Category: Archived Events

event flyer with blue overlay over images of a Korean War soldier's statue and the Korean Peningsula; text: 70th Anniversary: Korean War Conference

9/10-11: Conference in Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the Korean War

Archived EventsLeave a Comment on 9/10-11: Conference in Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the Korean War

The Korean War as Lived Experience:
New Approaches to the Conflict after 70 Years

Thursday, September 10 – Friday, September 11, 2020, EDT

Livestream via Zoom

Program (PDF)

Registered guests will receive a confirmation email with details for joining the virtual event.
This event is on the record and open to the public.

In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Korean War, the GW Institute of Korean Studies, Sigur Center for Asian Studies, and KDI School of Public Policy and Management will be hosting a virtual international conference on the war bringing together recognized experts from around the globe. The conference will highlight new approaches to the international and social history of the war. Presenters will explore both Great Power decision making and the local impacts of the war with the goal of understanding the complex and multifaceted influence of the war.

Schedule

Thursday, September 10
06:00 p.m. – 09:00 p.m.

Introductory Session: Congratulatory Remarks
Ilana Feldman (Interim Dean, The Elliot School of International Affairs)
Jong-Il You (Dean, KDI School of Public Policy and Management)
Soo Hyuck Lee (Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the U.S.)

Keynote Speech
Keun-Sik Jung (Professor, Seoul National University)
The Legacy of Korean War and Overcoming the Cold war: A Study on Strategic Village
Moderator: Jisoo Kim (Director, GW Institute for Korean Studies)
Session I
Jeongmin Kim (Assistant Professor, University of Manitoba)
The Birth of Global Money: Military Payment Certificates and the Sexual Economy of War and Base during the Korean War

Janice Kim (Associate Professor of History, York University)
Fractured Patriarchy: The Effects of Civilian Displacement during the Korean War

HakJae Kim (Humanities Korea Professor, Seoul National University)
Once upon a time in Korea: Five Issues about the Korean War

Commentator: Gregg Brazinsky (Professor of History and International Affairs, the George Washington University)

Friday, September 11
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Session II

Avram Agov (Faculty Member, Langara College)
International politics behind socialist humanitarian aid to North Korea during the Korean War

Steven Lee (Associate Professor of History, University of British Columbia)
The Canadian Peace Congress and the Korean War

David Chang (Associate Professor of History, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)
The Forgotten War or the Hijacked War? How Chinese POWs and Chiang Kai-shek Hijacked the Korean War

Commentator: William Stueck (Professor Emeritus of History, University of Georgia)

08:00 p.m. – 09:30 p.m.
Roundtable Discussions

Keun-Sik Jung (Professor, Seoul National University)

Gregg Brazinsky (Professor of History and International Affairs, the George Washington University)

Christine Ahn (Founder and Executive Director, Women Cross DMZ)

Suzy Kim (Associate Professor of Korean History, Rutgers University)

Moderator: Jisoo Kim (Director, GW Institute for Korean Studies)

book cover with drawing of a bird on a branch; text: One Left: a novel by Kim Soom

12/14 Book Talk: One Left A Powerful Tale of Trauma and Endurance that Transformed a Nation’s Understanding of Korean Comfort Women

Archived EventsLeave a Comment on 12/14 Book Talk: One Left A Powerful Tale of Trauma and Endurance that Transformed a Nation’s Understanding of Korean Comfort Women

One Left by Kim Soom
Translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton

Monday, December 14, 2020
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Virtual Event via Zoom
This event is on the record and open to the public.

Event Description

Translators Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton will discuss One Left, their translation of the first Korean novel to focus on the Korean “comfort women” of World War II. They will focus on the question of why it has taken 75 years for such a novel to be written, on the way in which author Kim Soom has interwoven the testimony of the surviving women with a fictional narrative taking place in present-day Seoul, and on broader issues of social justice, truth and reconciliation, and trauma and healing.


