The Korea Society

Recorded November 14, 2025 @ Atlantic Council HQ Washington D.C. - We are happy to share this special keynote address from our 2025 Van Fleet Policy Forum featuring U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts . The Van Fleet Policy Forum is The Korea Society's flagship policy event. Through panel discussions, keynote remarks, and networking opportunities, the forum convenes senior thought leaders from the US and K...

Recorded November 14, 2025 @ Atlantic Council HQ Washington D.C. - We are happy to share this special keynote address from our 2025 Van Fleet Policy Forum featuring U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau . The Van Fleet Policy Forum is The Korea Society's flagship policy event. Through panel discussions, keynote remarks, and networking opportunities, the forum convenes senior thought le...

November 17, 2025 - Modern architecture in Korea is characterized by open and dynamic attitudes formed through a unique set of historical circumstances. Through colonial rule, war, and poverty, it was cut off from its older building traditions, emerging only in the latter half of the twentieth century as part of a condensed process of modernization. It is enigmatic in that its build first, think l...

Recorded November 10, 2025 - The Korea Society is pleased to announce that the ninth annual Sherman Family Korea Emerging Scholar Lecture Awardee is Dr. Peter Jongho Na , assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine.  In his lecture,  Reframing Suicide as a Shared Social Responsibility in Korea , he casts suicide not as an individual failure or "extreme choice (극단적 선택)," but a...

Released November 4, 2025 - Please join us for a timely conversation with  Dr. Rhee, Chang Yong, Governor of the Bank of Korea , as he discusses key issues shaping global and domestic economic policy. Governor Rhee sat down with  Thomas Byrne, President & CEO of The Korea Society , during his visit to D.C. to attend IMF/WBG Annual Meetings and the G20 Finance Ministers & Central Bank Governors Mee...

November 3, 2025 - Join us for a rapid reaction analysis of The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) 2025 summit, held in Gyeongju, South Korea from October 31 to November 1. Our discussion examines all the most significant outcomes in terms of trade and geopolitics, with special emphasis on the US, Korea, and the US-Korea relationship. The priorities for this year's forum are: "Connect,...

October 8, 2025 - The United States and Korea are entering a pivotal phase of maritime cooperation. Since the start of the Trump 2.0 administration, South Korean shipbuilders have been courted as key partners in reviving the U.S. shipbuilding industry, with Seoul pledging $150 billion under the "Make America Shipbuilding Great Again" initiative to modernize naval capacity, expand commercial shipya...

October 23, 2025 - Join us for a scene setter that explores the stakes and the storylines for The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) 2025 summit, held in Gyeongju, South Korea from October 31 to November 1, 2025. This discussion, held one week prior to the summit, unpacks the most significant agenda items including trade, investment, and geopolitics, with special emphasis on the US, Ko...

October 22, 2025 - The Korea Society and Y. T. Hwang Family Foundation is proud to present  Misook Doolittle , a fashion pioneer and philanthropist, in a conversation with  Ambassador Kathleen Stephens . With the ever-growing need to understand ourselves and humanity as a whole, it is necessary to examine the concepts of morality, ethics and universal values as guiding principles of the human cond...

October 17, 2025 - With the ever-growing need to understand ourselves and humanity as a whole, it is necessary to examine the concepts of morality, ethics and universal values as guiding principles of the human condition. With generous support from Y.T. Hwang Family Foundation, The Korea Society presents a Series on Ethics and Common Values. This series promotes the understanding of central themes...

October 16, 2025 - Join us for a discussion with Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) Advocacy Fellows to hear firsthand about the realities of life in North Korea, the decision and process of leaving, the adjustment to a new life in South Korea, and the discovery of new meaning and motivation. This discussion features two advocacy fellows:  Rose Jang , a graduate from Hongik University Department of Arc...

October 8, 2025 - Join us for our second conversation with Seoul National University sociology Professor  Chang Kyung-Sup  who will discuss various challenges posed by South Korea's "compressed modernity." He writes that the same strategies and conditions that enabled explosive development and modernization in South Korea and other Asian societies also produced "existentially hazardous consequence...

September 23, 2025 - Chef, restaurateur, writer, and connoisseur of Korean fried chicken,  Judy Joo  has gained widespread acclaim for her vibrant approach to Korean cuisine. Now, she presents her latest collection of fresh, exciting recipes in  K-Quick: Korean Food in 30 Minutes or Less . K-Quick: Korean Food in 30 Minutes or Less  focuses on recipes that blend creative flair with accessibility,...

September 18, 2025 - Drinking is an essential part of Korean culture, one that's guided by a complex web of unspoken rules, deep tradition, and lots and lots of food. With  Soju Party , food writer, chef, and co-owner of Brooklyn's Orion Bar  Irene Yoo  has written  the  book on drinking like a Korean. She introduces the classic Korean alcohols and how Koreans typically like to drink them and serv...

September 18, 2025 - Join us for a discussion on the unseen resilience of North Korean female defectors.  Kim Seonghui  and  Na Min-Hee  provide powerful personal testimony, describing their life and experiences in North Korea, their escape, and their new life in South Korea. Human rights advocate and expert  Kwon EunKyoung  joins the discussion, which is moderated by policy director  Jonathan Cor...

September 4, 2025 - 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...

September 3, 2025 - This edition of Startup Scene will explore one of venture capital's most elusive forces: momentum. As the landscape rapidly shifts—from the rise and retreat of web3 and blockchain to today's explosive AI wave—both founders and investors face a critical question: how do you tell the difference between short-lived hype and the kind of transformative momentum that drives lasting i...

August 27, 2025 - The Korea Society and the Korean American Community Foundation's (KACF) Associate Board are pleased to present Rooted in Giving: Leading Korean Voices in Philanthropy, a panel discussion featuring three Korean leaders working at the forefront of non-profit and philanthropy:  Jeannie Park ,  Sue Kim , and  Abraham Kim . Together, they will share their experiences and insights on w...

August 26, 2025 - 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 collabor...

August 13, 2025 - 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...

July 25, 2025 - 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...

June 26, 2025 - 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 incent...

June 11, 2025 - What are the motivations and geopolitical significance of the ongoing partnership between the governments of North Korea and Iran? Join us for a program with Professor and Author  Bruce E. Bechtol  Jr., who discusses his new book co-authored with Professor Anthony N. Celso. During the program, Bechtol explains the ideological, financial, and environmental forces contributing to the...

June 4, 2025 - Join us for a rapid reaction analysis of South Korea's 2025 Presidential election. This snap election was triggered by the impeachment of South Korea's 13th democratically elected president, Yoon Suk-yeol, after he declared martial law last December. This conversation unpacks the issues, the candidates, the voters, and the results, seeking to understand the domestic political underc...

June 3, 2025 - Join  Andy St. Louis  for an in-depth exploration of South Korea's burgeoning art scene and the most intriguing artists who are at the forefront of a generational shift in Korean art. Working in the fields of painting, sculpture, installation, video and photography, these artists collectively foreground the facets of contemporary Korean culture that have enabled the country's cultur...