Donate
Join

Author: Yurim Oh

Zero Waste

Posted on by Yurim Oh

IMAGE CREDIT: Docu+

Zero Waste is a timely documentary film that explores the current recycling efforts in South Korea through the personal stories of six changemakers. These individuals are advocates for a circular economy who fight against the ongoing plastic waste pollution crisis in the country which has been aggravated by the recent global pandemic.

To better understand how so many recyclables end up in our ocean and landfill, director Danny Kim picked up his camera to document if our efforts are wasted after decades of neglect, or if we can make a real impact with our recycling endeavors. A winner of the Green Award at the 2023 Terraviva Film Festival in Italy and the Emerging Filmmaker Award at the 39th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, Zero Waste paints a portrait of both the magnitude of the problem, and the perseverance of those people willing to address them.

On Earth Day 2024, watch the documentary film and join us for a Director’s Talk.

 

 

Zero Waste

Virtual Screening: April 21-22
A Director’s Talk: April 22


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

 

Join our membership program here!

email iconE-News sign-up

 

 

About the Speaker:

 

Danny Kim is an award winning documentary filmmaker based in Seoul, South Korea. His first feature documentary film Love Child as a producer have screened at such festivals as Sundance, Jeonju International Film Festival, and Wisconsin Film Festival. His recent credits include director/writer/editor/DP for feature documentary Zero Waste which won the emerging filmmaker award at the 39th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. Kim is also a founder of Docu+, an impact film studio based in Seoul, South Korea. Kim is a graduate from University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he holds Masters of Fine Arts degree at Duke University’s Experimental and Documentary Arts program in Durham, NC.

 

About the Moderator:

 

Carina Lee works in the media business field and is responsible for acquiring movies and TV series in Korea. She has built a diverse career ranging from Journalism to content strategy field at global companies such as the Associated Press and Warner Bros Discovery. Carina has also served on the Asian American Journalists Association Seoul board since 2014 and was the Seoul Vice President from 2020 to 2022.

You May Also Enjoy:
Concrete Utopia: A Director’s Talk The Films of Kim Ki-young Bong Joon Ho: Dissident Cinema with Karen Han New Narratives in Korea: “Poongryu”

Majestic Elegance- Art, Crafts, and Techniques by Sunglim Kim

Posted on by Yurim Oh

National Museum of Korea; Cultural Heritage Administration | 

In this lecture, Professor Sunglim Kim explores various metalwares and decorative arts throughout the history of the Korean peninsula, and craftsmanship and techniques used to create them.

 

Sign Up Here to Attend the Event in Person

 

Sign Up Here to Receive the Viewing Link

 

Majestic Elegance: Art, Crafts, and Techniques by Sunglim Kim

Thursday, April 11, 2024 | 6:30 PM (EDT)

 

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

 

Join our membership program here!

email iconE-News sign-up

 

 

About the Speaker:

Sunglim Kim is an associate professor of Korean art and culture at Dartmouth College. She specializes in the material and consumer culture of the late Joseon period and women artists in modern and contemporary Korea.

You May Also Enjoy:
Minhwa Korean Paintings of the People, by the People, and for the People by Sunglim Kim Hanbok: The Celebration Hanbok: Gender, Class and Modernity Hanbok: A New Lexicon of World Fashion Men’s Hanbok

The Philosophy of Korean Tea

Posted on by Yurim Oh

Detail from Six-Panel Folding Screen of Plum Blossom Studio by Lee Hancheol. 19 c. Korea. ©National Museum of Korea | 

Darye–”etiquette for tea” or “tea rite”– has been an integral part of Korean history and culture for over a thousand years. Donghyun Kim, a Korean heritage curator, discusses the history of tea practices and aesthetics in Korea and the landscape of contemporary Korean tea culture.

 

The Philosophy of Korean Tea

Wednesday, April 3, 2024 | 6:30 PM (EDT)

 

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

 

Join our membership program here!

email iconE-News sign-up

 

 

About the Speaker:

Donghyun Kim is a Korean heritage curator and the direct, eighteenth generation descendant of Siseup Kim (1435-1493), an early Joseon period tea connoisseur, literatus, and author of the first Korean classical novel, Geumoshinhwa. He established ROHAE, a curatorial research studio, through which he reinterprets and modernizes Siseup Kim’s tea practices and aesthetics.