Speakers


Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton are the translators of numerous volumes of modern Korean fiction, most recently the novels Mina by Kim Sagwa (Two Lines Press, 2018), The Catcher in the Loft by Ch’ŏn Un-yŏng (Codhill Press, 2019), and One Left by Kim Soom (University of Washington Press, 2020). Their translations of Korean short fiction appear in journals such as The Massachusetts Review, Granta, and Asymptote. Among their awards and fellowships are a PEN America Heim Translation grant for One Left, two U.S. National Endowment for the Arts Translation Fellowships, and the first residency at the Banff International Literary Translation Centre awarded to translators from any Asian language. Bruce Fulton is the inaugural occupant of the Young-Bin Min Chair in Korean Literature and Literary Translation, Department of Asian Studies, University of British Columbia, and the recipient of a 2018 Manhae Grand Prize in Literature.

Moderator


Immanuel Kim is Korea Foundation and Kim-Renaud Associate Professor of Korean Literature and Culture Studies in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures. Prior to working at the George Washington University, he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Asian and Asian American Studies at Binghamton University (SUNY). His first book, Rewriting Revolution: Women, Sexuality, and Memory in North Korean Fiction (2018), examines North Korean literature, and his second book, Laughing North Koreans (2020), looks at North Korean comedy films. He also translated a novel from North Korea called Friend (2020).

blue flyer with images of koreans attending protests and rallies; text: The 28th Annual Hahn Moo-Sook Colloquium in the Korean Humanities From Enmity to Empathy: African American and Korean American Communities since the 1992 Los Angeles Riots

11/6 The 28th Annual Hahn Moo-Sook Colloquium in the Korean Humanities

Archived Events, Hahn Moo-sook Colloquium in the Korean HumanitiesLeave a Comment on 11/6 The 28th Annual Hahn Moo-Sook Colloquium in the Korean Humanities

The Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures presents:

The 28th Annual Hahn Moo-Sook Colloquium
in the Korean Humanities
From Enmity to Empathy:
African American and Korean American Communities
Since the 1992 Los Angeles Riots

Friday, November 6, 2020
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Virtual Event via Zoom

Program (PDF)

Co-organized by the GW Institute for Korean Studies, and co-sponsored by the Korea Foundation, the GW Sigur Center for Asian Studies, and the GW East Asia National Resource Center

Reflecting current debates on social injustice and the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States, this year’s Hahn Moo-Sook Colloquium will examine the ways in which race impacts Korean, Korean-American, African-American, and African diasporic communities in other countries. The discussion will start with the 1992 Los Angeles riots and reflect on how relations between the Black and Korean-American communities have evolved since then. The speakers will examine Black-Korean tensions: what it means to be Korean-American in the midst of shifting multicultural politics and race; how we can situate Asian/Korean-American experiences within the context of Black-white relations; how R&B and hip hop music have brought the two communities closer through K-pop; and how collaboration on cultural production influences both communities.

PROGRAM

Welcoming Remarks
3:00 p.m. – 3:05 p.m.
Jisoo M. Kim (Director, GW Institute for Korean Studies)
3:05 p.m. – 3:10 p.m.
Caroline Laguerre-Brown (Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement, the George Washington University)

Main Session
3:10 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Kyeyoung Park (Professor of Anthropology and Asian American Studies, University of California, Los Angeles)
How Have Black-Korean Relations Evolved since the 1992 Los Angeles Civil Unrest?
3:30 p.m. – 3:50 p.m.
Edward Chang (Professor & Founding Director, Young Oak Kim Center for Korean American Studies, University of California, Riverside)
Confronting Sa-I-Gu: Beyond Black-Korean Conflict
3:50 p.m. – 4:10 p.m.
Crystal S. Anderson (Affiliate Faculty in Korean Studies, George Mason University)
Groovy Everywhere: Korean R&B/Hip-Hop as a Site of Cultural Community
4:10 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Aku Kadogo (Chair of Department of Theater and Performance, Spelman College)
Confluence: Where the Mississippi Meets the Han

General Discussion
4:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
This event is on the record and open to the public.

