network: Lessons Learned series, presented in partnership with the Korea Finance Society (KFS).

This program features Karen Choi, Partner at Capital Group, who will reflect on her professional journey and share lessons from building a long-term career at the highest levels of the global finance industry. She will offer candid perspective on leadership and the realities of sustaining a career while balancing competing priorities, with insights for young professionals as they consider the intersection of growth and purpose in their own careers.

The discussion will be moderated by Sandra Schubert, Managing Director at Goldman Sachs. Drawing on shared industry experience, the conversation will be followed by a Q&A and networking session, offering an opportunity to engage directly with the speakers.

The Korea Society is pleased to present this Young Professionals’ Network event in partnership with the Korea Finance Society (KFS). KFS seeks to build a community to promote the advancement of Korean and Korean-American financial professionals in the United States through networking, education, and mentorship.


About the Speaker:

Karen Choi is a partner and fixed income portfolio manager at Capital Group. She has 27 years of investment experience and has been with Capital Group for 17 years. Earlier in her career at Capital, as a fixed income investment analyst, Karen covered utilities, regional banks, and non-bank financials in the U.S. Prior to joining Capital, she was a senior vice-president and fixed income analyst at AllianceBernstein and before that with Prudential Financial. She holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Wellesley College. She also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.

Karen is an appointed member of the Edison Electric Institute Wall Street Advisory Group (WSAG). Karen is on the Board of the New York Women’s Foundation and previously served as Co-chair of the Board, and she is also active in local and global non-profit organizations. Karen is the co-founder and organizer of Women in Power and has chaired one of the inaugural inclusion committees in her workplace. Karen is also on the Board of Trustees at the Horace Mann School.

Karen resides in CT with her husband/partner and four daughters.

About the Moderator:

Sandra Schubert is a Managing Director and Private Wealth Advisor in the Asset & Wealth Management Division of Goldman Sachs, where she leads a team responsible for advising ultra-high net worth families and family offices, endowments, and foundations. She is a member of the firm’s Top Advisors, a select group that represents the top 10% of advisors globally. Sandra joined Goldman Sachs after receiving her MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to graduate school, Sandra spent several years in Asia and in France, heading the ELLE brand for Hachette Filipacchi in Korea. Sandra received her undergraduate degree from Middlebury College and is a graduate of Stuyvesant High School. She serves the communities where she lives and works as a current Trustee and past Investment Committee Chair of the Brooklyn Public Library, a Trustee of the Korea Finance Society, and Steering Committee Member of the GS Asian Professionals Network.

Author Talks:
Kim Choyeop & Anton Hur

In If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light, Korean science fiction superstar Kim Choyeop leads us to places we never thought we’d reach, imagining worlds galaxies away and unfamiliar lifeforms with near-dizzying humanity. A stunning and poignant collection of literary speculative fiction stories that explore the complexities of identity, love, death, and the search for life’s meaning, Kim’s stories dismantle the borders between normal and abnormal, material and abstract, earthly and otherworldly. With unforgettable inventiveness and pathos,  If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light heralds the arrival of an essential voice in contemporary fiction.

In this episode of Author Talks, Kim and her English translator Anton Hur discuss her English debut.


About the Authors:

Kim Choyeop has a master’s degree in biochemistry from Pohang University of Science and Technology. When she burst onto the Korean literary scene, her short story ‘Lost on Premises’ received immediate recognition at the 2017 Korean Science Fiction Awards. She is also the recipient of the Minumsa Writer of the Year Award and the Munhak Dongne Young Writer Award. Her first short story collection If We Can’t Travel at the Speed of Light has sold over two hundred thousand copies in Korea alone. She is also the author of two more short story collections, The World I Just Left Behind and The Bookstore of Planetary Languages. Kim’s first novel, Greenhouse At the End of the Earth, became an instant bestseller in South Korea.

Anton Hur is the author of Toward Eternity and the translator of Kim Choyeop’s If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light, Bora Chung’s Cursed Bunny, Baek Sehee’s I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki, Lee Seong-bok’s That Summer’s End, Kyung-Sook Shin’s Violets, and others. He was double-longlisted and shortlisted for the International Booker Prize, a finalist for the National Book Award, and nominated for the Dublin Literary Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He resides in Seoul.


Across Languages:
New Voices in Korean Poetry

Across Languages: New Voices in Korean Poetry brings together acclaimed South Korean poets Lee Jenny, Yoo Heekyung, Oh Eun, and Shin Hae-uk with award-winning literary translators Archana Madhavan and Stine An, for a Korean–English bilingual reading and conversation to share the dynamism and innovations of language in Korean poetry culture. Through poetry and discussion, the speakers examine the cultural centrality of poetry in Korea and consider translation as a critical, creative practice that reshapes how literature circulates, sounds, and is felt across languages.

