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October 6, 2026 - Delve into the frontlines of humanitarian aid in North Korea. Join us for a special discussion with seasoned experts Kathi Zellweger, Mike Chinoy, and Jerome Sauvage as they share first-hand insights from years of experience on the ground inside North Korea. In Miss Kathi: Saving Lives in North Korea, Swiss aid worker Kathi Zellweger collaborates with veteran journalist and author Mike Chinoy to chronicle her nearly three decades in North Korea. Dubbed the "Mother Teresa of North Korea" by local officials, Zellweger navigated state suspicion and international skepticism to deliver life-saving relief to thousands of vulnerable North Koreans, focusing especially on children. The book is available for purchase on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. In Witness to North Korea: Three Years on the Ground in the DPRK, former UN Resident Coordinator Jerome Sauvage offers a rare insider account of daily life and operational realities inside Pyongyang. Drawing on his tenure leading international aid operations, Sauvage reflects on the successes and challenges of delivering humanitarian assistance and offers strategic guidance for future engagement. The book is available for purchase here, with a 20% discount using the code: WITNESS20. The discussion is moderated by Korea Society policy director Jonathan Corrado. This program is made possible by the generous support of the Korea Foundation and our individual and corporate members. For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/geopolitical-affairs/on-the-ground-in-north-korea/

September 1, 2026 - Join The Korea Society for a rapid reaction discussion exploring recent shifts in Korean Peninsula security and diplomacy. Featuring Ambassador (ret.) Joseph Yun, this program will examine President Donald Trump's decision to modify joint military exercises with South Korea and his revelation of ongoing communication with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The program is moderated by policy director Jonathan Corrado. The session will draw lessons from past negotiation cycles, assess how the geopolitical climate has evolved since Trump and Kim last met, dissect the implications of North Korea's new "hostile states" policy, examine South Korea's shifting role as a diplomatic pacemaker, and explore how the surrounding geopolitical situation—such as the expanding Russia-North Korea alliance and The Iran War—is reshaping dynamics in Northeast Asia. Ambassador Yun will also share insights from his multi-decade career managing Korean Peninsula relations. This program is made possible by the generous support of our individual and corporate members and the Korea Foundation. For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/geopolitical-affairs/rapid-reaction-an-olive-branch-for-north-korea/

June 17, 2026 - Join us for a conversation with Dr. Jonathan Brewer, Visiting Professor at King's College, London, on the differences, similarities, and trajectories of international sanctions on North Korea and Iran. In conversation with policy director Jonathan Corrado, Dr. Brewer discusses evolving UN Security Council sanctions, their utility within larger diplomatic frameworks, their implementation and circumvention, and North Korea and Iran's proliferation and financing strategies for their sanctioned programs. Dr. Brewer was Acting Coordinator of the UN Panel of Experts on North Korea and financial expert of the UN Panel on Iran. This program is made possible by the generous support of the Korea Foundation and our individual and corporate members. For more information, please visit the link below:  https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/2160-critical-comparison-sanctions-on-north-korea-vs-iran

June 10, 2026 - Join us for a virtual program exploring new thinking on Korea's aging, shrinking society with Dr. Youngtae Cho, Director of the Population Policy Research Center and professor of demography at the School of Public Health at Seoul National University (SNU). Although South Korea's total fertility rate rebounded slightly to reach 0.8 babies per woman, it remains the lowest in the world and well below the replacement rate of 2.1 needed to maintain the population level. Consequently, Korea's population structure is experiencing a whipsaw demographic shift; by 2050, the working age population is projected to halve, with over 40 percent of the population over 65 years old. This transition will usher in profound social and economic challenges that will require ingenuity and accommodation to address. Professor Cho is one of South Korea's most prominent demographers. His research interests include Korea's low fertility, its fundamental causes and policy reactions, Vietnam's new population policy, business demography, and population profiling. He is best known for his "Population as a Determined Future" thesis, which argues that while demographic shifts are predictable and inevitable, society can mitigate their impact through strategic adaptation. The discussion is moderated by policy director Jonathan Corrado. This program is made possible by the generous support of the Korea Foundation and our individual and corporate members. For the video version of this program including slides, please visit the link below: https://www.youtube.com/live/rQuiuDtkV-c For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/2148-aging-society

May 14, 2026 - Join us for a discussion with Dr. Russell Burge, author of "The Promised Republic: Developmental Society and the Making of Modern Seoul." In conversation with policy program officer Chelsie Alexandre, Burge delves into the hidden histories of South Korea's rapid urban transformation during South Korea's developmental period under Park Chung Hee. Drawing from a rich archive of memoirs, interviews, photographs, and more, Burge challenges the traditional "miracle on the Han River" narrative by centering the rural migrants who built and inhabited Seoul's shantytowns. He provides a critical lens through which to view the high price of progress and the enduring struggle for a truly inclusive republic. This program is made possible by the generous support of the Kim Koo Foundation. For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/2150-promised-republic