The Hahn Moo-Sook (HMS) Colloquium in the Korean Humanities series at the George Washington University provides a forum for academic discussion of Korean arts, history, language, literature thought and religious systems in the context of East Asia and the world. The colloquium series is made possible by an endowment established by the estate of Hahn Moo-Sook (1918-1993), one of Korea’s most honored writers, to uphold her spirit of openness, curiosity, and commitment to education.

For more information about the HMS Colloquium, visit here.

flyer with headshots of panelists; text: Korea Policy Forum The U.S. Presidential Election and Korea: Journalists' Views

11/10 The U.S. Presidential Election and Korea: Journalists’ Views

Archived EventsLeave a Comment on 11/10 The U.S. Presidential Election and Korea: Journalists’ Views

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

8:30 AM – 9:45 AM EST

Virtual Event

This event is on the record and open to the public.

Event Description

The Trump administration has dramatically changed the strategic dynamics in and around the Korean peninsula led by the historic summits with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un and intensifying strategic competition with China. The results of the U.S. presidential election on November 3 will determine the next phase of U.S.-Korea relations in many ways. Please join us for an online discussion by American and South Korean journalists on the domestic reactions to the results of the election and prospects for inter-Korean and U.S.-Korea relations.

 

Speakers

Anthony Kuhn is NPR’s correspondent based in Seoul, South Korea, reporting on the Korean Peninsula and Japan. Before moving to Seoul in 2018, he traveled to the region to cover major stories including the North Korean nuclear crisis and the Fukushima earthquake and nuclear disaster. Kuhn previously served two five-year stints in Beijing, China, for NPR, focusing in particular on China’s rich traditional culture and its impact on the current day. From 2010-2013, Kuhn was NPR’s Southeast Asia correspondent, based in Jakarta, Indonesia, and also served as NPR’s correspondent in London from 2004-2005. Prior to joining NPR, Kuhn wrote for the Far Eastern Economic Review and freelanced for various news outlets, including the Los Angeles Times and Newsweek. He majored in French literature as an undergraduate at Washington University in St. Louis, and later did graduate work at the Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American studies in Nanjing.

 

 

Heejun Kim is the Newsroom Director of the Department of Inter-Korean Unification, Foreign Affairs & National Security at YTN, a 24-hours News Channel in Korea. Mrs. Kim was a YTN Correspondent in Washington D.C from June 2016 to July 2019. She did an exclusive interview with Secretary of State, Mr. Mike Pompeo, and National security adviser, Mr. Herbert R. McMaster while she was working in Washington D.C. Mrs. Kim was a Professional Fellow at Weatherhead East Asian Institute of Columbia University in New York, 2011-2012. She earned a Master’s Degree from Ewha Womans University, Korea majoring in Journalism and Mass communication in 1993.

 

 

 

Insun Kang is Deputy managing editor at The Chosun Ilbo. She is a former Washington bureau chief and a member of the editorial board. Prior to this role, she was the editor of the international news and weekend section. While working as a Washington correspondent from 2001 to 2006, she was a war reporter embedded with a U.S. Army division during the war in Iraq in 2003. She has been covering North Korean issues, international affairs, and Korean politics. She also had her own TV interview show, “Kang Insun Live.” She is the author of “Harvard Style”, “Leadership Code” and a few more books. She received a bachelor’s degree and an M.A. from Seoul National University. She also holds an M.A. from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

 

 

 

Seung Min Kim is a White House reporter for The Washington Post, covering the Trump administration through the lens of Capitol Hill. Before joining The Washington Post in 2018, she spent more than eight years at Politico, primarily covering the Senate and immigration policy. Kim is also an on-air political analyst for CNN.