In addition to his research positions previously held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, Kim has also collaborated with Seoul’s Arumjigi Culture Keepers Foundation and Michelin-starred Onjium Cultural Center in tea culture research projects. He holds a B.F.A. in Photography from the School of Visual Arts and an M.A. in Art History and Education from Columbia University.

You May Also Enjoy:
The Korean Cookbook with Chef Junghyun Park Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home with Eric Kim Hot! Hot! Hot! Korean Food in the Age of Kpop The Korean Art of Fermentation

Paper Soldiers: How the Weaponization of the Dollar Changed the World Order

Posted on by Yurim Oh

Join us for a discussion with the Senior Washington Correspondent for Bloomberg News Saleha Mohsin on her newly released book Paper Soldiers: How the Weaponization of the Dollar Changed the World Order, in cooperation with the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP). As the global order continues to evolve, it seems that the dollar’s dominance may find itself waning for the first time in 70 years. In a world dividing into two camps, one led by China and the other by the U.S, Mohsin investigates America’s strong dollar policy and how it has shaped the world order, the effects of America’s heavy-handed sanctions on its adversaries, and how American allies like South Korea view the dollar in today’s global financial system. The conversation will be moderated by former CBS White House Correspondent and NCAFP Board Member, Jacqueline Adams.

Purchase the book here

Paper Soldiers: How the Weaponization of the Dollar Changed the World Order

Tuesday, April 2, 2024 | 12:00 PM (EDT)


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

 

Join our membership program here!

 

 

About the Speakers:

 

Saleha Mohsin is the senior Washington correspondent for Bloomberg News. In her role, she covered the final months of the Obama Treasury Department, then the transition into the Trump presidency. Her work as a Treasury reporter encompassed Trump’s trade war, economic sanctions, parts of the Federal Reserve and Capitol Hill, and the government’s response to the worst public health crisis in nearly a century. Saleha also covered the transition into the Biden White House, including the stronger focus on economic statecraft and the ‘Buy America’ agenda that carried over from the previous administration. She also reported on the U.S. response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
 

Jacqueline Adams has had a long career as a journalist, author and convener.  She launched a second career as a communications strategist after more than two decades as an Emmy Award-winning CBS News correspondent. Through her boutique consulting firm, J Adams: Strategic Communications, LLC, she counsels corporate and non-profit clients. An alumna of Harvard Business School, Ms. Adams serves on the Board of Directors of the HBS Club of New York,  the National Committee on American Foreign Policy and the senior community, Brookhaven at Lexington. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Advisory Committee of the United States Institute of Peace, and the Advisory Council of the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream.

The Republic of Korea and the UN Security Council with ROK Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Joonkook HWANG

Posted on by Yurim Oh

Please join us for a timely discussion on the Republic of Korea’s membership in the United Nations Security Council for the 2024-2025 term, featuring the ROK Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Joonkook HWANG, in conversation with Korea Society President and CEO Thomas Byrne. The Republic of Korea, which has a special history and bond with the United Nations, aims to actively contribute to world peace and security and fulfill the expectations of the international community during its tenure as a non-permanent member of the Security Council. This event will offer a valuable opportunity for the audience to gain insights into Ambassador Hwang’s perspective on the ROK’s vision for its Security Council activities, highlighting its interests and priorities among more than 60 regional and thematic agenda items on the Council. Moreover, Ambassador Hwang is anticipated to address the current status and future prospects of the Korean Peninsula, including recent changes and implications of North Korea’s nuclear and inter-Korean policies. This event will also serve as a platform for shedding light on new Security Council dynamics in recent years amidst ongoing global geopolitical changes, in particular the enhanced roles of non-permanent Council members, referred to as the Elected 10.

This event is co-hosted by the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) and features introductory remarks by Chairman of the Board of Trustees Jeffrey R. Shafer. 

*Please note that the opening remarks from Ambassador Hwang will be livestreamed and On the Record. The following Q&A will not be livestreamed and will be Off the Record. 

**Please note that in-person attendance at this program is By Invitation Only. Online registration for the livestream is open to all.