This program is presented in partnership with Ugly Duckling Presse and Zephyr Press.

       


About the Speakers:

Yoo Heekyung is an acclaimed South Korean poet, playwright, and essayist. He is the author of over ten collections of poetry and prose, including Today’s Morning Vocabulary (Moonji Books, 2011), Winter Night Rabbit Worries (Hyundae Munhak, 2023), and Photography and Poetry (Achimdal Books, 2024). Yoo studied creative writing at the Seoul Institute of the Arts and playwriting at the Korea National University of Arts, and debuted as a poet in 2008 when his poem won the Chosun Ilbo’s spring literary contest. A recipient of Today’s Young Artist Award from the South Korean Ministry of Culture (2023), Hyundae Munhak Literary Award (2020), and the Gosan New Writer Award (2019), Yoo lives in Seoul where he runs the poetry bookshop and project space Wit N Cynical.

Lee Jenny is a South Korean poet and writer, born in Busan in 1972. In 2008, she made her literary debut with the poem “Peru” which won the Kyunghyang Daily News New Writer’s Award. She has since published four poetry collections: Maybe Africa (2010), As We Don’t Know Us (2014), The Things That Were Thus Scribbled (2019), The Sentences That Aren’t Even There are Beautiful (2019), Eternity Looks Back at the Future (2026), and an essay collection Dawn and Music (2024). She was the recipient of the Kim Hyun Literary Prize in 2016 and the Hyundae Munhak Award in 2022.

Oh Eun was born in Jeongeup, Jeollabuk-do in 1982. He graduated from the Department of Sociology at Seoul National University and received a master’s degree from the Graduate School of Culture Technology at KAIST. He began his poetic career in the pages of Modern Poetry in 2002. His work includes the poetry collections The Pigs at Hotel Tassel, We Love Ambience, Something from Something, The Left Hand’s Feelings are Hurt, I Had a Name, The Pronoun for Nothingness, the young adult poetry collection Matters of the Heart, and the essay collections You, I, and Yellow, Patting, Wearing Green, Why Not, People Who Only Become Kin at Night. He has won the Park In-hwan Literary Award, Gu Sang Poetry Award, Modern Poetry Award, Poet’s Notebook Award and Daesan Literary Award. He belongs to the poetry collective Jangnan(作亂).

Shin Hae-uk was born in Chuncheon in 1974. Shin’s major works include the poetry collections Precise Arrangement, Biologicity, syzygy, Caecilians, and Natural History from the Edge of the Natural; the novel The Dream Reader Electrical Shop; and the essay collections Book for Just One and Looking out the Window. Her honors include the Kim Hyun Literature Award, the Shin Tong-mun Literature Prize and the Daesan Literature Award.

Stine An is a poet, literary translator, and performer in New York City. She holds a BA in Literature from Harvard College and an MFA in Literary Arts from Brown University and is the recipient of fellowships and grants from The Poetry Project, the PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant, Yaddo, ALTA, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Her publications include Today’s Morning Vocabulary (Zephyr Press, 2025) and Winter Night Rabbit Worries (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2026) by Yoo Heekyung, and S_MMER CR_SH (Sarabande Books, 2025). Their debut poetry collection, B-Dragon Suite, is a winner of the 2023 Nightboat Poetry Prize.

Archana Madhavan translates Korean poetry and prose into English. Her past book-length works include Kim Hyun’s Glory Hole (co-translation, 2022) and Amil’s Roadkill (2025). Her translation of Lee Jenny’s first book of poetry Pirowa Padowa was shortlisted for the Granum Translation Prize in 2023 and won the Malinda A. Markham Translation Prize in 2024. She lives in San Jose, California.


Author Talks:
Bo-young Kim

“Her fiction is a breath-taking piece of cinematic art itself. Reminiscent of the world we experienced in Matrix, Inception, and Dark City, still it leads us to this entirely original structure, which is a ground-breaking, mystic literary and cinematic experience. Indeed, powerful and graceful.”—Bong Joon-ho, Oscar-winning director of Parasite

In her mind-expanding work of speculative fiction, Bo-young Kim explores the driving forces of humanity—love, hope, creation, destruction, and the very meaning of existence. Straddling science fiction, fantasy and myth, her strikingly original, thought-provoking work teems with human and non-human beings, all of whom are striving to survive through evolution, whether biologically, technologically or socially. Kim’s literature of ideas offers some of the most rigorous and surprisingly poignant reflections on posthuman existence being written today.

An award-winning author widely recognized as a pioneer and inspiration in Korean literature, Bo-young Kim discusses her career in this episode of Author Talks.

