East Goes West: Younghill Kang, His Life and Works

Drawing by Karl Stevens for the New York Review of Books

What if the finest, funniest, craziest, sanest, most cheerfully depressing Korean-American novel was also one of the first? – Ed Park

Join Alexander Chee and Ed Park in their conversation on Younghill Kang, the first Korean-American novelist and a pioneer of Asian American literature. As they discuss the life and career of Kang and his novel East Goes West, the two eminent writers reflect on the emergence of Korean American literature in the 20th century and Kang’s legacy.

Central to it are the lives of the other Koreans….living in America, all waiting for their full humanity— and their intellectual and artistic gifts — to be recognized. – Alexander Chee

 

Due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), this program will be conducted virtually. This live session will be provided free of charge at the specified date and time. A limited number of viewing links will be provided to the people who sign up through the form below. Those unable to view the live session will have the opportunity to watch the recorded video or listen to the podcast soon after.

To order East Goes West, please visit:
 https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/606933/east-goes-west-by-younghill-kang-foreword-by-alexander-chee-afterword-and-notes-by-sunyoung-lee/

East Goes West: Younghill Kang, His Life and Works
with Alexander Chee and Ed Park

Thursday, September 17, 2020 | 6 PM

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

 

 


ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

Alexander Chee is the bestselling author of the novels The Queen of the Night and Edinburgh and the essay collection How to Write an Autobiographical Novel. The winner of a Whiting Award, he is an associate professor of English and creative writing at Dartmouth College.

Ed Park is the author of the novel Personal Days and the founding editor of The Believer. He has been a newspaper, magazine, and book editor, and his writings have appeared in the New York Times and the New York Review of Books.

 


 

Global Financial Leaders Forum 2020

The Maekyung Media Group, The Korea Society, and Korea Finance Society are co-hosting the Global Financial Leaders Forum 2020 on September 16th. This year, the Global Financial Forum will be a part of The World Knowledge Forum, a renowned platform where global opinion leaders gather and seek how to reduce knowledge gaps and promote balanced economic growth and prosperity. The event will be held as an online-offline hybrid format for the first time in accordance with the safety regulations and health concerns regarding COVID-19.

Through our annual Global Financial Leaders Forum, we strengthen the network among Korean financial leaders and Wall Street specialists with Korean financial leaders working in New York and Seoul. With the theme “Investment Strategy in COVID-19 Era,” we will further a discussion on the management of fiscal challenges and investment outlook in the current market volatility we are experiencing with the COVID-19 outbreak. The forum is invitation-only, and the participants will get a dedicated viewing link closer to the event.

 

Global Financial Leaders Forum
Investment Strategy in COVID-19 Era

The Hotel Shilla, Seoul Korea
– Hybrid format event –

Invitation Only
September 16, 2020 | 7:30 PM EDT (September 17, 2020 | 8:30 AM KST)

 


SPEAKERS:

 

Moderator:

Sunghwan Shin, Dean of School of Business, Hongik University
Sunghwan Shin is currently a professor of finance and the dean of Hongik school of business, Hongik University. For three years from 2015, Dr. Shin was the president of Korea Institute of Finance (KIF), a leading think tank in Korea focusing on micro and macro financial policies. Before the KIF, Dr. Shin has been a faculty member at Hongik University except for the three year period from 1998 when he left for the World Bank to work as a risk manager and senior financial officer. Dr. Shin’s major extracurricular activities and social services include the president of the Korea Money and Finance Association and the Korea Pension Association.

Dr. Shin was a steering committee member of the KIC and is currently leading the public fund evaluation board of the government. Dr. Shin is currently a non-executive board member of Hanjin Kal Corporation and Truston Asset Management. Dr. Shin received a BA in economics from the Seoul National University in 1985 and a PhD in finance from the Sloan School of Management at MIT in 1993.

Presentation:

Jim Barry, CIO, BlackRock Alternative Investors and Global Head of Blacklock Real Assets
Jim Barry, Managing Director, is the Chief Investment Officer of BlackRock Alternatives Investors (BAI) and Global Head of BlackRock Real Assets. BAI manages over $175 billion in total assets and client commitments with a team of over 900. As CIO, Mr. Barry is responsible for providing leadership to the alternatives investment teams in all regions across the Real Estate, Infrastructure, Hedge Funds, Private Equity and Credit businesses.

