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Author: Yurim Oh

Ed Park: An Oral History of Atlantis with Mira Jacob

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Ed Park: An Oral History of Atlantis with Mira Jacob

 

A deadpan, wildly imaginative collection of stories that slices clean through the mundanity and absurdity of modern life, An Oral History of Atlantis is the newest collection of short stories from Ed Park, the author of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize–winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist Same Bed Different Dreams.

In this utterly original collection, characters question the fleetingness of youth and art, reckon with the consequences of the everyday, and find solace in the absurd, the beautiful, and the sublime. Throughout, Ed Park deploys his trademark wit to create a world both strikingly recognizable and delightfully other. All together, these fifteen stories have much to say about the meaning—and transitory nature—of our lives. And they are proof positive that Ed Park is one of the most insightful and imaginative writers working today.

In this conversation with Mira Jacob, presented in collaboration with Yu & Me Books, Ed Park discusses his latest book.

 

Ed Park: An Oral History of Atlantis with Mira Jacob

Thursday, September 4, 2025 | 6:30 PM (EDT)


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

 

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About the Speaker:

 

Ed Park is the author of the novels Personal Days and Same Bed Different Dreams. He is a founding editor of The Believer, and has worked in newspapers, book publishing, and academia. His writing appears in The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, Harper’s Magazine, The Atlantic, and elsewhere. Born in Buffalo, he lives in Manhattan with his family. 

 

About the Moderator:

 
 

Mira Jacob is a novelist, memoirist, illustrator, and cultural critic. Her graphic memoir Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations was shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award, longlisted for the PEN Open Book Award, and named a New York Times Notable Book. Her novel The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing was a Barnes & Noble Discover New Writers pick and named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews, the Boston Globe and Goodreads. She is a professor at The New School and a founding faculty member of the MFA in Writing at Randolph College.

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President Abraham Kim Visits Montana to Strengthen Connections

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The Korea Society President & CEO Abraham Kim recently traveled across Montana, meeting with state officials, academic leaders, business executives, and civic leaders to explore opportunities to deepen connections between the state, Korea, and Asia at large.

Dr. Kim also traveled to Missoula, Yellowstone National Park, the real-life location of “Dutton Ranch”, and other locations across the state. The trip held particular significance for Dr. Kim, who previously spent six years in Montana and has continued to return to the state annually since his departure.

Alongside a series of meetings, the visit offered opportunities to experience Montana’s natural, cultural, and scientific attractions, including dinosaur fossils, caves, rivers, hot springs, and wilderness.

Special thanks to Matt Olson of the Montana Chamber of Commerce, a longtime friend of President Kim, for organizing productive meetings, and to Andrew Stroup for joining President Kim throughout the journey.

The innovative and inspiring natural landscape of Montana revealed tremendous potential to build new bridges, strengthen relationships, and expand collaboration with Korea and Asia.

Rapid Reaction: The First Trump-Lee Summit

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Join us for a timely discussion on the highly anticipated first meeting between US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. Taking place after the agreement of a new trade framework on July 30, this meeting may address such diverse topics as: Korean investments into the US, Alliance cost sharing and modernization efforts, trilateral US-Korea-Japan collaboration, and coordination on North Korea. Expert panelists unpack summit expectations, outcomes, and implications. This discussion features Dr. Katrin Katz, The Korea Society’s inaugural Van Fleet Nonresident Senior Fellow, and Josh Smith, Korea Bureau Chief for Reuters News Agency, in conversation with Korea Society policy director Jonathan Corrado and program officer Chelsie Alexandre.

This program is made possible by the generous support of our individual and corporate members and the Korea Foundation.

 
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Rapid Reaction: The First Trump-Lee Summit

Tuesday, August 26, 2025 | 8 AM (EDT)

 

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About the Speaker:

 

Dr. Katrin Fraser Katz is The Korea Society’s inaugural Van Fleet Nonresident Senior Fellow. Dr. Katz is a former director for Japan, Korea, and oceanic affairs on the staff of the National Security Council, where she served from 2007 to 2008. She is also a Professor of Practice in the Department of Political Science and the Master of Arts in International Administration (MAIA) program at the University of Miami and an Adjunct Fellow (Non-resident) in the Office of the Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC. Previously, she was a special assistant to the assistant secretary for international organization affairs at the U.S. Department of State and an analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency. She was previously an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Columbia University and has also taught at Georgetown University. In 2017, Dr. Katz received the inaugural Sherman Family Korea Emerging Scholar Lecture Series award from The Korea Society. Dr. Katz’s research, which has been supported by grants from the Korea Foundation and the Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy, explores the interplay of cooperation and conflict in East Asia’s political, economic, and security dynamics. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from Northwestern University; a master’s degree in East Asian and international security studies from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, where she was awarded the John C. Perry Scholarship for East Asian Studies; and a bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, in international relations and Japanese from the University of Pennsylvania.

