AIDAN SMITH-FAGAN WRITES — President Joe Biden hosted South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House last Friday. After a day that included a medal of honor ceremony and a long, private discussion between the two heads of state, Biden and Moon held a joint press conference at which…
YOLANDA NOSAKHARE WRITES — At a time when hate crimes against Asian Americans are soaring across the US, the arrival of director Lee Isaac Chung’s film “Minari” hit theaters in the nick of time. The film’s storyline follows a first-generation Korean-American family’s experience moving to Arkansas in the 1980s. They…
DR. MOON CHUNG-IN, Special Advisor to South Korean President Moon Jae-in for Foreign Affairs and National Security. He is also a Distinguished University Professor of Yonsei University, Krause Distinguished Fellow, School of Policy and Global Strategy, University of California, San Diego, and co-Convener of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Non-Proliferation…
COURTESY OF THE PACIFIC CENTURY INSTITUTE — We are pleased to share PCI board member Dr. Chung-in Moon’s recent interview in a South Korean TV news special on “North Korean Killing of a South Korean Government Worker at Sea: Getting to the Bottom of the Truth with Moon Chung-in” that…
(This is the eighth in a series on modern Korean literature newly published in superb English translations.) ANDREA PLATE WRITES – Who could possibly find humor in severed heads, natural disasters and mass graves? South Korean author Yun Ko Eun does, as will any reader of the English language version…
JOSEPH LITTAUA WRITES — Most popular songs have a lot of things in common. For example, whether it’s a soloist or band song, most songs will have a short, catchy melody that gets stuck in your head, like Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know,” or One Direction’s “What Makes…
ANDREA PLATE WRITES — Imagine watching your mother and grandmother being stabbed to death in a random attack on Christmas Eve, and showing no emotion. This is Yunjae, the protagonist of Sohn Won-Pyung’s Almond (HarperVia), first published in 2017 and translated into English this May. Why the title Almond? First, because the human brain…
(This is the fourth in an original series about new wave feminist writers in Korea whose work has started to reach English language readers via superb translations.) ANDREA PLATE WRITES — “Fitting into middle class society is getting harder and harder for the younger generation.” So says Kim Sagwa, author…
ANDREA PLATE WRITES — (This is the third in an original series about new wave feminist writers in Korea.) Why, for the past fifteen years, has literary icon Bae Suah — author of at least twelve sensationally popular surrealist novels, several short story collections, winner of two Korean literary prizes…
Project Bridge was established in 1993 after the Los Angeles Riots (SAIGU) took place by the Los Angeles based Pacific Century Institute in conjunction with New York based the Korea Society. The cross-cultural program selects 16 students (eight from Los Angeles and eight from New York) each year to participate…
LUCIA TENSI WRITES – South Korea, 9th of March 2020 sometime around 2 a.m.: “Mom… MOM!… where are you? What is happeninng? Where is Dad? What about Leonardo and Claudio?” “Lucia do not worry, we are fine at home. Your brothers are safe in their houses. You worry about yourself.” It was…