BlackRock Real Assets comprises BlackRock’s Infrastructure and Real Estate businesses, which have c. 400 professionals across 27 cities globally, and manage c. $50 billion in equity and debt assets and investor commitments. He is responsible for determining the overall strategic direction of the Real Assets platform, implementing the platform’s investment strategies and leading platform growth initiatives. Mr. Barry founded BlackRock’s Infrastructure business in 2011 upon joining the firm. In 2016, he took responsibility for BlackRock’s Global Real Estate Investment business by integrating both Infrastructure and Real Estate to create one cohesive, scalable Real Asset operating platform with a range of client orientated strategies defined by their risk positioning. Under his leadership this business has grown from $34 billion to c. $50 billion in assets.

Prior to joining BlackRock, Mr. Barry spent 11 years as the CEO of NTR plc, where he led the transformation of NTR from its origins as an Irish toll road developer into a leading international developer, owner and operator of a portfolio of diverse infrastructure businesses. Prior to joining NTR, Mr. Barry worked at Bain and Company and in the investment banking division of Morgan Stanley. Mr. Barry earned a BComm from University College Cork in 1989 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1994.

Panels:

Anushka Sunder, Managing Director, Blackstone Private Equity Group
Anushka Sunder is a Managing Director in the Private Equity Group. Ms. Sunder focuses primarily on Blackstone’s private equity investments in healthcare and technology. Since joining Blackstone in 2013, Ms. Sunder has been involved in the execution of Blackstone’s investments in Blue Yonder, the Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD), HealthEdge, InComm, NCR, Optiv, Outerstuff, and TeamHealth and serves on the Board of Directors of Blue Yonder, CARD, HealthEdge, Optiv, and TeamHealth. She is a member of the Investment Committee of Blackstone’s Impact Investing fund, co-chair of the Blackstone Women’s Initiative task force, and on the Blackstone Charitable Foundation Leadership Council.

Before joining Blackstone, Ms. Sunder was an associate at TPG Capital and an analyst at Goldman Sachs in the Financial Institutions Group. Ms. Sunder received an AB in Economics from Harvard College, where she graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute scholar at the National Institutes of Health and co-authored a paper in the Journal of Neuroscience. She is also a member of the Corporate Leaders Program at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Jae S. Yoon, CIO, New York Life Investment Management
Jae Yoon is the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of New York Life Investment Management (NYLIM). He serves as the Chair of the Investment Governance Committee, responsible for the oversight of the investment performance of the strategies managed by NYLIM’s boutiques and affiliate portfolio teams. Additionally, Mr. Yoon leads the Strategic Asset Allocation & Solutions (SAS) team which manages third-party multi asset strategies and economic analysis for New York Life.

Previously, he was responsible for investment risk and strategy efforts at NYLIM’s investment affiliate MacKay Shields. Prior to joining NYLIM, Mr. Yoon was Head of Quantitative Research, Analytics, and Risk Management globally at Western Asset Management. Previously, he was with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers where he served as the Head of Risk and Performance for the Pacific and European Regions in Tokyo and London, respectively. Mr. Yoon also worked at JP Morgan Securities in Asia as regional head of Risk Management Control for Fixed Income and Equity Derivative Trading.

Dong Hun Jang, CIO, Public Officials Benefit Association (POBA)
Mr. Jang joined the firm in November 2015 as a Chief Investment Officer of POBA. As the CIO, he has senior management oversight of the firm’s investments totaling around US $13 bil. and leads the firm’s strategic expansion in overseas investment areas, reflecting the growing importance of asset size and portfolio diversification. He is responsible for portfolio investments including equity, fixed income, and alternatives. Previously, Mr. Jang was the Assistant Director in the Financial Supervisory Services (FSS) of Korea.

With 30 years of experience in the Korean investment industry including managing equity and PEF portfolios for the National Pension Service, he is an all-rounded investment executive, who has worked across multiple functions including the CEO of AllianceBernstein Asset Management (Korea) and across private and government sectors. He is a member of investment advisory committees for Government Employees Pension Service, Police Mutual Aid, Mutual Aid for Small Enterprises & Enterprisers, National Housing Fund, Scientists & Engineers Mutual Aid, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power. Mr. Jang earned an MBA from University of Iowa and a Ph.D. from Dongguk University.