 
 
Josh Smith is the bureau chief for Reuters in Seoul. He has covered North and South Korea since 2017, including the tensions during the 2017 period, the Trump-Kim summits in 2018 and 2019, a reporting trip to Pyongyang, and South Korea’s recent martial law crisis. He previously covered politics and policy in Washington DC and lived for five years in Kabul where he covered the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
 

North Korea’s Evolving Cyber Strategy

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North Korea’s Evolving Cyber Strategy

Join us for a discussion on the rising scale and sophistication of North Korea’s cyber operations with Mitch Haszard, senior threat intelligence analyst at Recorded Future, and Scott Kardas, geopolitical threat intelligence analyst at Recorded Future. How does North Korea’s cyber activities fit into the Kim regime’s larger goals? How can the U.S., South Korea, and the broader international community respond to this threat? This program will follow the evolution and growing magnitude of the regime’s cyber operations and its attacks. The conversation will be moderated by policy program officer Chelsie Alexandre.
 
https://www.recordedfuture.com/research/north-koreas-cyber-strategy
https://www.recordedfuture.com/research/north-koreans-continue-to-use-foreign-technology
https://www.recordedfuture.com/research/inside-the-scam-north-koreas-it-worker-threat

The Korea Society thanks our corporate sponsors and individual members and the Korea Foundation for their generous support, which has made this program possible.

 
 
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North Korea’s Evolving Cyber Strategy

Wednesday, August 13, 2025 | 12 PM (EDT)


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

 

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About the Speakers:

 

Mitch Haszard is a Principal Threat Intelligence Analyst on the Strategic and Persistent Threats team at Recorded Future. The Strategic and Persistent Threats team focuses on tracking and researching state-sponsored cyber activity. Mitch holds an MS in Cybersecurity from New York University, an MA in International Studies from Yonsei University, and a BS in International Business from the University of Maryland, Global Campus.

 

 

 

Scott Kardas is a geopolitical threat intelligence analyst at Recorded Future. He first went to Korea to teach English in 2012. He got his Masters degree from Yonsei University Graduate School of International Studies in 2017. From 2018-2020, Scott worked as a civilian instructor at the Korea Military Academy (육군사관학교). Since 2021, Scott has worked as an analyst focusing on the geopolitics of Northeast Asia.

 

Author Talks: Cheon Seon-Ran

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Author Talks: Cheon Seon-Ran

SICA

A bestseller in Korea, The Midnight Shift by Cheon Seon-Ran is a biting, fast-paced vampire murder mystery exploring queer love and the consequences of loneliness.

When four isolated elderly people die back-to-back at the same hospital by jumping out of the sixth-floor window, Su-Yeon doesn’t understand why she’s the only one at her precinct that seems to care. But her colleagues at the police force dismiss the case as a series of unfortunate suicides due to the patients’ loneliness. But Su-Yeon doesn’t have the privilege of looking away: her dearest friend, Grandma Eun-Shim, lives on the sixth floor, and Su-Yeon is terrified that something will happen to her next.

As Su-Yeon begins her investigation alone, she runs into a mysterious woman named Violette at the crime scene. Violette claims to be a vampire hunter, searching for her ex-lover, Lily, and is insistent that a vampire is behind the mysterious deaths. Su-Yeon is skeptical at first, but when a fifth victim jumps from the window, her investigation reveals the body was completely drained of blood. Desperate to discover the cause of the deaths, Su-Yeon considers Violette’s explanation-that something supernatural is involved.

A gripping mystery, The Midnight Shift overflows with commentary about societal isolation and loneliness, the sharp knife of grief, and the effects of marginalization.

In this episode of Author Talks, Cheon Seon-Ran discusses her career in Korea and the English translation of her novel.

 

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Author Talks: Cheon Seon-Ran

Tuesday, August 12, 2025 


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

 

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About the Speaker:

 

A lover of sci-fi always dreaming of the universe and waiting for aliens, Cheon Seon-Ran made her debut with Broken Bridges in 2019. She was awarded the Grand Prize in the 4th Korea Sci-Fi Literature Awards for her novel A Thousand Blues. 

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Policy Director Jonathan Corrado co-authors report on limited nuclear attacks in East Asia

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Korea Societry Policy Director Jonathan Corrado co-authored a report on limited nuclear attacks in East Asia. The report was spearheaded by The Indo-Pacific Security Initiative at The Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security as part of The Tiger Project, an Atlantic Council effort to develop new insights and actionable recommendations for the United States, as well as its allies and partners, to deter and counter aggression in the Indo-Pacific.