 


About the Author:

Bo-Young Kim is a Korean speculative-fiction writer. Her debut work, a novella titled The Experience of Touch, unanimously won the award for the best novella at the Korean Science & Technology Creative Writing Awards in 2004. In 2010 she published a two-volume collection of short stories, The Story Goes That Far and An Evolutionary Myth. 2013 saw the publication of her first novel, The Seven Executioners, which won the South Korean SF Award. Her international recognition grew with On the Origin of Species and Other Stories, translated by Sora Kim-Russell and Joungmin Lee Comfort, which was longlisted for the 2021 National Book Award for Translated Literature. Before her career as an author, she worked as a screenwriter, game developer, and graphic designer; she has also worked as a script advisor for Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer.


Korean Messiah

Program Brief

Korean Messiah

In the launch event for Korean Messiah, Wall Street Journal China Bureau Chief Jonathan Cheng challenged conventional thinking around North Korea and described the surprising, enduring influence of American Presbyterian Christianity on Kim Il Sung’s cult of personality.

This program was hosted in collaboration with The Center for Korean Research at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University.

Key Takeaways

1. Pyongyang’s Religious History as the “Jerusalem of the East”

Cheng revealed that before Pyongyang became the capital of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), it was the epicenter of Christian missionary activity in Asia. Kim Il Sung was born and raised in a deeply religious environment, even serving as a Sunday school teacher and an organist in the church.

2. Kim Il Sung Utilized Elements of His Religious Upbringing to Build His Personality Cult

Cheng argued that although Kim Il Sung eventually became hostile toward organized religion, he was fundamentally shaped by his childhood in the church. The regime effectively repurposed Christian mythology, supernatural narratives, and organizational structures—such as mass study halls—to establish a personality cult that portrays the Kim family as messianic, divine figures to whom the population must show absolute devotion.

3. Historical Insights into the North Korean Regime’s “Otherness”

Both Cheng and author Barbara Demick, who joined for the conversation, emphasized that North Korea is often viewed as a hermetically sealed, incomprehensible “other.” However, by examining the historical roots—including the influence of American missionaries and the movement of people in Manchuria—the book demonstrates that the North Korean state is not a vacuum. It is a product of its history and global influences, highlighting the importance of understanding these origins to grasp the reality of life for the 25 million people living there today.

This program is co-hosted by The Center for Korean Research at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University.


About the Speakers:

Photo credit: Gilles Sabrie
Jonathan Cheng is the China bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, and was previously the Korea bureau chief, running coverage of the Korean peninsula, including politics and society in both North and South Korea. A native of Toronto, he lives in Beijing. He has traveled to North Korea twice.
Barbara Demick is author of Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea and Logavina Street: Life and Death in a Sarajevo Neighborhood and the recently released Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town, published by Random House in July 2020. She was bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times in Beijing and Seoul, and previously reported from the Middle East and Balkans for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Honoring Jensen Huang, Founder & CEO of NVIDIA COPY

Dr. Abraham Kim, President & CEO

Dr. Abraham Kim, Ph.D. is the President & CEO of The Korea Society, where he leads the organization’s efforts to strengthen ties between the United States and Korea through policy dialogue, business engagement, and cultural exchange.

Dr. Kim brings more than 25 years of experience in public policy, national security, and nonprofit leadership, with a career focused on U.S.–Korea relations and Northeast Asia. He has worked closely with senior government officials, business leaders, and international organizations, providing analysis and guidance on geopolitical and economic issues related to the Korean Peninsula.

Prior to joining The Korea Society, Dr. Kim served as Executive Director & President of the Council of Korean Americans (CKA), where he expanded the organization’s national footprint and strengthened its role in policy engagement and leadership development. He previously served as Executive Director of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center at the University of Montana and as Interim President and Vice President of the Korea Economic Institute of America, where he supported public diplomacy initiatives and educational programs focused on the U.S.–Korea alliance.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Kim worked as a policy and risk analyst at Eurasia Group, CSIS, and SAIC, focusing on political risk, crisis simulations, and regional security issues in Northeast Asia. He holds a Ph.D. and M.Phil. in Political Science from Columbia University, an M.A. from Harvard University, and a B.A. from Boston University.

Yurim Oh, Education Program Officer

Yurim Oh is The Korea Society’s Education Program Officer and serves as the coordinator of the Society’s Korean Language Program (KLP). Yurim is responsible for supporting the development, management, and promotion of KLP. She focuses on marketing and outreach to expand the program’s reach while also contributing to curriculum development. Prior to joining The Korea Society in 2025, Yurim worked as a program director and instructor at Semonemo.US. She is currently a candidate for a Master of Science degree in Curriculum Development and Instructional Technology at the University at Albany. Yurim also holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Seoul.