The Impact of the U.S. Midterms and the U.S.-Korea Alliance

Join The Korea Society and Former Members of Congress (FMC) & the Congressional Study Groups for a dialogue with a bipartisan pair of Former Members of Congress to hear insights on the consequences of America’s midterm elections on the country at large and its dynamic relationship with South Korea. This conversation features former Representative Russ Carnahan (D-MO, 2005-2013) and former Representative Ted Yoho (R-FL, 2013-2021), and is moderated by Korea Society President and CEO Thomas Byrne. The roundtable dialogue features input from policy and corporate professionals and is released as a pre-recorded video and podcast.

 

The Impact of the U.S. Midterms and the U.S.-Korea Alliance
2022 Korea Society Van Fleet Policy Signature Event – In Partnership with FMC

Dialogue and Pre-Recorded Video Release

Thursday, December 8, 2022 | 11 AM (EST)

The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017

 

 


ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

 

Russ Carnahan (D-MO, 2005 – 2013)

A former Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Russ Carnahan most recently was an early prominent leader for the 2020 Biden campaign where he served as an outside adviser. From 2005-2013, Carnahan represented Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District. He served in several leadership roles, including as Senior Democratic Whip from 2009-13 and Co-Chair of the bipartisan Center Aisle Caucus focused on common sense solutions for both political parties. Carnahan was selected as Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations and received a Presidential Appointment from the Obama/Biden Administration as Congressional Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly. He also served on the U.S. House of Representatives committees for: Transportation & Infrastructure; Science & Technology; and Veterans Affairs. Carnahan began his career in public service when he was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 2000. He was Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and Deputy Majority Whip. He earned several awards for his legislative work, including from the St. Louis Regional Commerce and Growth Association, the St. Louis Business Journal and the Missouri Bar Association. Carnahan also served as Director of Government Relations for BJC HealthCare, one of the largest hospital systems in the country. After leaving Congress, Carnahan was a partner with Carnahan Global Consulting in Washington, D.C., and St. Louis, MO., specializing in international business, legal and governmental consulting. His work particularly focused on issues of renewable energy, sustainable building technology, historic preservation, transportation infrastructure and transition to commercial electric vehicles

 

 

Ted Yoho (R-FL, 2013 – 2021)

Congressman Ted Yoho is a Senior Advisor to KHG, after serving in the House of Representatives for eight years, representing the 3rd Congressional District of Florida. Ted first entered Congress in 2013 as a member of the 113th Congress. He has served on the Agriculture and Foreign Affairs Committee during his time in congress. In the 115th Congress Ted became the chairman of the Asia-Pacific Sub-Committee. Ted and his Team led the passage of the BUILD Act in 2018 with strong bi-partisan support. The BUILD Act authorized the creation of the United States International Development Finance Corporation (U.S. IDFC). The U.S. IDFC, commonly referred to as DFC, is the largest reform to foreign aid in decades. It is a tool to modernize foreign aid and facilitate countries to move from, “Aid to Trade.” Congressman Yoho was honored with several distinguished awards during his tenure in Congress, including the Golden Plow Award presented by the American Federation of Farm Bureaus. This is the highest award given to a sitting member in the U.S. House of Representatives or Senate. Additionally, Ted is the only individual from Florida to ever receive this award. On December 8, 2020 Emperor Naruhito of Japan bestowed upon Congressman Yoho the distinguished “Order of the Rising Sun” and the Country of Mongolia presented on April 13, 2021 the coveted “Order of the Polar Star.” Previous American recipients of the Order of the Polar Star were President Obama, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and Senator John McCain. These two awards are equivalent to the Presidential Medal of Freedom. These were given to Congressman Yoho for his contributions in strengthening the relationships between the United States and these two countries.