 

 

Moderator

Yonho Kim is an Associate Research Professor of Practice and the Associate Director of GW Institute for Korean Studies. He specializes in North Korea’s mobile telecommunications and U.S. policy towards North Korea. Kim is the author of North Korean Phone Money: Airtime Transfers as a Precursor to Mobile Payment System (2020), North Korea’s Mobile Telecommunications and Private Transportation Services in the Kim Jong-un Era (2019) and Cell Phones in North Korea: Has North Korea Entered the Telecommunications Revolution? (2014). His research findings were covered by various media outlets, including Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Yonhap News, and Libération. Prior to joining GWIKS, he extensively interacted with the Washington policy circle on the Korean peninsula as Senior Researcher of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Senior Reporter for Voice of America’s Korean Service, and Assistant Director of the Atlantic Council’s Program on Korea in Transition. He holds a B.A. and M.A. in International Relations from Seoul National University, and an M.A. in International Relations and International Economics from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

 

flyer with speakers' headshots; text: North Korea Economic Forum Special Public Webinar: Assessing North Korea's Financial 'Reform' Measures

12/17 North Korea Economic Forum Special Public Webinar

Archived Events, North Korea Economic ForumLeave a Comment on 12/17 North Korea Economic Forum Special Public Webinar

North Korea Economic Forum Special Public Webinar

Assessing North Korea’s Financial ‘Reform’ Measures:
Mobilizing Domestic Financial Resources amid Sanctions

Speaker

Moon-Soo Yang, Professor, University of North Korean Studies

Moderator

Yonho Kim, Associate Director, GW Institute for Korean Studies

Date & Time

Thursday, December 17, 2020

9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. (ET)
11:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. (KST)

Virtual Event

Event Description

North Korea has been introducing new financial initiatives in the Kim Jong Un era, including commercial banks and upgraded electronic payment systems. In dealing with the economic hardships caused by tough U.N. sanctions in 2017 and 2018 and by Covid-induced border closures this year, Pyongyang stepped up its efforts to mobilize domestic financial resources for the state’s fiscal needs. North Korea’s financial ‘reform’ measures should be understood in this context. Please join the North Korea Economic Forum of the GW Institute for Korean Studies for an online discussion on Pyongyang’s financial coping mechanism amid economic sanctions.

Speaker

Moon-Soo Yang (left) is the Vice President for Academic Affairs and a professor at the University of North Korean Studies. He is also a Policy Advisor for the Ministry of Unification and was the President of the Korean Association of North Korean Studies. Prior to joining the University of North Korean Studies, Yang was a Research Fellow at the LG Economic Research Institute (2000-2002) and a reporter at Maeil Economic Daily (1988-1991). His research interests include the North Korean Economy, inter-Korean economic cooperation, and economic integration of two Koreas. He has published numerous books and articles including Marketization of the North Korean Economy (2010), North Korea’s Planned Economy and Marketization (2016), “Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation for North Korean Development: Future Challenges and Prospect,” and “Reformulating South-North Korean Economic Integration.” He received a B.A. in Economics from Seoul National University and holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from Tokyo University.

Moderator

Yonho Kim (right) is an Associate Research Professor of Practice and the Associate Director of GW Institute for Korean Studies. He specializes in North Korea’s mobile telecommunications and U.S. policy towards North Korea. Kim is the author of  North Korean Phone Money: Airtime Transfers as a Precursor to Mobile Payment System (2020), North Korea’s Mobile Telecommunications and Private Transportation Services in the Kim Jong-un Era (2019) and Cell Phones in North Korea: Has North Korea Entered the Telecommunications Revolution? (2014). His research findings were covered by various media outlets, including Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Yonhap News, and Libération. Prior to joining GWIKS, he extensively interacted with the Washington policy circle on the Korean peninsula as Senior Researcher of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Senior Reporter for Voice of America’s Korean Service, and Assistant Director of the Atlantic Council’s Program on Korea in Transition. He holds a B.A. and M.A. in International Relations from Seoul National University, and an M.A. in International Relations and International Economics from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Background

North Korea Economic Forum (NKEF) is part of the policy program at the George Washington University’s Institute for Korean Studies (GWIKS). The Forum aims to promote the understanding of North Korean economic issues, distribute well-balanced, deeply researched, and multi-dimensional insights on the North Korean economy and to expand networks among various North Korea watchers, scholars, and policymakers. The Forum mostly involves closed and off-the-record meetings, where participants can freely and seriously discuss critical issues. Mr. Daniel Wertz is currently the chair of NKEF and is leading the meetings. NKEF also organizes special conferences made public throughout the academic year. The Forum is made possible by a generous grant provided by the KDI School of Public Policy and Management.