May 7, 2026 - Join us for a discussion with Sarah Laderman, Senior Analyst for Open Nuclear Network, a PAX sapiens programme, on the rollout of a recent series of reports examining North Korea's nuclear program. In conversation with policy director Jonathan Corrado, Laderman discusses a myriad of findings on North Korea's nuclear fuel cycle and weaponisation capabilities, including the research project's development of innovative methodologies to assess an otherwise opaque program. The discussion reviews the high-level findings and unpacks implications for verification, monitoring, and diplomacy. More information on the project findings can be found here. This Global Affairs Canada funded research project was led by VERTIC, in partnership with CNS and RUSI, assisted by Open Nuclear Network. This program is made possible by the generous support of the Korea Foundation and The Korea Society's individual and corporate members. For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/2153-north-korea-nuclear

May 7, 2026 - Join us for a discussion with Dr. Jieun Baek, author of "Privileged but Powerless: How North Korean Elite Grievances Reveal the Regime's Greatest Weakness." In conversation with policy director Jonathan Corrado, Baek reveals a world of forbidden information, simmering resentment, and survival-driven masks, based on hundreds of hours of interviews with high-level escapees. Baek argues that this performative loyalty, born of fear and a desire to survive, obscures a critical vulnerability within the regime's core. In other words: the officials who seem most invested in preserving North Korea's status quo may become its most dangerous disruptors, not for ideological reasons but because of simmering resentment and vanishing alternatives. This program is made possible by the generous support of the Kim Koo Foundation. The book is available for purchase here For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/2146-privileged-powerless

April 23, 2026 - Join us for a discussion with Mark Christopher, author of the new book: America's Taiwan Dilemma: Allies' Reactions and the Stakes for US Reputation. In conversation with policy director Jonathan Corrado, Cristopher unpacks the findings from his rigorous open-source analysis of how America's key allies—South Korea, Japan, and Australia—would respond to US intervention or inaction in a Taiwan conflict. If Beijing attempts to forcibly annex Taiwan, Washington's decisions will have far-reaching consequences for its credibility in East Asia and beyond. Yet, the long-term implications of these choices on America's alliances and global standing remain largely unexamined—until now. Based on over 100 interviews with leading experts from South Korea, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, and the United States, this book provides unparalleled insight into how America's allies view the stakes in a Taiwan contingency. It captures, in their own words, their perspectives—sometimes contradictory but consistently pragmatic—as they grapple with their reliance on the United States as a distant security guarantor and their unease with an increasingly assertive China nearby. This program is made possible by the generous support of the Kim Koo Foundation. For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/2142-taiwan-dilemma

April 21, 2026 - Across Languages: New Voices in Korean Poetry brings together acclaimed South Korean poets Lee Jenny, Yoo Heekyung, Oh Eun, and Shin Hae-uk with award-winning literary translators Archana Madhavan and Stine An, for a Korean–English bilingual reading and conversation to share the dynamism and innovations of language in Korean poetry culture. Through poetry and discussion, the speakers examine the cultural centrality of poetry in Korea and consider translation as a critical, creative practice that reshapes how literature circulates, sounds, and is felt across languages. This program is presented in partnership with Ugly Duckling Presse and Zephyr Press. For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/arts-culture/literature/2145-ac-korean-poetry

April 13, 2026 - Join us for a book talk with Jonathan Cheng, author of the new history book Korean Messiah, which explores "the rise of the Kim dynasty and its surprising ties to American Christianity." In the book, Cheng, who is The Wall Street Journal's current China bureau chief and former Korea bureau chief, documents the profusion and lasting impact of Christianity in North Korea's current capital of Pyongyang, which was once described as the "Jerusalem of the East." Based on letters, diaries, and archival materials, his book reveals how the Kim regime's personality cult "traces its roots back to the Christian fervor of post–Civil War America." Barbara Demick, author of Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, joins the conversation as a discussant. She described the book as "provocative and fascinating… Jonathan Cheng shows how this country, more hostile to religion than any in the world, was built on a bedrock of Christianity by its founder Kim Il Sung, who discarded the evangelical faith of his family and harnessed its power to create a cult of personality that has endured into the third generation." The discussion is moderated by policy director Jonathan Corrado, and jointly produced by the Policy and the Arts and Culture teams. This program is made possible by the generous support of the Korea Foundation and our individual and corporate members.   This program is co-hosted by The Center for Korean Research at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University. For more information, please visit the link below: https://koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/2112-korean-messiah