Prospects for Diplomacy with North Korea

Join us for a discussion on challenges and opportunities for continued nuclear negotiations with North Korea, featuring Markus Garlauskas, former U.S. National Intelligence Officer for North Korea, Soo Kim, RAND, and Ankit Panda, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. What are the chances that North Korea denuclearizes and what can the U.S. and South Korea do to increase those chances? Should an interim deal with snapback measures be considered good progress, or should a comprehensive deal be pursued?

This program is supported by a grant from the UniKorea Foundation.

 

 

Prospects for Diplomacy with North Korea
with
Markus Garlauskas, Soo Kim and Ankit Panda  

Wednessday, September 16, 2020 | 12 PM

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

 

 


ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

Markus Garlauskas is a nonresident senior fellow with the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security’s Asia Security Initiative. He is an independent author and consultant, specializing in Northeast Asian security issues and strategic analysis.Garlauskas served in the US government for nearly twenty years. He was appointed to the Senior National Intelligence Service as the National Intelligence Officer (NIO) for North Korea on the National Intelligence Council from July 2014 to June 2020. As NIO, he led the US intelligence community’s strategic analysis on North Korea issues and expanded analytic outreach to non-government experts.

Soo Kim is a policy analyst at the RAND Corporation and adjunct instructor at American University. At RAND, her research covers a broad range of defense and foreign policy issues for the Department of Defense, including North Korea’s nuclear strategy and conventional military threat, Russia’s foreign policy, US-China competition, and security cooperation. She began her career as a North Korea analyst in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), where she specialized in decision-making and regime propaganda.

Ankit Panda is the Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. An expert on the Asia-Pacific region, his research interests range from nuclear strategy, arms control, missile defense, nonproliferation, emerging technologies, and U.S. extended deterrence. He is the author of Kim Jong Un and the Bomb: Survival and Deterrence in North Korea (Hurst Publishers/Oxford University Press, 2020).


US-Korea Relations: Defining the Alliance Anew

USC Professor and Korean Studies Institute Director David Kang joined Senior Director Stephen Noerper to discuss progress and challenges in Korea-US relations. They weighed the fallout from the host nation support talks, shifts in joint military exercises, and priorities in US-ROK relations, with an eye toward invigorating the alliance seventy years since the start of the Korean War.

Due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), this program will now be conducted virtually. This live session will be provided free of charge at the specified date and time. A limited number of viewing links will be provided to the first people to sign up through the form below. Those unable to view the live session will have the opportunity to watch the recorded video or listen to the podcast soon after.

With the kind participation of the Center for Korean Research.

 

 

US-Korea Relations: Defining the Alliance Anew
with
David Kang

Thursday, September 10, 2020 | 12 PM

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

 


ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

David C. Kang is Maria Crutcher Professor in International Relations, Business and East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California, with appointments in both the School of International Relations and the Marshall School of Business. At USC he is also director of the Korean Studies Institute. Kang’s latest book is American Grand Strategy and East Asian Security in the 21st Century (Cambridge University Press, 2017). He is also author of East Asia Before the West: Five Centuries of Trade and Tribute (Columbia University Press, 2010); China Rising: Peace, Power, and Order in East Asia (Columbia University Press, 2007); Crony Capitalism: Corruption and Development in South Korea and the Philippines (Cambridge University Press, 2002); and Nuclear North Korea: A Debate on Engagement Strategies, co-authored with Victor Cha (Columbia University Press, 2003). He received an A.B. with honors from Stanford University and his Ph.D. from Berkeley.


 

Soonchoel Byun Eternal Family

@Byun Soonchoel. Courtesy of the artist and ARARIO GALLERY

September 8 – February 26, 2021|

Exhibition extended through February 26, 2021

The Korea Society presents Soonchoel Byun: Eternal Family, his first solo exhibition in New York in two decades. In his Eternal Family series, Byun imagines and digitally creates a reunion between family members separated by the Korean War. Created with utmost sensitivity and respect for the personal and historical tragedy, Byun’s art is a poignant reminder of the devastating consequences of the war that still remains today.

Soonchoel Byun (b. 1969) studied at the School of Visual Art in New York, and he has exhibited widely since then. Known for his vivid portraits of people from diverse backgrounds, Byun presents a candid yet sincere depiction of contemporary Korean life as it evolves with time.

The Korea Society Gallery will be closed December 12, 2020 – January 3, 2021.

Due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), our gallery is open only by appointment. The appointment must be made at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled visit. To make an appointment, please contact info@koreasociety.org. All visitors will be required to wear a mask as well as complete the safety questionnaire upon arrival.