This event is on the record and open to the public.

GW Institute for Korean Studies

Surface of the Earth as seen from space, satellite view of East Asia

10/2 North Korea Economic Forum: Special Public Webinar “Supply and Demand of Refined Oil Product in North Korea”

Archived Events, North Korea Economic ForumLeave a Comment on 10/2 North Korea Economic Forum: Special Public Webinar “Supply and Demand of Refined Oil Product in North Korea”

Speaker: David von Hippel

Friday, October 2, 2020

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Virtual Event via Zoom

This event is on the record and open to the public.

Program (PDF)

Event Description

North Korea’s energy situation has been one of the most debated topics among North Korea watchers since the tough U.N. sanctions were imposed in 2017 and 2018. Despite the tight sanctions on North Korea’s oil imports, North Korea seems to have figure out its coping mechanism to prevent serious disruptions to their economy. What are the measures taken by North Korea to offset oil supply restrictions? How can we connect the dots between North Korea’s oil supply and demand? Please join the North Korea Economic Forum of the GW Institute for Korean Studies for an online discussion on the challenges for North Korea’s energy sector and their coping mechanism.

Speaker

David von Hippel is an independent consultant and Nautilus Institute Senior Associate based in Eugene, Oregon. His work with Nautilus has centered on energy and environmental issues in Asia, and particularly in Northeast Asia. He has been involved in several projects, including an ongoing multi-nation Regional Energy Security Project for Nautilus Institute, centered around energy paths analysis, and the related East Asia Science and Security Network and follow-on projects that focused on potential nuclear materials issues in the region. He has done extensive analyses of the patterns of fuels use and prospects for energy efficiency and energy sector redevelopment in North Korea, and is currently preparing an update to an Energy Sector Analysis for that country. Dr. von Hippel holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Energy and Resources from the University of California-Berkeley, and M.A. and B.S. degrees from the University of Oregon

Discussant

Daniel Wertz is the Program Manager at the National Committee on North Korea (NCNK), where he has worked since 2011. Wertz manages research and publications at NCNK, and is also the lead researcher and editor of North Korea in the World, an interactive website exploring North Korea’s external economic and diplomatic relations. He also serves as Chair of the Steering Committee of George Washington University’s North Korea Economic Forum. Prior to working at NCNK, Wertz was a research assistant at the U.S.-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Wertz received master’s degrees in International and World History in a joint program from Columbia University and the London School of Economics, and a bachelor’s degree in History from Wesleyan University.

Moderator

Celeste Arrington is Korea Foundation Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at GW. She specializes in comparative politics, with a regional focus on the Koreas and Japan. Her research and teaching focus on law and social movements, the media, lawyers, policy processes, historical justice, North Korean human rights, and qualitative methods. She is also interested in the international relations and security of Northeast Asia and transnational activism. She is the author of Accidental Activists: Victims and Government Accountability in South Korea and Japan (2016) and has published in Comparative Political Studies, Law & Society Review, Journal of East Asian Studies, Pacific Affairs, Asian Survey, and the Washington Post, among others. She received a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, an MPhil from the University of Cambridge, and an A.B. from Princeton University. She is currently writing a book that analyzes the role of lawyers and legal activism in Japanese and Korean policies related to persons with disabilities and tobacco control.

North Korea Economic Forum Background

The North Korea Economic Forum (NKEF) is part of policy program at the George Washington University’s Institute for Korean Studies (GWIKS). The Forum aims to promote the understanding of North Korean economic issues, distribute the well-balanced, deeply touched, and multi-dimensionally explored pictures of North Korean economy and to expand the network among the various North Korean economy watchers. The Forum is mostly a closed and off-the-record meeting where participants can freely and seriously discuss the critical issues. Mr. Daniel Wertz is currently the chair of the NKEF and is leading the meetings. It also organizes special conferences made public throughout the academic year. The Forum is made possible by a generous grant provided by the KDI School of Public Policy and Management.