Recorded April 2, 2026 - As part of our commitment to building the next generation of founders, The Korea Society is bringing Startup Scene to Yale Ventures – connecting one of the world's most dynamic consumer technology investors with Yale's entrepreneurial community. We are honored to welcome Eric Kim, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Goodwater Capital and Yale University alumnus, for a fireside conversation on building global consumer technology companies across borders. Eric Kim will reflect on his journey to founding Goodwater Capital, a leading global venture firm with a portfolio of transformative consumer technology companies including Kakao, Coupang, Spotify, ByteDance, and Stitch Fix. Please join us as Eric shares insights on the rise of the global startup ecosystem, cross-border investment strategy, and how investors identify and scale the next generation of consumer platforms. This conversation will be moderated by Josh Geballe, Senior Associate Provost for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Yale University and Managing Director of Yale Ventures. This program is supported by Hanwha Life Co-Hosted with Yale Ventures For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/corporate/2135-eric-kim

April 8, 2026 - Join us for a virtual tour of archival resources about Korea and U.S.-Korea relations available for virtual and U.S.-based researchers. This discussion highlights a diverse array of both longstanding and emerging collections, providing a wide survey of available historical resources. How can educators, researchers, historians, writers, and students best take advantage of this treasure trove of materials? What stories await and what impact can they have? What are some tips and tricks from librarians, center directors, and archivists? Participating resource centers include: the new Van Fleet Digital Archive, The University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for East Asian Studies U.S.-Korean Relations Collection, The Library of Congress Korean Collection, and The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. This program is jointly produced by the Policy and the Education teams. Featuring: Dr. David Fields, Associate Director of the Center for East Asian Studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison, Joe McChristian, Jr. President of The Van Fleet Foundation, Dr. Sam Rushay, Supervisory Archivist at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, and Dr. Elli Kim, Korea Reference Librarian Asian Division at The Library of Congress. This program is made possible by the generous support of the Korea Foundation and our individual and corporate members. For the video version of this program, please visit the link below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeMJ8XWKvYg For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/2129-resources-us-korea

March 31, 2026 - The Korea Society and Y. T. Hwang Family Foundation is proud to present Rabbi Angela Buchdahl in a conversation with Kyung Yoon. 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 of our human existence through a series of lectures by distinguished speakers and conversation with extraordinary individuals who exemplify the universal values in line with the mission of Y. T. Hwang Family Foundation and The Korea Society. For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/arts-culture/2119-rabbi-angela-buchdahl-with-kyung-yoon

February 12, 2026 - K-pop fandom's practices and activities are a primary productive force, instrumental in shaping the genre's immense global appeal, as well as its cultural influence, politics, and future potential. Over the last thirty years, the K-pop fandom has grown, intensified, and diversified, while its activities have taken on new social, technological, and economic manifestations, some of which are exclusive to K-pop and others that align with the broader cultural and industrial dynamics of global mass entertainment. In this lecture, Areum Jeong will explore the phenomenon of performing deokhu—a Korean term connoting an "avid fan"—and the cultural significance and meaning of K-pop fan practices with a nuanced examination of contemporary audience power. For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/arts-culture/2105-k-pop-fandom-performing-deokhu-with-areum-jeong

February 3, 2026 - Join us for a program examining prospects for relations with North Korea, including US-Republic of Korea (ROK) alliance coordination, inter-Korean relations, the impact of North Korea's close relations with China and Russia, security concerns, and diplomatic opportunities. It is expected that North Korea's Workers' Party of Korea will hold its Ninth Party Congress in January or February. This important gathering occurs approximately once every five years and is likely to result in the announcement of important policy positions that could possibly create space for the US and South Korea to pursue diplomatic engagement. How should the ROK and the US proceed and what are the prospects for decreasing threats from North Korea's extensive nuclear program? To unpack these developments, we assemble an expert panel with decades of experience working on and dealing directly with North Korea, including: Keith Luse, Executive Director of the National Committee on North Korea, Ankit Panda, Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and author of The New Nuclear Age: At the Precipice of Armageddon, Rachel Minyoung Lee, Senior Fellow for the Stimson Center's Korea Program and 38 North, and Susan A. Thornton, Director of the Forum on Asia-Pacific Security at the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP). The discussion is moderated by policy director Jonathan Corrado. This program is produced in collaboration with the NCAFP and is co-hosted by The APEC Study Center at Columbia University. For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/2110-prospects-for-relations-with-north-korea