 


Author Talks: Bora Chung

 Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize and the winner of a PEN/Heim Grant, Cursed Bunny  is the wildly original debut story collection from Bora Chung

“Whether borrowing from fable, folktale, speculative fiction, science fiction, or horror, Chung’s stories corkscrew toward devastating conclusions—bleak, yes, but also wise and honest about the nightmares of contemporary life.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize and the winner of a PEN/Heim Grant, Cursed Bunny is the wildly original debut story collection from Bora Chung, a rising star of Korean literature. Published in the US for the very first time and translated by the acclaimed Anton Hur, Chung’s stories are modern fables for the internet age, offering biting critiques on the patriarchy, capitalism, politics, and the reign of big tech. Blending elements of horror, fantasy, surrealism and sci-fi, Chung creates an absurd, chilling universe that illuminates the ills of contemporary society. 

Mirroring the simple style of the fairy tales and legends of storytellers like The Brothers Grimm and Hans Christen Anderson, the ten stories of Cursed Bunny are imaginative, thought-provoking and deeply unsettling, destined to haunt readers for weeks after reading. 

In this episode of Author Talks, Bora Chung discusses her career in Korea and her English debut.

“Cool, brilliantly demented K-horror—just the way I like it!” —Ed Park, author of Personal Days

“Disturbing, chilling, wrenching, and absolute genius. I wanted Chung to write a story about a reader getting a deep look inside her fantastic swirling mind. I had to take breaks and gulps of air before plunging back into each story. Magnetic, eerie, immensely important.“— Frances Cha, author of If I Had Your Face

 

 

Author Talks: Bora Chung

Tuesday, December 6, 2022 | 5 PM (EST)

 

 

The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017

 

 


About the Speaker:

Bora Chung has written three novels and three collections of short stories and translated modern literary works from Russian and Polish into Korean. After living in the US and studying at Yale University and Indiana University, she moved back to her home country of South Korea, where she taught literature and science fiction at Yonsei University.


Three Futures: North Korea and the Korean Peninsula

 

A discussion on the most likely scenarios for the future of the Korean Peninsula, featuring: Korea Risk Group CEO Chad O’Carroll, NK News Director and Professor at Kookmin University Andrei Lankov, NK News Lead Correspondent Jeongmin Kim, and NK News Senior Analytic Correspondent Colin Zwirko, in conversation with policy director Jonathan Corrado. Utilizing forecasts that rely on the trajectory of current conditions, the experts debate the best possible case, the worst possible case, and the most likely scenario. The experts also opine on how to avoid the most dangerous contingencies and create conditions for positive developments. Join us for this discussion informed by a rich tapestry of journalistic and academic inquiry.

 

Three Futures: North Korea and the Korean Peninsula

Tuesday, December 6, 2022 | 12 PM (EST)

 


The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017

 

 

 


About the Speakers:

 

Chad O’Carroll is the founder of NK News/NK Pro and related holding company Korea Risk Group. In addition to being the group’s CEO, O’Carroll is a frequent writer and commentator about the Koreas, having written about the two nations since 2010. He has visited the DPRK multiple times, worked and lived in Washington, D.C. with a focus on peninsula issues, and lived in the ROK since 2016.

 

Andrei Lankov is a Director at NK News and writes exclusively for the site as one of the world’s leading authorities on North Korea. He has been widely published in English, Russian, and Korean. A graduate of Leningrad State University, he attended Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung University from 1984-85. In addition to his writing, he is also a Professor at Kookmin University.

 

Jeongmin Kim is the Lead Correspondent at NK News, based in Seoul. Kim covers inter-Korean and DPRK-related foreign, defense and humanitarian affairs, and has covered the 2022 ROK Presidential election on the ground. Prior to joining NK News, she worked for the CSIS Korea Chair in Washington D.C. and Reuters news agency’s Seoul bureau. Follow her on Twitter @jeongminnkim

 

Colin Zwirko is a Senior Analytic Correspondent for NK News based in Seoul who focuses on a range of subjects including diplomatic affairs, DPRK infrastructure, and trade issues. Furthermore, he is a satellite imagery specialist and produces regular work in this area. Follow him on Twitter @ColinZwirko.

