Believe it or not, BTS and Blackpink are not the entirety of Korean popular music. At the birthplace of K-pop, "idol" groups share the stage with the new generation of "trot" singers, power balladeers, hip-hop artists and indie bands. Music critic Youngdae Kim surveys the recent history of popular music in Korea and how it has evolved as K-pop exploded all around the world. From "Ga-yo" to K-pop Tuesday, May… Read More

Join us for this discussion about obstacles and opportunities for inter-Korean social and cultural integration, featuring Dr. Hyun In-nae, Ewha University Professor and former director of the Korea Hana Foundation, and Bada Nam, Secretary General for the South Korean non-governmental organization People for Successful Corean Reunification (PSCORE). In an interview with Korea Society policy director Jonathan Corrado, the two draw insights from the findings of new survey research to describe… Read More

Do you want to learn more about Covid-19 vaccines and the global vaccination effort? Please join The Korea Society for a conversation on COVID-19 vaccine development and distribution with Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General of International Vaccine Institute (IVI) and Tom Byrne, Korea Society President/CEO. Dr. Kim, who was named one of “The 50 Most Influential People in Vaccines” in 2014 by the vaccine industry organization Vaccine Nation, will share… Read More

Join us as we explore the insights gained from educators who have advanced long-standing Korean language and Korean educational programming in their schools. Learn how the creative Korean programming our speakers developed evolved over time. Bruce Ballard, Professional Development Specialist at Bronx Charter School for Better Learning, shares his experience with elementary school programming. Jisun Kwon and Kleio Park, Korean language teachers at Francis Lewis High in Queens New York,… Read More

Statues, paintings, and masks—like the bodies of shamans and spirit mediums—give material form and presence to otherwise invisible entities, and sometimes these objects are understood to be enlivened. Dr. Laurel Kendall explores how magical images are expected to work with the shamans and spirit mediums in contemporary South Korea and compares the use of these shamanic images with similar practices in Vietnam, Myanmar, and Bali. The question of empowered images… Read More

University of Missouri Assistant Professor and Institute for Korean Studies Co-Director Aram Hur, the 2021 Sherman Scholar award recipient, speaks on May 6 at 3 PM to Korea’s Changing National Story and Democratic Future. Hur addresses Korean nationalism, a “rapidly fragmenting and changing” national story, and the danger of democratic rollback. Senior director Stephen Noerper describes Hur’s selection and address as “incredibly important given the costs of such fragmentation in… Read More