***Please note that the date and time of this program is subject to change if there is an urgent UNSC meeting

 

 

The Republic of Korea and the UN Security Council

with ROK Permanent Representative to the United Nations

Ambassador Joonkook HWANG

Friday, March 15, 2024 | 4:30 PM (EDT)


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

 

Join our membership program here!

email iconE-News sign-up

 

 

About the Speakers:

 

Ambassador Joonkook Hwang was born in Seoul in December 1960. He assumed his current position of Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations in July 2022. Ambassador Hwang joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Republic of Korea in 1982. Throughout the majority of his distinguished diplomatic career, he has assumed key responsibilities on political and security matters both at the bilateral and multilateral levels. He has held various senior positions in the Government of the Republic of Korea, including, among others, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (2016-18), Special Representative (Vice Foreign Minister) for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs and Head of Delegation to the Six-Party Talks (2014-16), Chief Negotiator for the ROK-US Defense Burden-sharing arrangement (2013), Deputy Chief of Mission and Minister for Political Affairs at the ROK Embassy in Washington DC (2010-13), and Ambassador and Director-General for North Korean Nuclear Issues (2008-10). Ambassador Hwang returns to New York after previously serving as Counsellor (2003- 06) and First Secretary (1995-97) at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations. He retired from the government in 2018, and taught courses on the North Korean nuclear crisis and Politics in Northeast Asia as a visiting professor at Yonsei University and Hallym University in Korea. Ambassador Hwang graduated from Seoul National University in 1982, majoring in Economics. He obtained his Master’s degree in Public Affairs at Princeton University in 1986. Ambassador Hwang is married to Shil Rhee and they have two daughters.

Jang – The Soul of Korean Cooking

Posted on by Yurim Oh

Like the foundational role of butter in French cooking or olive oil in Italian cuisine, jangs stand as the cornerstone of Korean cooking, infusing every dish with a symphony of flavors and complexity. Chef Mingoo Kang, often referred to as South Korea’s best chef, invites readers on a gastronomic journey in Jang: The Soul of Korean Cooking to discover the deceptively simple |
Excerpted from Jang by Mingoo Kang (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2024. Photographs by Dong Gil Yun. |

Like the foundational role of butter in French cooking or olive oil in Italian cuisine, jangs stand as the cornerstone of Korean cooking, infusing every dish with a symphony of flavors and complexity. Chef Mingoo Kang, often referred to as South Korea’s best chef, invites readers on a gastronomic journey in Jang: The Soul of Korean Cooking to discover the deceptively simple, yet utterly unique and complex Korean sauces that have been near secret ingredients until now.

Chef Kang is celebrated for his dedication to the exploration of jangs at his two-Michelin star restaurant, Mingles, in South Korea. In his new book, he demystifies the art of cooking with these soulful sauces through 60 home-cook-friendly recipes that showcase the versatility and depth of the umami-rich flavors in both Korean and Western preparations.

In addition to providing delicious preparations and flavor notes customized for home kitchens, Jang delves into the history and methods behind the three jangs—ganjang, doenjang, and gochujang. Jang is not merely a cookbook but a timeless addition to every culinary enthusiast’s collection, bridging cultures through the universal language of exquisite flavor.

Chef Kang and his two co-authors, Joshua David Stein and Nadia Cho, discuss jang, Korean food, and their new cookbook.

Jang: The Soul of Korean Cooking will be available for purchase during the program.

 

Jang: The Soul of Korean Cooking

Wednesday, March 13, 2024 | 6:30 PM (EDT)


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

 

Join our membership program here!

email iconE-News sign-up

 

 

About the Speakers:

 
Photo by Dong Gil Yun
 

Mingoo Kang is the chef and owner of Mingles, located in Seoul, which has been named one of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants and holds two Michelin stars. Kang’s approach at Mingles of presenting innovative hansik has earned him both domestic and international acclaim, and he frequently collaborates with chefs around the world. Most recently, in 2021, he was awarded the Inedit Damm Chefs’ Choice Award—the only accolade voted for by the other chefs on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list. In addition to Mingles, Chef Kang runs a retail market in Seoul called MamaLee Market; Hansik Goo, which offers creative Korean cuisine in Hong Kong; and the popular fried chicken brand Hyodo Chicken.
 