 


Sherman Family Korea Emerging Scholar Lecture 2022

 

Join us for the Sixth Annual Sherman Family Korea Emerging Scholar Lecture!   Eunbin Chung, Assistant Professor at the University of Utah and the 2022 Sherman Family Korea Scholar Lecture awardee, will address National Identity Affirmation and Trust in Korea, Japan, and China from a unique perspective. Legacies of conflict and distrust have made it difficult for East Asian countries to form regional institutions and overcome security dilemmas. Chung’s research questions two conventional wisdoms related to these regional dynamics: 1) that distrust among states can be overcome through cultural convergence and appealing to a shared identity (such as the “European” identity developed through the creation of the EU) and 2) that strong, inward-focused national identities exacerbate inter-state distrust and conflict. Chung asks, Is this true? Do distinct national identities really impede international trust?

Chung’s research advances the concept that trust not only can be built among nations when each affirms its own distinctive identity, but that this approach may be more effective than embracing common identities across different countries. Dr. Katrin Katz, the inaugural Sherman Family Lecture Award recipient and Van Fleet Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Society, describes Chung’s argument as “breaking new ground in tackling some prevailing beliefs regarding the relationship between national identity and levels of inter-state trust and conflict. Dr. Chung’s work entails a hopeful message for East Asia and beyond: that emphasizing the favorable and distinctive traits of one’s own country need not lead to antagonistic relations with neighbors.”

Come hear more about Chung’s fascinating research on advancing productive dialogue in the region. Aram Hur, Assistant Professor at the University of Missouri and our 2021 Sherman Family Lecture, awardee will introduce the lecture. 

The annual Sherman Family award and lecture, now in its sixth year, aims to grow U.S. thought leadership on Korea for a new generation. The award is presented across disciplines and to emerging thought leaders, from doctoral candidates to junior professors and respective research or non-profit professionals. The award is made possible through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Philip Sherman and family. You can view the presentations of former award winners here.

 

2022 Sherman Family Korea Emerging Scholar Lecture
National Identity Affirmation and Trust in Korea, Japan, and China.
Eunbin Chung

Monday, November 28, 2022 | 6 PM (EST)

Complimentary Admission is provided through the generous support of the Sherman Family.

 


The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017

 

 

 


About the Speaker and Moderator:

 

Dr. Eunbin Chung is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Utah. Dr. Chung’s research interests include international security, conflict resolution, and political psychology. Her book, “Pride, Not Prejudice: National Identity as a Pacifying Force in East Asia” (University of Michigan Press, 2022) is based on her Ph.D. dissertation, which was the recipient of the American Political Science Association (APSA) Best Dissertation in Experimental Methods, APSA Best Dissertation in Political Psychology, and the International Society of Political Psychology (ISPP) Best Dissertation Honorable Mention. Dr. Chung’s work has been published or accepted in the Journal of Peace Research, Journal of Experimental Political Science, Foreign Policy Analysis, World Development, and PLoS ONE, among others. Her research has been supported by the Japan Foundation, Academy of Korean Studies, and the European Union Chamber of Commerce in in Korea. Dr. Chung earned a Ph.D. from the Ohio State University, and an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

 

Dr. Aram Hur is the Korea Foundation Assistant Professor in Political Science at the University of Missouri, where she also serves as Co-Director for the Institute for Korean Studies. Previously, she was a Provost Postdoctoral Fellow at New York University and was selected as a 2018-19 U.S.-Korea NextGen Scholar by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the 2021 Sherman Emerging Scholar by The Korea Society. Dr. Hur’s research examines issues of nationalism and democracy in East Asia, with particular focus on identity change, integration, and democratic support in the Korean peninsula and Taiwan. Her work is published in leading academic journals and cited in media outlets such as The New York Times, Washington Post, and Foreign Policy. She is the author of Narratives of Civic Duty: How National Stories Shape Democracy in Asia (2022, Cornell University Press & Studies of the Columbia Weatherhead East Asian Institute). She holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University, M.P.P. from the Harvard Kennedy School, and B.A. from Stanford University.