 

event banner for the The 2nd North Korea Economic Forum Annual Conference (Part 1)

10/5 The 2nd North Korea Economic Forum Annual Conference (Part 1): Current Development Trends in North Korea

Archived Events, North Korea Economic ForumLeave a Comment on 10/5 The 2nd North Korea Economic Forum Annual Conference (Part 1): Current Development Trends in North Korea

Monday, October 5, 2020

9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Eastern

Virtual Event via Zoom

This event is on the record and open to the public.

Program (PDF)

 

Event Description

The North Korean economy, which was already pressured hard by tight international sanctions, faced unprecedented economic challenges since the global outbreak of COVID-19.  The health crisis revealed the vulnerability of North Korea’s economic system and raised questions about the validity of Pyongyang’s economic development plans. In this context, the first part of our second North Korea Economic Forum Annual Conference will examine the current development trends in North Korea in the areas of public infrastructure, tourism, and mobile telecommunications.

Schedule

Congratulatory Remarks

09:00 a.m. – 09:15 a.m.

Moderator: Jisoo Kim (Director, GW Institute for Korean Studies)

Ilana Feldman (Interim Dean, Elliott School of International Affairs, GW)

Jong-Il You (Dean, KDI School of Public Policy and Management)

Daniel Wertz (Chair, North Korea Economic Forum)

 

Panel Discussion

09:15 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Moderator: Celeste Arrington (Korea Foundation Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affair, The George Washington University)

 

Speakers

Jerome Sauvage (Consultant, Former UN Coordinator in North Korea)

“The State of Public Infrastructure in the DPR Korea: Power, Water and Sanitation, Health”

Matt Kulesza (Senior North Korean Tour Guide & Media Liaison, Young Pioneer Tours)

“How the Chinese spike in North Korea tourism is affecting the industry”

Yonho Kim (Associate Director, GW Institute for Korean Studies)

“Transferring Airtime: A Precursor to Mobile Money in North Korea?”

 

Discussants

Joongho Kim (Non-Resident Scholar, GW Institute for Korean Studies)

Randall Spadoni (North Korea Program Director, World Vision)

 

Background

The North Korea Economic Forum (NKEF) is part of policy program at the George Washington University’s Institute for Korean Studies (GWIKS). The Forum aims to promote the understanding of North Korean economic issues, distribute the well-balanced, deeply touched, and multi-dimensionally explored pictures of North Korean economy and to expand the network among the various North Korean economy watchers. The Forum is mostly a closed and off-the-record meeting where participants can freely and seriously discuss the critical issues. Mr. Daniel Wertz is currently the chair of the NKEF and is leading the meetings. It also organizes special conferences made public throughout the academic year. The Forum is made possible by a generous grant provided by the KDI School of Public Policy and Management.

The 2nd North Korea Economic Forum Annual Conference (Part II) on “Researching North Korea: Sources, Methods, and Pitfalls” will be held on Oct. 12~13.

 

 

flags of the United States, South Korea, and China

09/22 -Korea Policy Forum: Virtual Roundtable Discussions: U.S.-Korea Relations in the Era of U.S.-China Strategic Rivalry

Archived EventsLeave a Comment on 09/22 -Korea Policy Forum: Virtual Roundtable Discussions: U.S.-Korea Relations in the Era of U.S.-China Strategic Rivalry

The GW Institute for Korean Studies, the GW East Asia National Resource Center, and Ajou University US-China Policy Institute Present:

Korea Policy Forum

Virtual Roundtable Discussions:
U.S.-Korea Relations in the Era of U.S.-China Strategic Rivalry

Tuesday, September 22, 2020
8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. (EDT)
9:30 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. (KST)
Livestream via Zoom

This event is on the record and open to the public.

