Tuesday, Mar 1, 2016 – Unfinished Apologies: Imperial Japan’s Sex Slaves of Wartime Asia

The 2014 Edition of the SAIS U.S.-Korea Yearbook analyzes important developments in North and South Korea that characterized their relations in that year. Each paper was written by a SAIS student from the course, “Korea’s Economic Development,” offered in the 2014 fall semester. Their insights were based on extensive reading and study as well as on numerous interviews conducted with government officials, scholars, NGO workers, academics and private sector experts both in Washington and Seoul.

Student authors featured: Alin Horj, Ju Hyung Kim, Kendrick Kuo, Jagabanta Ningthoujam, Kyu Seok Shim, and Mario Vanella.

Read more and download the full report here: 2014 SAIS US-Korea Yearbook

Learn more about the Korea Studies Program at SAIS.

The U.S.-Korea Institute at SAIS invites you to:

Tumen Triangle Tribulations:
The Unfulfilled Promise of Chinese, Russian and North Korean Cooperation

Featuring:

Andray Abrahamian
Director of Research, Choson Exchange
Honorary Fellow, Macquarie University

Wednesday, November 11, 2015
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Bernstein Offit Building, Rm 500
1717 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20036

The Tumen Triangle region—where North Korea, China and Russia meet—is, in many ways, the story of regional integration being held back by the political concerns of Pyongyang, Beijing and Moscow. Andray Abrahamian, Director of Research at Choson Exchange will present USKI’s latest special report which examines historical legacies, contemporary relations and shifting strategic priorities between the three countries and how they influence trade and investment in the region.

Andray Abrahamian is the Director of Research for Choson Exchange, a non-profit specializing in training for North Koreans in business, economic policy and law. He is an Honorary Fellow at Macquarie University and was a CSIS non-resident Kelly Fellow. Andray has a PhD from the University of Ulsan, in which he examined media discourse and our understanding of North Korea and an M.A. from the University of Sussex, which focused on US-Korea relations.

Please RSVP here! 

Webcast available HERE.

Tuesday, Oct 6, 2015 – China and North Korea: Strategic and Policy Perspectives from a Changing China

Monday, Sep 28, 2015 – Myanmar in a Regional Context

Recent developments on the Korean peninsula, including last month’s “25 August Agreement,” provide a new window of opportunity for North-South cooperation. What are the political and economic dynamics in North Korea that made this agreement possible? What policy options exist for the United States in response to these new developments?

Please join the U.S.-Korea Institute at SAIS and the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University for a discussion on changing politics and economy in North Korea, and a look at the future of the Korean peninsula.

September 25, 2015
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Kenney Auditorium
1740 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20036

Keynote Speakers:

Amb. Joseph DETRANI, President, Intelligence and National Security Alliance
Dr. Young-Kwan YOON, Professor, Seoul National University; Former Foreign Minister, Korea

Session I: Kim Jong Un’s Leadership and North Korea’s External Policy

Moderator:	Dr. Myoung-Kyu PARK, Director, Institute for Peace and Unification Studies, Seoul National University, Korea
Speakers:	Dr. Byung-Yeon KIM, Deputy Director, Institute for Peace and Unification Studies, Seoul National University, Korea
	Dr. Philo KIM, Professor, Institute for Peace and Unification Studies, Seoul National University, Korea
Discussants:	Bradley BABSON, Chairman, DPRK Economic Forum, U.S.-Korea Institute, SAIS
	Alexandre MANSOUROV, Adjunct Professor, SAIS

Session II: U.S. Policy Towards the Korean Peninsula

Moderator:	Joel WIT,  Senior Fellow, U.S.-Korea Institute, SAIS
Speakers:	Frank JANNUZI,  President,  Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation
	Dan BLUMENTHAL, Director, Asian Studies, American Enterprise Institute
Discussants:	Amb. Joseph DETRANI, President, Intelligence and National Security Alliance
	Dr. Young-Kwan YOON, Professor, Seoul National University; Former Foreign Minister, Korea

Full agenda here: 9.25 Agenda-Final

Please RSVP here by September 23.  Event will also be webcast HERE. 

The U.S.-Korea Institute at SAIS and Fading Away LLC present

Saturday, August 15, 2015
1:00pm-4:00pm

The United States Navy Memorial
701 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20004

The U.S.-Korea Institute and Fading Away LLC invite you to the debut film screening of Director Christopher H.K. Lee’s latest documentary, “The Last Tear.” The screening will be followed by Q&A with the producer and a reception.

1:00 Opening remarks
1:15  Film screening
2:15  Q&A with director
2:45  Reception

The screening is free and open to the public. Please RSVP here.

About the film:

 

Sexual violence against women has accompanied almost every large-scale conflict, yet most of its victims are silenced. One such sad episode is that of the “comfort women,” or more accurately, the estimated 200,000 women who were recruited to sexually serve the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. As part of this immense system, many young women from all over Japan’s occupied territories in Asia were forced into service where they faced rape, torture and extreme violence at military camps, euphemistically termed “comfort stations.”

Since the early 1990s, the testimonies of these women shocked the world, and were eventually taken up as a serious human rights issue by the United Nations, a host of governments, and numerous independent NGOs. Taking a different approach, we aimed to listen to and gauge the true feelings of some of the few remaining survivors, believing that the sea of mass media and politics is largely drowning their voices out. We sought to hear their true wishes.

As part of our Fading Away documentary series, we hoped to give a voice to these women and search for a form of healing. We traveled thousands of miles to visit the historical locations and met with the some of few remaining survivors. Along the way, we became witnesses to the scars left on their bodies and souls.  Our journey brought us to Japan, Korea, China and Taipei to meet with several experts, museums and NGOs. Our team gained great insight on this controversial issue that is still widely unknown to the rest of the world.

Now into their 80s and 90s, these women are becoming weaker day by day and we believe that such traces of painful memories and tragic stories may never be healed. But by remembering them and embracing them, we will provide a step towards their ultimate closure.

Our film’s purpose is to share the emotions of the past and to connect our generations in a more personal and humanistic way. Through understanding the faults of the past, we allow them to never be erased, and prevent them from happening again.

Movie website: The Last Tear

About the director:

Christopher H.K. Lee is an award-winning filmmaker/writer/publisher and media artist. He has over 27 years of multi-cultural and diverse industry experience in the fields of architecture, interactive media, visual effects and animations as a director/producer and over ten years of lecturing experience at colleges in both South Korea and the U.S.  Mr. Lee has produced many feature and short films, including several others that raise awareness of Korean history, culture and current affairs titled “I am Grace,” “Rescued by Fate,” and “Fading Away.”