 

Soonchoel Byun
Eternal Family

September 8 – February 26, 2021


@ 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.

 

 


New Narratives in Korea: Drawings for My Grandchildren

Image Credit: Instagram @drawings_for_my_grandchildren

In this interview series, we take a dive into contemporary culture in South Korea.

Grandpa Chan and Grandma Marina are influencers on Instagram, perhaps unlike anyone else you see on that platform, maybe just because of their age. Their Instagram account Drawings for My Grandchildren started in 2015, for which Grandpa Chan draws and Grandma Marina writes stories of their lives for their grandchildren. After 1100 posts and almost 400,000 followers, Grandpa Chan and Grandma Marina have been claimed by their followers all around the world as their own grandparents.

In this episode, Grandpa Chan and Grandma Marina share their adventures and success on social media, and how they stay connected and communicate with the younger generation.

 

New Narratives in Korea: Drawings for My Grandchildren
PREMIERES: Monday, August 31, 2020

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

 

 


ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

Chan Jae Lee and Kyung Ja Ahn are known as Grandpa Chan and Grandma Marina to their almost 400,000 followers on Instagram and over 500,000 followers on TikTok. They are the winners of two 2019 Webby Awards in the Art and Culture category, winning both the main award and the People’s Voice award, which is voted by the public. After living in São Paulo, Brazil, for over three decades, they now live outside of Seoul, South Korea.

 


 

BTS: Blood, Sweat & Tears with Tamar Herman

America’s leading authority on BTS, K-Pop, and East Asian entertainment, Tamar Herman returns to the Korea Society with her book BTS: Blood, Sweat & Tears.

BTS has conquered Western music charts and social media on their way to being the biggest band in the world. With record-breaking firsts and three Billboard No. 1 albums within a year, their music and messaging has gone on to transcend the limitations of language, geography, and genre.

Going behind-the-scenes of today’s biggest pop band and focusing on the members, the music and the fans, Tamar Herman brings the extraordinary story of BTS to life.

Due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), this program will be conducted virtually. This live session will be provided free of charge at the specified date and time. A limited number of viewing links will be provided to the people who sign up through the form below. Those unable to view the live session will have the opportunity to watch the recorded video or listen to the podcast soon after.

 

To buy BTS: Blood, Sweat & Tears, please visit:
 https://www.viz.com/read/book/blood-sweat-tears-bts-their-music/product/6380

BTS: Blood, Sweat & Tears
with Tamar Herman

Wednesday, August 12, 2020 | 6 PM

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

 

 


About the Speaker:

Tamar Herman is a New York City-based journalist specializing in international music and media with a focus on the Asian pop culture market and its trends. In addition to her role as pop correspondent at Billboard, she has written for outlets including NBC News, Forbes, and Entertainment Weekly, and appears in the “K-Pop” episode of Vox’s Explained docu series on Netflix. She serves as the managing editor of K-Pop blot KultScene and is a co-host of the Nice Jewish Fangirls podcast.


 

29TH ANNUAL VAN FLEET MEMORIAL GOLF TOURNAMENT

The Korea Society’s 29th Annual Van Fleet Memorial Golf Tournament was held on August 11 at Wykagyl Country Club. Many supporters of the US-Korea relationship who have contributed greatly to the mission of the Korea Society got together and enjoyed a perfect mid-summer day and evening at the beautiful Wykagyl Country Club.

Mr. Jerry Lee of MUFG Securities received the Medalist Low Gross Van Fleet Memorial Award.

 

TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2020

 Wykagyl Country Club
1195 North Avenue
New Rochelle, NY 10804
Click for map

 

Brochure | Registration

CLOSED FOR NEW REGISTRATIONS

 Contact Kloe Byun for any inquiries or to register.

* In compliance with measures to limit the spread of COVID-19, Wykagyl Country Club has lowered its maximum capacity. Please register today to secure your spot.