 


You May Also Enjoy:

The Return of Industrial Policy: Lessons from Korea with Munseob Lee Korea’s Changing National Story and Democratic Future with Aram Hur Architecture as Kisul in Postwar Korea: Building the Industrial Nation-State: 2020 Sherman Family Korea Emerging Scholar Lecture with Melany Sun-Min Park P’ansori Mountain Pilgrimages: Land as Interlocutor in Contemporary Korean Oral Performance and Literature with Ivanna Sang Een Yi

Korea & FIFA World Cup

 

South Korea holds the proud distinction of being the first independent Asian country to participate in a FIFA World Cup tournament in 1954. Still, Korea’s success in soccer is forever linked with the 2002 World Cup: while co-hosting the tournament with Japan, Korea became the first team outside of Europe and America to reach the semi-finals. That event propelled Korea to the next stage in the world of soccer, as it became a home of world-class players, a robust professional soccer league, and the most dedicated fans.

On the eve of Korea’s eleventh total and tenth consecutive FIFA World Cup appearance in Qatar, join us for a conversation with Steve Han about the history of soccer in Korea.

 

Korea & FIFA World Cup

Tuesday, November 22, 2022 | 5 PM (EST)

 

 

The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017

 

 


About the Speaker:

Steve Han is a journalist specializing in sports and entertainment. He is currently a chief editor for Korea at soccer editorial agency Ganassa, writing for FIFA+, Manchester City, and Borussia Dortmund. In addition to a 14-year career as a football writer at Goal between 2008 and March 2022, he has also freelanced for various publications, including FourFourTwo and Sports Chosun, and has appeared on BBC World News and Sky Sports.


New Narratives in Korea: Baek Sehee

 

Part memoir, part self-help book, and completely engrossing, I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Sehee is a book that captures the edgy relationship many millennials and Gen Z-ers have with hopelessness, hunger, and the pressure to be perfect. A runaway bestseller in Korea where her readers include RM of BTS, I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki is newly translated into English by International Booker Prize shortlisted translator Anton Hur.

Baek Sehee is a successful young social media director at a publishing house when she begins seeing a psychiatrist about her — what to call it? — depression? She feels persistently low, anxious, self-doubting, but also judgmental of others. She hides her feelings at work and with her friends, but she’s constantly spiraling, overthinking, and worrying. The effort is exhausting and overwhelming and keeps her from forming deep relationships. This can’t be normal. Is this normal? But if she’s so hopeless, why is she always craving her favorite street food: the hot, spicy rice cake, tteokbokki? Is this just what life is like?

Recording her dialogues with her psychiatrist over a twelve-week period and expanding on each session with her own reflective micro-essays, Baek Sehee gives voice to mental health challenges that are still taboo, especially in Korean culture, openly disentangling the feedback loops, knee-jerk reactions, and harmful behaviors that keep her locked in a cycle of self-rejection. I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki is a powerful testament to acceptance with a youthful voice—a therapy memoir for the social media generation.

In this episode of New Narratives in Korea, Baek Sehee discusses her bestselling book, her success and the challenges of dealing with mental health.

 

New Narratives in Korea: Baek Sehee

Wednesday, November 9, 2022 | 5 PM (EST)

 

The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017

 

 


About the Speaker:

Born in 1990, Baek Sehee studied creative writing in college before working for five years at a publishing house. For ten years, she received psychiatric treatment for dysthymia (persistent mild depression), which became the subject of her essays, and then I Want to Die, but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki. Her favorite food is tteokbokki, and she lives with her rescue dog, Jaram.


Crossroads of Youth

During the silent film era in Korea, movie screenings were accompanied by live music and narrators called Byeonsa. This special screening of Crossroads of Youth invites you to encounter the film just as Korean audiences did in 1934. The Korean Film Archive and director Kim Tae-yong have reimagined the traditional Byeonsa theatrical event, bringing together the film, live musicians, actors, and narration for a dynamic multimedia experience.

