Contemporary Korea

  • FLAWLESS

    Tuesday, May 23, 2023 | 6:30 PM
    • Youtube Video:
    Seoul, South Korea makes Beverly Hills look like a one-stoplight town when it comes to the beauty rat race, and it’s getting more intense every year. Elise Hu spent four years in South Korea as NPR’s bureau chief, and during her tenure there, the K-beauty industry tripled to become a $10 billion industry. South Korea is home to more than 7,500 cosmetic and skincare manufacturers, and K-beauty has staked its claim as the future of skin care. Author photo by Emily Cummings Seoul, South Korea makes Beverly Hills... Read More

  • K-Content on the World Stage: Emergence, Explosion, and Staying Power with Steve Chung

    Tuesday, May 9, 2023 | 6:30 PM
    From music to film to television and streaming series to food, K-content is dominating the world stage. With remarkable achievements across several artistic disciplines and ever growing popularity of its creative talents, South Korea is in the center of a cultural moment. Some observers may be surprised by this K-phenomenon, but the global success of South Korean cultural contents is due to a combination of various factors at work for many years before the apparent explosion. An indispensable factor in the... Read More

  • Kyung-Sook Shin with Jenny Wang Medina

    Thursday, April 13, 2023 | 6:30 PM
    • Youtube Video:
      Author photo © Jun-yeon Kim An instant bestseller in Korea and the follow up to the international bestseller, Please Look After Mom, I Went to See My Father by Kyung-Sook Shin centers on a woman’s efforts to reconnect with her aging father, uncovering long-held family secrets. More than just the portrait of a single man, I Went to See My Father opens a window onto humankind, family, loss, and war. With this long-awaited follow-up to Please Look After Mom—flawlessly rendered by award-winning translator... Read More

  • Author Talks: Bora Chung

    Tuesday, December 6, 2022 | 5:00 PM
    • Youtube Video:
     Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize and the winner of a PEN/Heim Grant, Cursed Bunny  is the wildly original debut story collection from Bora Chung “Whether borrowing from fable, folktale, speculative fiction, science fiction, or horror, Chung’s stories corkscrew toward devastating conclusions—bleak, yes, but also wise and honest about the nightmares of contemporary life.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize and the winner of a PEN/Heim Grant, Cursed... Read More

  • Korea & FIFA World Cup

    Tuesday, November 22, 2022 | 5:00 PM
    • Youtube Video:
      South Korea holds the proud distinction of being the first independent Asian country to participate in a FIFA World Cup tournament in 1954. Still, Korea's success in soccer is forever linked with the 2002 World Cup: while co-hosting the tournament with Japan, Korea became the first team outside of Europe and America to reach the semi-finals. That event propelled Korea to the next stage in the world of soccer, as it became a home of world-class players, a robust professional soccer league, and the most... Read More

  • New Narratives in Korea: Baek Sehee

    Wednesday, November 9, 2022 | 5:00 PM
    • Youtube Video:
      Part memoir, part self-help book, and completely engrossing, I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Sehee is a book that captures the edgy relationship many millennials and Gen Z-ers have with hopelessness, hunger, and the pressure to be perfect. A runaway bestseller in Korea where her readers include RM of BTS, I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki is newly translated into English by International Booker Prize shortlisted translator Anton Hur. Baek Sehee is a successful young social media... Read More

  • Happy Hour with Korean Influencers

    Tuesday, August 16, 2022 | 5:00 PM
    • Podcast MP3: http://traffic.libsyn.com/koreasociety/2019-04-12_TKS_NewGenerationThinkingInChinaAndKorea_ZakaryDychtwald.mp3
    Join us for an evening of conversation and networking with a diverse mix of Korean social media influencers and content creators.Meet a group of young influencers from Korea! They are active on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, with audiences ranging from tens of thousands to millions of followers. These influencers create content on topics ranging from politics to fashion and lifestyle, presenting their unique point of view on everything from world history and North-and-South-Korea relationship to LGBTQI... Read More

  • Building Resilience: AAPI Identity and Mental Health

    Sunday, May 1, 2022 | 12:00 PM
    • Podcast MP3: http://traffic.libsyn.com/koreasociety/2019-04-12_TKS_NewGenerationThinkingInChinaAndKorea_ZakaryDychtwald.mp3
    • Youtube Video:
    Illustration by Subin Yoo A great deal of stigma remains on conversations regarding mental health. Among Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, the issue is often shrouded by silence and shame, allowing misconceptions and minimization of mental health concerns. Amid historic levels of anti-Asian violence, it is crucial to recognize the intergenerational trauma from immigration and racism and share stories that show the fullness of the AAPI experience in order to educate and form alliances.... Read More

  • The Showrunners with Soo Hugh and Ria Tobaccowala

    Tuesday, March 8, 2022 | 6:00 PM
    • Youtube Video:
    Soo Hugh, an acclaimed producer/writer and executive producer of Pachinko, one of the most anticipated drama series of 2022, talks about her career in television and the journey of adapting the bestselling novel into a series. Hugh will also be joined by Ria Tobaccowala, with whom she has launched The Thousand Miles Project, an incubator program to help bring more API stories to cinematic life and jumpstart fruitful careers in the entertainment industry. Pachinko, which premiers on Apple TV+ in late March, is... Read More

  • A Medical Doctor and Youtube Influencer in the Pandemic Era

    Tuesday, February 15, 2022 | 7:00 PM
    • Youtube Video:
    The role of medical doctors is important now more than ever in this pandemic era. The impact of influential Youtubers is also increasing, as the public heavily relies on the platform to obtain and share information. Yet it is rare to use both the titles of Doctor and Youtube creator to describe one person’s career like Dr. Jang’s. The Korea Society is excited to welcome Dr. Ezra Hangjun Jang, Internal medicine specialist and renowned host of the Youtube channel, “Dr. Ezra Hangjun Jang”. Dr. Jang has amassed a... Read More

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