 

Event Description

The intensifying strategic rivalry between the U.S. and China under the Trump administration has exposed the U.S.-Korea relations to a greater deal of uncertainty. With China’s economic rise and assertive diplomatic posture, this new strategic shock could last in the coming years regardless of the results of the U.S. presidential election this year. What are the challenges and opportunities that should be identified by the decades-old allies? What are the necessary steps that Seoul and Washington should take to reduce the strategic risks in the coming months and years? Please join the GW Institute for Korean Studies for an online roundtable discussion with experts from both the U.S. and South Korea on Washington and Seoul’s strategic thinking and priorities in Northeast Asia.

 

Roundtable Participants (Alphabetical Order)

(1) South Korea
Beomchul Shin (Director of Diplomacy and Security Center, Korea Research Institute for National Strategy)
Byung-Yeon Kim (Professor in the Department of Economics, Seoul National University)
Chaesung Chun (Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Seoul National University)
Heung-Kyu Kim (Director of U.S.-China Policy Institute, Ajou University)
Sang Hyun Lee (Senior Research Fellow, Sejong Institute)
Sung-Han Kim (Dean of the Graduate School of International Studies, Korea University)
Wang Hwi Lee (Professor in the Division of International Studies, Ajou University)

(2) The United States
Elbridge Colby (Co-Founder and Principal, The Marathon Initiative)
Eric Sayers (Vice President, Beacon Global Strategies)
John Fleming (Senior Director for Strategic Projects, Owl Cyber Defense Solutions)
Jung Pak (SK-Korea Foundation Chair in Korea Studies, Brookings Institution)
Scott Snyder (Director of the Program on U.S.-Korea policy, Council on Foreign Relations)
William Brown (Principal, Northeast Asia Economics and Intelligence Advisory)
Yonho Kim (Associate Director, GW Institute for Korean Studies)

 

Program

 

The Korea Policy Forum is made possible by a generous grant provided by the KDI School of Public Policy and Management.

event flyer with black and white image of koreans laughing; text: "Life and Culture in North Korea: Friend and North Korean Comedy Film"

10/09 Immanuel Kim’s Book Talk – “Life and Culture in North Korea: Friend and North Korean Comedy Film”

Archived EventsLeave a Comment on 10/09 Immanuel Kim’s Book Talk – “Life and Culture in North Korea: Friend and North Korean Comedy Film”

Speaker: Immanuel Kim, The George Washington University

Friday, October 9, 2020

4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Easten Time

Virtual Event via Zoom

This event is on the record and open to the public.

Event Description

This study analyzes North Korean comedy films from the late 1960s to present day. It examines the most iconic comedy films and comedians to show how North Koreans have enjoyed themselves and have established a culture of humor that challenges, subverts, and, at times, reinforces the dominant political ideology. Immanuel Kim argues that comedy films, popular comedians, and the viewers have an intricate interdependent relationship that shaped the film culture—the pre/post production of filmmaking, film-watching experience, and the legacies of actors—in North Korea.

 

Speaker

Immanuel Kim is Korea Foundation and Kim-Renaud Associate Professor of Korean Literature and Culture Studies. Prior to working at the George Washington University, he was Assistant Professor in the Department of Asian and Asian American Studies at Binghamton University (SUNY).  Dr. Kim
received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Riverside. He is an authority on North Korean literature and film and is the author of a recent book on North Korean literature, Rewriting Revolution: Women, Sexuality, and Memory in North Korean Fiction (University of Hawaii Press, 2018).
Purchase Laughing North Koreans: The Culture of Comedy Films.


Discussant

Dong Hoon Kim is an associate professor in the Department of Cinema Studies at the University of Oregon. His research interests include visual culture, early cinema, media spectatorship, and East Asian film, media, and popular culture. Kim is the author of Eclipsed Cinema: the Film Culture of Colonial Korea published in 2017 by Edinburgh University Press.
Purchase Eclipsed Cinema: The Film Culture of Colonial Korea.