The main authors were Markus Garlauskas with John Park and Kyoko Imai, and contributor authors were Andrew Brown and Jonathan Corrado. The report concluded that: “The risk of nuclear attacks being launched in East Asia by adversaries of the United States is likely to increase over the coming decade, yet the United States and its allies have not yet prepared sufficiently to deter and prevail in the face of such nuclear strikes.”

Corrado’s section focuses on the effects of bias on preparing and preventing limited nuclear attack. Corrado wrote: “Limited nuclear attack (LNA) is a topic uniquely vulnerable to bias. Project research trips and the tabletop exercise both revealed deep-seated organizational and cognitive biases that obstruct or distort preparation for an LNA, particularly in the North Korea case. There isn’t even an agreed-upon definition of an LNA, and there is a lack of consensus on the appropriate response to one. Biases thrive in this type of probabilistic, low-information environment where it is necessary to rely on inference and heuristics to make time-sensitive judgments under pressure. The resulting biases lead to preparations, policies, and postures that might be reassuring to the United States and its allies but are suboptimal operationally, generate risk, and could constrain options. Bias might therefore be the biggest obstacle to preparing for and responding to an LNA effectively. The following are three key effects.”

The report is available here.

Julia Riew & Brad Riew @ The Strand

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Author Photos Ramona Park & Marcos Ramirez

Join us for an in-person event at The Strand with debut authors Julia Riew and Brad Riew for the release of their new novel The Last Tiger.

Inspired by true stories from the authors’ grandparents’ lives during one of the darkest periods in Korean history, The Last Tiger is a young adult fantasy novel about the power of love to give voice to a broken people.

In a colonized land where tigers are being hunted to extinction and ancient magic stirs, two star-crossed teens—Lee Seung, a servant yearning for freedom, and Choi Eunji, a noble girl defying tradition—join forces to try and reshape their respective fates.

But their relationship evolves from begrudging accomplices to bitter adversaries as they soon find themselves on opposite sides of a battle over the last tiger, a symbol of their people’s lost freedom and key to the liberation of their country. As the ties between Seung and Eunji are complicated by their conflicting loyalties, tensions rise—especially when a charming princeling of the empire begins to rival for Eunji’s affection.

In this friends-to-enemies-to-lovers story of forbidden romance, antagonists turned allies, oppression and liberation, neither Seung nor Eunji can abandon their mission—or each other. And as they embark on separate quests to find the elusive creature, each must also find the power within themselves to make their own destiny.

Joining Julia and Brad in conversation is critically acclaimed, bestselling author Chloe Gong.

 

Click Here to Purchase Your Ticket

 

Julia Riew & Brad Riew @ The Strand

Tuesday, July 29, 2025 | 7 PM


 Strand Book Store – 3rd Floor, Rare Book Room
828 Broadway
New York, NY 10003

 

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About the Speakers:

 

Julia Riew is a composer-lyricist, playwright, and novelist best known for her viral hit DIVE, a reimagining of the Korean folktale “Shimcheong,” which is currently being developed for the stage at the American Repertory Theater. In addition to winning the 2022 Fred Ebb Award for Musical Theater Songwriting, Julia has been Playbill’s Featured Songwriter of the Month, a Woman to Watch on Broadway, and a Princess Grace Honoraria recipient. Julia was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard in 2022 with a BA in theater and music.
 
 

Brad Riew is an MFA candidate in Fiction at New York University’s creative writing program. He graduated from Harvard College in 2018 with a degree in Psychology, where he won the Ecker Short Story Prize. The Last Tiger , co-written with his younger sister Julia Riew, is his first novel. Brad lives in Brooklyn, New York.

 

About the Moderator:
 
Photo Credit: One Grid Studio

Chloe Gong is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Secret Shanghai novels, as well as the Flesh and False Gods trilogy. Her books have been published in over twenty countries and have been featured in The New York Times, PEOPLE, Cosmopolitan, and more. She was named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for 2024. Chloe graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in English and International Relations. Born in Shanghai and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, she is now located in New York City, pretending to be a real adult. Visit her online at thechloegong.com and on Instagram, X, and TikTok at @thechloegong.

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250th Anniversary of American Independence: The Korea Society in D.C.

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Event Recap

The Korea Society in D.C.: 250th Anniversary of American Independence

Connecting Leaders,  Strengthening the U.S.-Korea Alliance

Celebrating America’s 250th Birthday

On July 16, The Korea Society hosted an invitation only networking reception at Samsung’s Washington, D.C. office to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence, in partnership with the Korea Inter-Parliamentary Exchange Center (KIPEC) and the Korea Defense Veterans Association (KDVA).

Celebrating America’s semi-quincentennial, the U.S.-Korea Alliance, and the shared values of freedom and democracy, the evening provided a unique platform for strengthening relationships across the U.S.–Korea community. Nearly 170 leaders representing the U.S. and Korean legislative and executive branches, industry, civil society and media gathered to build new connections and reinforce partnerships.