 
Photo by DeSean McClinton-Holland
 

Joshua David Stein is a writer based in New York City. He is the author of Cooking for Your Kids: At Home with the World’s Greatest Chefs and the coauthor of Notes from a Young Black Chef and My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef, both with Kwame Onwuachi; The Nom Wah Cookbook, with Wilson Tang; Il Buco: Stories and Recipes, with Donna Lennard; Vino: An Essential Guide to Real Italian Wine, with Joe Campanale; and Food & Beer, with Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø and Daniel Burns. He is also the author of To Me He Was Just Dad: Stories of Growing Up with Famous Fathers and a number of award-winning children’s books, including Can I Eat That?, What’s Cooking?, and Solitary Animals.
 
 
Photo by Diane Kang
 

Nadia Cho is the founder of Jeong Culture and Communication, which is dedicated to promoting Korean food in the United States. She has been a liaison for chefs and journalists to Korean food and has worked with Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, Food & Wine, and the New York Times and T Magazine to bring chefs and journalists to Korea. She was the producer of the “Jeong Kwan” episode of Chef’s Table and helped produce episodes for Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown and other shows on the Cooking Channel, NBC, ABC, and many others. She has produced and directed Korean food content on Eater.com.

 

About the Moderator:
 

Juliana Sohn is a photographer and skilled storyteller known for her intimate portraiture. Her work centers on creating and preserving memories and observations of culture. She is co-host and co-founder of K-Pod, a podcast featuring Korean Americans in arts and culture for Korean American Story, where she has interviewed Korean chefs Eunjo Park, Jenny Kwak, Ed Lee, and food writer Eric Kim. She is the paper flower artist behind Pirrly.

You May Also Enjoy:
The Korean Cookbook with Chef Junghyun Park Peter Serpico: Learning Korean with Eric Kim Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home with Eric Kim The Korean Art of Fermentation

Korean Unification: A Fading Prospect?

Posted on by Yurim Oh

Join us for this conversation about prospects for Korean Unification with Jeongmin Kim, Lead Correspondent at NK News / Editorial Director at Korea Pro, Dr. Lee Sang-shin, director of the Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy at Korea Institute of National Unification (KINU), and Dr. Nicholas Eberstadt, the Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), in conversation with Korea Society policy director Jonathan Corrado. This panel will explore recent policy shifts towards unification in South Korea under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration and in North Korea announced by Chairman Kim Jong Un at the ninth plenary meeting of the eighth central committee of the ruling Workers’ Party. What are the consequences of Kim’s announcement that North Korea’s long standing policy goal of unification (one nation, two systems) will be dropped? The expert panel will also discuss changing public opinion in South Korea, including demographic and ideological splits in policy preferences for the future of the Korean Peninsula. Plus, in addition to discussing the well-understood challenges and obstacles to practically embarking on a process of unification, the panel will cover some of the potential benefits of Unification, including demographic, sociocultural, geopolitical, and economic factors.

The promotional partner for this program is Columbia University’s APEC Study Center.

 

 

Korean Unification: A Fading Prospect?

Wednesday, March 6, 2024 | 8 AM (EST)


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

 

Join our membership program here!

email iconE-News sign-up

 

 

About the Speakers:

 

Dr. Nicholas Eberstadt is the Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he researches and writes on demographics and economic development, as well as on security in the Korean peninsula and Asia. Mr. Eberstadt is also a senior adviser to the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR). He has also served as consultant or adviser for a variety of units within the US government.
 
 

Jeongmin Kim is the Lead Correspondent at NK News and Editorial Director at Korea Pro, 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.
 
 

Dr. Sang Sin LEE is a research fellow and the director of the Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy at the Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU). Dr. Lee’s research areas include political behavior and elections, and public opinion in South Korea. After receiving a Ph. D. in Political Science at the University of Iowa in 2008, he worked for the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at the Seoul National University and then joined the KINU in January 2016. Dr. Lee is currently in charge of the KINU Unification Survey. The KINU Unification Survey is recognized as one of the most important polls in Korea and is cited by major media outlets around the world, including the New York Times, Newsweek, and the BBC.

Author Talks: Hwang Bo-reum

Posted on by Yurim Oh

 

The charming slice-of-life novel Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by debut novelist Hwang Bo-reum became an instant smash hit with Korean readers. Now, the irresistible bestseller is available to English readers for the first time with an effervescent translation by Singaporean translator Shanna Tan.

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop brings to life the escapist fantasy of ditching the corporate grind in pursuit of passion, daring to ask the question that all book lovers dream about: what if I quit my job and opened a bookstore?