Thursday November 3, 2022 | 7 PM

Gerald W Lynch Theater
524 W 59th St, New York, NY 10019

Saturday November 5, 2022 | 7 PM

University of Pittsburgh
Alumni Hall, 7th Floor

 

 


The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017

 

 

 


A Conversation with Kim Tae-yong

The Crossroads of Youth Byeonsa Performance US Tour will begin this November, bringing a byeonsa troupe from South Korea to the United States for a multi-city tour.

 

The Crossroads of Youth Byeonsa Performance US Tour will begin this November, bringing a byeonsa troupe from South Korea to the United States for a multi-city tour. The byeonsa troupe will present Crossroads of Youth – directed by Ahn Jong-hwa and released in 1934, Korea’s oldest surviving silent film. A screening of this film is presented with live storytelling, music, and acting in accompaniment. Reimagining and reconstructing the byeonsa culture, Korea’s unique film watching tradition from the Japanese occupation period, this event provides a full theater experience unlike any other.

This unique project was spearheaded by director Kim Tae-yong. A film director and screenwriter, Kim’s films include Memento Mori, Family Ties, and Late Autumn.

In this conversation, Kim discusses discovering and restoring the only surviving Korean silent film and the journey of bringing the old form of entertainment to contemporary audiences.

 

A Conversation with Kim Tae-yong

Wednesday, November 2, 2022 | 5 PM (EDT)

 

 


The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017

 

 

 


About the Speaker:

Kim Tae-yong is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. After his feature directorial debut Memento Mori (1999), he helmed the critically acclaimed Family Ties (2006), and the English-language remake Late Autumn (2010).


Artist Talk: Young Min Moon

In his paintings Young Min Moon depicts Jesa, a Confucian ritual for commemoration of the deceased, which was one of the earliest memories he holds while growing up in the military regime of South Korea in the 1970s and 80s. Despite the gender politics now associated with the ritual today due to its patriarchal nature, Moon insists on exploring the legacy. For him, the ritual holds multiple layers of meanings: an occasion of silence utterly severed from the violent era of his childhood, a means of remembering the deceased, and a tradition that may be discontinued in the age of globalization.

Moon’s paintings are also a way of honoring women’s labor for the patriarchal tradition, and an invitation to the celebration of familial ties that are largely inaccessible for diasporic Koreans. In his solo exhibition at The Korea Society, Moon also complicates his relation to the legacy of Jesa by situating it in relation to Catholicism that impacted the Confucian tradition in Korea.

Moon, whose solo exhibition The Share for Those Who Remain is on view at The Korea Society Gallery September 15-December 9, 2022, talks about his career and work.

 

Artist Talk: Young Min Moon

Tuesday, October 25, 2022 | 5 PM (EDT)
Video release

 


@ The Korea Society 
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor, NYC

Gallery hours: (M-F) 10 AM – 4:30 PM by appointment

**Pre-registration is now required for all Korea Society events, and an ID is required for security.**

For more information, please contact info@koreasociety.org or call (212) 759-7525.

 

 


ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Young Min Moon is an artist and critic whose work reflects his migration across cultures and his awareness of the hybrid nature of identities forged amid the complex historical and political relationships between Asia and North America. Moon has shown his art in many exhibitions in South Korea and North America, including Sansumunhwa, Art Space Pool, Kumho Museum of Art, Gyeonggi Museum of Art, Kukje Gallery, Smith College Museum of Art, and the Carpenter Center at Harvard University, among others. Moon published his essays on contemporary Korean art in a wide range of publications, including Contemporary Art in Asia: A Critical Reader (MIT), and a chapter in A Companion to Korean Art (Wiley). He serves on the editorial board for the online journal Trans Asia Photography. Moon is a professor at University of Massachusetts Amherst and a recipient of Guggenheim Fellowship and Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant.


