Join us for a conversation on the enduring legacy and impact of The Korean War and the U.S.-Korea Alliance. The Korean War Armistice Agreement, which remains in effect today, was signed 72 years ago on July 27, 1953.
The program opens with prerecorded remarks from Korea Society president and CEO Tom Byrne filmed at the base of the Korean War Memorial in Kissena Corridor Park in Flushing, Queens titled: Remembering ‘The Forgotten War.’
Introductory remarks are provided by Consul Choong-geon Lee from the Republic of Korea New York Consulate, Korean War Veteran Mr. Jack Foley, and Brigadier General (Ret.) Chris Stockel, NYC Metro Area chapter president of the Korea Defense Veterans Association (KDVA). This program is produced in collaboration with KDVA. Following the introductions, author Dr. Michael Devine discusses his book, The Korean War Remembered: Contested Memories of an Unended Conflict (for sale here at 40% discount with the code 6AS23), which explores how conflicting “theaters of memory” in the United States, South Korea, North Korea, and China “have evolved over decades and how they continue to shape the domestic and foreign policies of the countries still involved in this unresolved struggle...” The moderator is policy program director Jonathan Corrado.
This program is also a collaboration with The Korea Society education department and is attended by participants from The Korea-America Student Conference (KASC18), consisting of 24 student members from undergraduate and graduate universities in both the United States and South Korea.
This program is made possible by the generous support of our individual and corporate members and the Korea Foundation.
Remembering The Korean War
Friday, July 25, 2025 | 12:30 PM (EDT)
The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017
About the Speakers:
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Dr. Michael J. Devine offers the unique perspective of a scholar with half a century of close ties to Korea and the Korean American community, as well as practical experience in the management of historical institutions. Devine is an adjunct professor of history at the University of Wyoming. Previously, he was the director of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library, a professor of history and the director of the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming. He was a Peace Corps volunteer to Korea and a two-time senior Fulbright lecturer at Korean universities. He received his MA and PhD in American History from Ohio State University. |
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Mr. Jack Foley Following Jack’s graduation from high school in March 1951 at the age of 17, he proudly enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Jack completed recruit training at Parris Island before being transferred to Camp Pendleton in California for advanced infantry instruction. The training included rigorous Mountain Warfare exercises in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in preparation for deployment to Korea.
Upon his return home in late November 1952, he was promoted to the rank of Marine Sergeant in the USMC and assigned to the 2nd Marine Division at Camp LeJeune, NC serving with the Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment. In May 1953, Jack was reassigned to Marine Corps Base Quantico, VA where he served as a Weapons instructor at the Officer Candidate School. Following this assignment, he returned to Camp LeJuene where he completed his service and was honorably discharged. After Jack’s honorable discharge from active duty in 1955, he was accepted into the New York City Police Department where he began his career in law enforcement. Concurrently, he rejoined the Marine Corps as a reservist, ultimately serving a total of 25 years and retiring with the rank of Master Sergeant. During that time, he participated in specialized training programs including Desert Warfare training in the Mojave Desert, Jungle Warfare School in Panama, and Cold Weather training in Norway. In 1990, Jack continued his commitment to public service by joining the Lee County Sheriff’s Office in Fort Myers, Florida. He served proudly as a Deputy Sheriff and later retired with the rank of Police Sergeant. |
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Choong-geon Lee is Consul, Head of Political Affairs Section at the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in New York. Since he joined the foreign service in early 2000s, he has been around various posts in Korea and overseas, including Europe and the Middle East. In New York, he is working to promote people-to-people ties between the two countries. |
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Brigadier General (Ret.) Chris Stockel currently serves as the vice president of the Civil Affairs Association, senior U.S. civil military operations (CMO) advisor to the Korea Battle Simulation Center (KBSC), and the Korea Defense Veterans Association New York City Metro Chapter president. He commanded infantry, special forces, and civil affairs units, culminating at the one-star level as commanding general (CG) of the 351st Civil Affairs Command (CACOM) in Mountain View, CA and as the acting Combined Forces Command (CFC) C9 (civil affairs), Korea. As CG of the 351st, he was responsible for nearly all civil affairs operations in the INDO-PACIFIC. Previous to this, he was deputy commanding general, U.S. Army Civil Affairs & Psychological Operations Command (Airborne) and chief of staff (COS) of the 352nd CACOM. Before this, he was the commander civil military operations center (CMOC) and deputy COS strategic effects Operational Command Post (OCP)Third Army/ARCENT, Kuwait. He deployed twice to Iraq – once as a CA officer and later as the PAO for CJSOTF-AP. Other assignments included interagency duty with State counter- terrorism at Main State in the CT bureau, formerly S/CT, a joint assignment with USSOCOM, and Special Operations USEUCOM (SOCEUR). His training assignments, tours, and deployment postings included numerous European, Asian, Central American, Caribbean, East African, and Middle Eastern countries (including Egypt, Iraq, UAE, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, Lebanon, and Kuwait). He spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations focused on China, at AUSA LANPAC in Hawaii on HADR, and testified about Iraq before Congress to the House committee on State and Foreign Operations. Stockel earned a BA in Mathematics/Computer Science with a minor in German from Trenton State College including a year abroad at the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Germany and a Master’s Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. He is a life member of the Council of Foreign Relations. While in uniform he held DoD language ratings in German, Arabic, and Spanish. He is ranger and special forces qualified. His numerous awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, German Parachute Badge, Latvian Special Forces Parachute Badge, Indonesian Parachute Badge, Cote d’Ivoire Parachute Badge. |