 

Schedule of EventsTOURNAMENT COMMITTEESPONSOR LEVELS & FEESSPONSORS

 

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

  11:30 AM   Registration
Lunch
  1:00 PM   Shotgun Tee Off
  6:00 PM   Cocktail Reception
  7:00 PM   Dinner
Awards Ceremony & Silent Auction
 

 


 

TOURNAMENT CO-CHAIRS
(in formation as of July 7, 2020)

Gene Yoon
Chairman 
FILA & Acushnet Company

 

Michael Woods
CEO & COO
Big Sun Holdings Group
Black Buffalo 3D Corporation
Flash Labs Corporation

TOURNAMENT COMMITTEE

Young H.T. Cho
President
Donghwa Cultural Foundation and SWPK Art Gallery

 


SPONSOR LEVELS & FEES

GOLD SPONSOR: $20,000
• Two foursomes (8 golfers)
• Two additional invitations to the cocktail reception and dinner
• Full-page ad in the tournament program
• Recognition from the podium during the dinner ceremony
• Two tee signs of company logo placed at the agreed upon tee box
• Company logo recognition on the event display board, website, tournament program and other print publications

SILVER SPONSOR: $10,000
• One foursome (4 golfers)
• Full-page ad in the tournament program
• Recognition from the podium during the dinner ceremony
• One tee sign of company logo placed at the agreed upon tee box
• Company logo recognition on the event display board, website, tournament program and other print publications

BRONZE SPONSOR: $8,000
• One foursome (4 golfers)
• Half-page ad in the tournament program
• Recognition from the podium during the dinner ceremony
• Company logo recognition on the event display board, website, tournament program and other print publications

GOLF CART SPONSOR: $6,000
• Two golfers
• Company logo placed inside every player’s cart

CADDIE SPONSOR: $5,000
• Two golfers
• Company logo placed on caddie bibs

TEE BOX SPONSOR: $1,000 per Tee

TOURNAMENT FEES
FOURSOME: $2,800 for Four Golfers
TWOSOME: $1,600 for Two Golfers
SINGLE: $900 per Golfer

• Green fees and complimentary range balls
• Caddie fees
• Use of locker room facilities
• Brunch
• Beverages on the course
• Cocktail reception after golf
• Dinner – awards ceremony & silent auction

COCKTAIL RECEPTION & DINNER-ONLY GUEST: $350 per Person


 Contact Kloe Byun for any inquiries or to register.

 

The Korean War at 70: Annual Armistice Day Salute

The Korea Society honors the service and sacrifice of veterans on the anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, signed on July 27, 1953. This live, virtual ceremony combines historic video with remarks from Korea Society President Tom Byrne, the Korean Consul General to New York, Ambassador Won-sam Chang, Korean War Veterans Area Commander Salvatore Scarlato, and Korean War Veteran and retired US Congressman Charles Rangel. Scarlato and Rangel will receive the James A. Van Fleet award on behalf of American veterans who served during the Korean War at the Korea Society upcoming annual gala.

The Korean War at 70
Annual Armistice Day Salute

Monday, July 27, 2020 | 12 PM

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

 

 


Side by Side: Streaming and A Director’s Talk

Side by Side: Out of a South Korean Orphanage and Into the World weaves the stories of nine inter-country adoptees—selected out of 100 original interviews— as they recall their families of origin, their relinquishment to orphanages, and their adoptions and lives abroad. Starkly minimalist, Side by Side is composed entirely of intensely intimate, first-person narratives, filmed in Seattle, Chicago, Boston, New York City, Paris, Stockholm, Amsterdam, and Melbourne.

This extraordinary documentary will be available for free streaming for three days, July 18-20.

Co-director and Producer Glenn Morey will join the Korea Society for a director’s talk on July 20.

Due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), this program will be conducted virtually. Streaming and live webcast will be provided free of charge at the specified date and time. A limited number of viewing links will be provided to the people who sign up through the form below. Those unable to view the live session will have the opportunity to watch the recorded video or listen to the podcast soon after.

 

Sign up here to receive the viewing link

 

Side by Side: Streaming and A Director’s Talk

Monday, July 20, 2020 | 6 PM

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

 

 


About the Speaker:

Glenn Morey has worked in film since 1981 as a writer, creative director, commercial and documentary filmmaker, including as an Executive Producer for the Mustapha Khan documentary film, House on Fire: Black America Responds to AIDS, featuring Julian Bond, Rep. Maxine Waters, Kweisi Mfume, Maya Angelou, and many other African-American leaders; awarded Best Documentary for the Houston International Film Festival, broadcast on PBS and selected for a number of international film festivals. As the CEO of the Morey Group of branding, advertising, and online publishing companies, he is the recipient of hundreds of creative advertising awards, as well as recognition by Adweek and Advertising Age magazines. Glenn’s personal story as an inter-country adoptee from South Korea, was the initial motivating and creative force behind Side by Side.