Korean Peninsula Nuclear Update

Korean Peninsula Nuclear Update

 

Join us for a discussion on North Korea’s domestic and foreign policy trends and how they tie in with the latest developments of nuclear weapons and missiles on and around the Korean Peninsula. The discussion features Open Nuclear Network (ONN) Senior Analyst Rachel Minyoung Lee and Analysts Jaewoo Shin and Tianran Xu, and Lauren Sukin, Assistant Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, in conversation with Korea Society policy director Jonathan Corrado. Utilizing open source intelligence and satellite photos, as well as findings from academic inquiry, the experts unpack how new and developing weapons impact the security environment in Northeast Asia.

This program is produced in partnership with Columbia University’s APEC Study Center.

APEC

 

Korean Peninsula Nuclear Update
Hybrid Program

Tuesday, October 25, 2022 | 12 PM (EDT)

 


The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017

 

 

 


About the Speakers:

 
Rachel Minyoung Lee
 

Rachel Minyoung Lee is the Regional Issues Manager and Senior Analyst for Open Nuclear Network (ONN), a programme of One Earth Future. Rachel oversees the creation and development of ONN’s strategic network and works closely with the analytical team to identify strategies and products that can best meet the needs of partners and consumers. Rachel was a North Korea open source collection expert and analyst with the US government from 2000 to 2019. She researched and wrote on the full range of North Korean issues, from leadership, domestic politics and economy, and foreign policy to social and cultural developments, during some of the most momentous years in North Korea that included the transition of power from Kim Jong Il to Kim Jong Un. As Analysis Team Lead, Rachel managed the entire collection-to-analysis cycle, leading a team of analysts in the collection, curating and baselining of data and the analysis of North and South Korean issues with implications for Pyongyang’s regime stability and regional security. She formulated and oversaw the execution of short- to long-term collection and analysis strategies, and devised and delivered various training programs on collection, data tool utilization, and writing. Rachel is also a Nonresident Fellow with the Stimson Center’s 38 North Program, where she is conducting research on North Korea’s economic policy-making. Rachel grew up in San Jose, California. She earned her B.A. in English literature and her M.A. in international law, both at Korea University in Seoul.

 
 
Jaewoo Shin
 

Jaewoo Shin is an Analyst for Open Nuclear Network (ONN), a programme of One Earth Future, where he focuses on developments on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia, with particular attention to nuclear risk reduction and regional nuclear and missile programmes. Jaewoo uses open source data analytics and remote sensing techniques to understand relevant trends. Prior to joining ONN, he completed a graduate fellowship at the Nuclear Nonproliferation Education and Research Center at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon, South Korea. He also worked for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Korea Chair in Washington, DC, and for the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin, Germany. Jaewoo received his BA in International Affairs from the University of St. Gallen, his MA in International Security from Sciences Po Paris and his MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is also in the process of completing a Masters in Nuclear Safeguards from Politecnico di Milano. He speaks English, German, Korean and some French.

 
 
Lauren Sukin
 

Lauren Sukin is an Assistant Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She holds a Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science at Stanford University. Her research focuses on issues of international security, with particular interests in the role of nuclear weapons in international politics, security dynamics on the Korean Peninsula, cybersecurity and the ethics of emerging technology in warfare, and public opinion towards the use of force.

 
 
Tianran Xu
 

Tianran Xu is an Analyst for Open Nuclear Network (ONN), a programme of One Earth Future. He is an expert on open source analysis and military technology. Mr. Xu focuses on North East Asian security and offensive and defensive missile systems. Tianran uses photo mensuration to measure the size, range and capacity of missiles. He also analyzes photos, videos and satellite imagery to understand nuclear and missile programmes. With a background in media and journalism, Tianran is a regular contributor to Chinese and English open source and science publications. Prior to joining ONN, he worked as a journalist, editor and news assistant at both Chinese and foreign news organizations for 10 years in Beijing. He graduated from Xi’an International Studies University, China. Tianran is fluent in Chinese, English and German.