 

 

 

 

banner image for the North Korea Economic Forum Annual Conference (Part II)

10/12-13 North Korea Economic Forum Annual Conference (Part II) Researching North Korea: Sources, Methods, and Pitfalls

Archived Events, North Korea Economic ForumLeave a Comment on 10/12-13 North Korea Economic Forum Annual Conference (Part II) Researching North Korea: Sources, Methods, and Pitfalls

October 12-13, 2020

9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. (ET)

Virtual Event via Zoom

Program (PDF)

 

Event Description

North Korea has been considered as a ‘hard target’ by analysts because of the country’s lack of transparency and accessibility. Its economy is no exception. With the dynamic marketization North Korea watchers have difficulty in collecting the economic data and relevant information. Sources and methods themselves are often main debate topics. In this context, the second part of our second North Korea Economic Forum Annual Conference will examine sources, methods and pitfalls of researching North Korea in the areas of interview techniques, official economic data satellite imagery analysis, maritime monitoring, illicit finance networks, and unclassified commercial data.

 

Schedule

Monday, October 12  (9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.)

Session I. Traditional Methodology: Researching a Hard Target

Moderator: William Newcomb (Fellow, Center for Advanced Defense Studies)

 

Speakers:

Sandra Fahy (Associate Professor of Anthropology, Sophia University)
Interview Techniques for Qualitative Research

 

Stephen Haggard (Krause Distinguished Professor, School of Global Policy and Strategy, UCSD)
Liuya Zhang (PhD Candidate, Ohio State University)
Researching a Hard Target: The Use of Official Economic Data

 

Jenny Town (Fellow, Stimson Center and Deputy Director of 38 North)
Eyes In the Sky: How Satellite Imagery Can Enhance Understanding of North Korea

 

Discussants:

Barbra Demick (Janice B. and Milford D. Gerton Fellow, New York Public Library’s Cullman Center)

 

Nicholas Eberstadt (Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy, American Enterprise Institute)

 

Melissa Hanham (Deputy Director of Open Nuclear Network, One Earth Future Foundation)

 

Tuesday, October 13 (9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.)

Session II. Cutting Edge: Researching a Hard Target

Moderator: John Park (Director of Korea Project, Harvard Kennedy School)

 

Speakers:

Neil Watts (Former Member UN Panel of Experts for North Korea)
Watching Through the Lens of a Long Telescope: Monitoring North Korean Sanctions Evasion in the Maritime Domain

 

Andrea Mihailescu (Nonresident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council and Adjunct Faculty, Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy)
Using Open Source to Help Banks and Regulators do Due Diligence

 

David Asher (Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute)
Disrupting North Korea’s Regime Using Unclassified Commercial Data as Intelligence

 

Discussants:

Hamish MacDonald (Associate Fellow, Royal United Services Institute)

 

Jason Arterburn (Program Director of Counterproliferation Cell, Center for Advanced Defense Studies)

 

Markus Garlauskas (Nonresident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council)

 

Background

The North Korea Economic Forum (NKEF) is part of policy program at the George Washington University’s Institute for Korean Studies (GWIKS). The Forum aims to promote the understanding of North Korean economic issues, distribute the well-balanced, deeply touched, and multi-dimensionally explored pictures of North Korean economy and to expand the network among the various North Korean economy watchers. The Forum is mostly a closed and off-the-record meeting where participants can freely and seriously discuss the critical issues. Mr. Daniel Wertz is currently the chair of the NKEF and is leading the meetings. It also organizes special conferences made public throughout the academic year. The Forum is made possible by a generous grant provided by the KDI School of Public Policy and Management.

 

As a part of the 2nd Annual Conference, a separate webinar on “Current Development Trends in North Korea” is to be held on October 5, 2020.

This event is on the record and open to the public.

Viewing Message: 1 of 1.
 Notice

This site uses cookies to offer you a better browsing experience. Visit GW’s Website Privacy Notice to learn more about how GW uses cookies.