Congratulations by American and Korean Dignitaries

Opening with remarks by The Korea Society’s President & CEO Dr. Abraham Kim, the program featured Ambassador Young-Hee Chun, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea; Hon. Seth Bailey, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of State; Dr. James P. Finch, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of War; and BG Hyeongjin Yoon, Defense Attaché of the Republic of Korea to the United States, reflecting the broad bipartisan and binational commitment to the alliance.

Reaching across the United States

As The Korea Society expands its presence in Washington D.C. and other states beyond New York, the America 250 event demonstrated The Society’s unique role as a trusted convener—gathering senior policy makers and emerging leaders from government, business, academia, media, and civil society to foster meaningful dialogue and lasting partnerships that strengthen the U.S.–Korea alliance.

Author Talks: Kyung-Ran Jo

Posted on by Yurim Oh

Author Photo © Park Jae-hong

“A memorable existential tale.” —Publishers Weekly

An atmospheric, melancholic novel about a successful sculptor who decides to commit suicide by artfully preparing and deliberately eating a lethal dish of blowfish, Kyung-Ran Jo‘s Blowfish is a postmodern novel in four parts, alternating between the respective stories of a female sculptor and a male architect. The narrative loosely approximates a love story, but this is no romance in the normal sense. For the woman, the man is a pitstop on the road to her own suicide. For the man, the woman forestalls death and offers him a final chance. Through the conflicting impressions they have of one another, the characters look back on their lives; it is only the desire to create art that calls them back from death.

Evoking the heterogeneous urban spaces of Seoul and Tokyo, Blowfish delves into the inner life of a woman contemplating her failures in love and art. Jo’s fierce will to write animates the novel; the lethal taste of blowfish, which one cannot help but eat even though one may die in doing so, approximates the inexorable pains of writing a novel.

In this episode of Author Talks, Jo discusses her career in Korea and the English translation of her novel.

 

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Author Talks: Kyung-Ran Jo

Tuesday, July 15, 2025


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

 

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About the Speaker:

 

Kyung-Ran Jo made her literary debut in 1996 when her short story “The French Optical” won the Dong-a Ilbo New Writer’s Contest. She is the author of five story collections and three novels. Her novel Tongue was published in English by Bloomsbury in 2009. She is also the recipient of the Hyundae Munhak Award and the Dongin Prize, among others.

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Navigating Korea’s Investment Landscape

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Navigating Korea’s Investment Landscape

Navigating Korea’s Investment Landscape

The Korea Society and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) are pleased to present “Navigating Korea’s Investment Landscape,” featuring Dr. Tae Hyung Kim, Commissioner of Invest KOREA- the national investment promotion arm of KOTRA. 

Join Dr. Kim as he highlights Korea’s vibrant investment climate, covering emerging opportunities in key industries, government incentives, and market trends that shape Korea as a compelling destination for international business.

Our conversation will be moderated by Thomas J. Byrne, President and CEO of The Korea Society and Honorary Ambassador for Foreign Investment Promotion for Korea. Whether you are an investor or a corporate representative exploring opportunities in Asia, this presentation will offer a unique opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge from one of Korea’s top investment officials. 

Invest KOREA is the national investment promotion agency established under the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) in accordance with the Foreign Investment Promotion Act. Acting on behalf of the Korean government, it promotes Korea’s investment environment globally, implements policies related to foreign direct investment (FDI), and supports the successful settlement of foreign-invested companies in Korea.

 

Navigating Korea’s Investment Landscape

Thursday, June 26, 2025 | 4 PM (EDT)

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

 

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Dr. Tae Hyung Kim is Commissioner of Invest KOREA, the Republic of Korea’s national investment promotion agency, a position he has held since January 2023. A seasoned economist, he earned his B.A. in Economics from Korea University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Washington. He is also a graduate of advanced management programs at Seoul National University’s business school and Harvard Business School. Dr. Kim’s background is marked by a blend of public policy and private sector leadership, making him a recognized expert in foreign direct investment and global value chains.

Over his career, Dr. Kim has held a variety of senior roles. After early work at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) and the U.S. law and economics consulting group LECG, he served as an economist at Deloitte in the United States. In Korea, he took on leadership roles at the Big Four accounting firms: he was Vice-Chairman of Deloitte Anjin (Deloitte’s Korean member firm) and a senior managing director at Samjong KPMG. He also served as a partner in Deloitte’s Asia-Pacific organization.

In addition to his corporate experience, Dr. Kim has taught economics as a visiting professor at Sookmyung Women’s University and served on high-level government committees related to the Korea–U.S. Free Trade Agreement and a recent presidential transition. His diverse experience and deep expertise in international taxation and investment policy inform his mission to attract sustainable, high-quality foreign investment to Korea. Media profiles even call him an “international finance specialist”, underscoring his global perspective.