In this episode of Author Talks, Hwang Bo-reum discusses her career and her English debut.

 

Author Talks: Hwang Bo-reum

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

 

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

 

Join our membership program here!

email iconE-News sign-up

 

About the Speaker:

Author photo credit: Seong Ji Min/Clayhouse Inc. | 

Hwang Bo-reum studied computer science and worked as a software engineer. She wrote several essay collections: I Read Every Day, I Tried Kickboxing for the First Time and This Distance is Perfect. Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop is her first novel, which has sold over 150,000 copies in Korea and has been sold into nine territories.

 

Concrete Utopia: A Director’s Talk

Posted on by Yurim Oh

Image credit: Lotte Entertainment | 

The story begins in the immediate aftermath of a catastrophic disaster. What if our apartment complex is the only building left standing after a devastating earthquake? Produced by Climax Studio, the production house known for their creative storytelling and exceptional directing in Netflix’s Hellbound and D.P., Concrete Utopia is “a dystopian disaster movie with a difference” that makes you think, “if I were in this movie, what would I do?” – Variety

Concrete Utopia begins as survivors from the hellish outside world converge at Hwang Gung Apartments, the only building left standing in Seoul after a disastrous earthquake. As everything collapses and a brutal cold snap takes hold, desperate survivors seek refuge in Hwang Gung Apartments, posing a threat to the original residents. Starring Korean superstars Lee Byung-hun (Squid Game, Mr. Sunshine), Park Seo-jun (The Marvels, Itaewon Class), and many beloved character actors, the film “[shapes] familiar genre tropes into a brutal study of class warfare and the stifling of pity… [where] human kindness [is] the first casualty of social disorder.” – The New York Times.

Director Um Tae-hwa discusses his award-winning film.

 

 

Concrete Utopia: A Director’s Talk

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

 

 

 

Join our membership program here!

email iconE-News sign-up

 

About the Director:

Um Tae-hwa is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Um made his directorial feature debut with Ingtoogi: The Battle of Internet Trolls (2013) and received the Best New Director Award at the 54th Grand Bell Awards for Vanishing Time: A Boy Who Returned (2016). In 2023 his film Concrete Utopia was selected as South Korean entry in the Best International Feature Film category for the 96th Academy Awards after winning numerous accolades, including the Best Picture Award at the 59th Grand Bell Awards and the Best Director award at the 44th Blue Dragon Award.

Jian Yoo | Iridescent Hue

Posted on by Yurim Oh

January 25 – April 18, 2024 |

Working in the precise and fine medium of mother of pearl – “jagae” in Korean – Jian Yoo’s iridescent art bridges historical and contemporary, nature and artificial, arts and crafts. Made of thousands of mother-of-pearl pieces layered in intricate patterns, Yoo’s art respectfully acknowledges the long tradition of master craft workers while reinventing the genre with distinctively modern sensibilities.

The Korea Society 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.

Gallery Hours: Monday-Friday 10 AM-4:30 PM
By Appointment Only

Click here to make an appointment

 

 

 

New York Asia Week Reception

Thursday, March 14, 2024 | 5-7 PM (EDT)

 

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

**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.

 

Join our membership program here!

email iconE-News sign-up

 

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Jian Yoo is a contemporary mother-of-pearl artist residing and working between Korea and the United States. While studying Interior Design at Pratt Institute of New York, Yoo chose mother-of-pearl—or “jagae” in Korean—as her medium, inspired by her father, a master of “najeonchilgi” or Korean nacre lacquerware who ran his own studio throughout her childhood. Returning to Korea in 2013, Yoo embarked on pioneering the modern mother-of-pearl art while establishing her own studio, ARIJIAN.

Yoo designed the trophy for the first Seoul Smart City Prize, and her artwork was chosen as the Presidential State Gift for the South Korea-US Summit of 2023 and 44 other heads of state and foreign dignitaries. She held a solo exhibition at the Andaz Hotel Gangnam in Seoul, Lotte Hotel Seoul, Culture Object in New York, and was featured in exhibitions at, among others, Downtown Design Dubai, UNESCO Headquarter in Paris, and National Folk Museum of Korea, which also acquired her artwork. Jian Yoo has also collaborated with brands such as Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Cartier, Blancpain, Girogetti, and many others.