The Korea Society

October 28, 2026 - The Korea Society is pleased to announce that the winner of the 2026 Sherman Family Korea Emerging Scholar Lecture Competition is Dr. Jae Yeon Kim, Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Fellow at the Civic Power Lab at Harvard Kennedy School, and Better Government Lab Fellow at the University of Michigan's Ford School of Policy.
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming public administration and public policy, but all too often, the discussion is dominated by the latest technological breakthroughs, rather than their potential utility in serving the public. To this point, Dr. Kim argues that the primary challenges facing AI in government are human and organizational rather than technological. Longstanding barriers to public services—such as administrative burdens, complex paperwork, and unequal access—predate artificial intelligence. Without intentional institutional changes, adopting automated systems risks digitizing and accelerating existing inefficiencies rather than resolving them.
Drawing on research in civic technology, policy implementation, and digital service delivery across South Korea and the United States, Dr. Kim outlines a framework for human-centered government. He examines how South Korea—a recognized global leader in e-government—can advance beyond basic automation. By prioritizing citizen needs through human-centered design, civic data, and participatory governance, public institutions can ensure AI reduces administrative friction and expands democratic access for everyone, particularly marginalized communities and future generations who will live longest with these technologies.
Key Points
Human and Organizational Dynamics – The main hurdles facing public sector AI are organizational and institutional. AI risks automating pre-existing administrative burdens if core public institutions do not adapt.
Human-Centered Civic Data Infrastructure – Human-centered design, civic data, and participatory governance can modernize public services, strengthen democratic access, and empower citizens to help govern public AI.
Real-World AI Governance – Public procurement, service delivery, and back-end infrastructure shape citizen experiences just as significantly as frontier AI models.

About the Sherman Family Korea Emerging Lecture Award
The primary goal of the award is to encourage U.S. thought leadership on Korea among a new generation. The award is presented to emerging thought leaders from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds working in the U.S. Prior awardees have explored topics in the arts, architecture, history, industrial policy, political science, and technology and have included Ph.D. candidates, junior professors (tenure and non-tenure track), researchers and professionals. Click here to view presentations of former award winners.
For more information, please visit the link below:
https://www.koreasociety.org/general/how-can-ai-serve-all-people-in-korea-and-the-us/

October 27, 2026 - We all know cooks whose fingertips seem to infuse every meal with deliciousness. In Korean, that magic touch is called sohn-mat, or "hand taste"―but you don't have to be born with it. Esther Choi picked hers up from her halmoni, or grandmother, who used her hands for everything from smearing cabbage with pepper paste to make kimchi to crumbling tofu for mandu (dumpling) filling and tossing vibrantly flavored noodles for japchae.

Hand taste starts with seasoning but ultimately describes a way of cooking rooted in heritage, intuition, and heart. In her hotly anticipated debut cookbook Hand Taste: Cook Like a Korean Grandmother Choi offers delicious entry points to Korean and Korean-American cuisine, with foundational techniques alongside quick weeknight recipes and show-stopping traditional spreads.

In her conversation with Eric Kim, Esther Choi will discuss her career and her debut cookbook.

Order your copy of Hand Taste: Cook Like a Korean Grandmother here.
For more information, please visit the link below:
https://www.koreasociety.org/arts-culture/cuisine/hand-taste/

October 22, 2026 - "What Stacy Kim understands, and what took me too long to appreciate myself, is that our darkest emotions often shed the most light. ENVY makes a rigorous, wise, and compassionate case that the feeling high achievers are most ashamed to admit may offer one of the clearest signals of what they truly want."
— Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of THE POWER OF REGRET and DRIVE
We all want things that other people have. It's natural, yet we are ashamed of how it makes us feel—a mix of inferiority, ill will, and injustice. In the West, we're told "Comparison is the thief of joy," and taught to avoid this "deadly sin." Meanwhile, in Korea, people publicly make social comparisons and express their envy.

Drawing on how Koreans used their envy of Japan to transform a war-torn country into a pop-culture powerhouse, Dr. Stacy S. Kim teaches us that when we examine our envy, we can learn what we want, whom to emulate, and how to get it. ENVY: WHY WANTING WHAT THEY HAVE IS THE KEY TO GETTING WHAT YOU WANT is for those of us who do everything we can to build our best life yet still find ourselves feeling behind or unfulfilled. Thanks to social media and smartphones, we can experience this negative emotion at any hour, anywhere, and the feeling remains largely buried and unspoken. But through stories, interviews, and research, Dr. Kim provides concrete strategies on how to convert unexamined reckless use of envy into a guiding force and powerful motivator.
In a conversation with Hyeseung Song, Dr. Kim discusses her new book and research.
For more information, please visit the link below:
https://www.koreasociety.org/arts-culture/literature/envy-why-wanting-what-they-have-is-the-key-to-getting-what-you-want/

October 20, 2026 - Mountains, rivers, trees, flowers, the dark, a cat, a train. In the elemental forms and figures of our world, Lee Seong-bok finds repositories for thought, sounding boards against which he can test his reflections. Again and again, in sequences, he probes his subjects—five "Mountain Path" poems, three "River" poems, three commentaries on the I Ching— not to solicit answers, like Moses impatiently striking the rock for water, but to savor the muted tones that echo in response.
That Summer's End is a collection of one hundred and six poems of self-reflection and exquisite beauty—an intoxicating blend of Seon Buddhism and French Symbolism from one of South Korea's most celebrated and influential poets. The poems of That Summer's End, though acutely conscious of the self, are free of an inhibiting self-consciousness, speaking directly of youth, love, fear, family, grief, old age, impermanence, and all that's central to life. As enticing as they are profound, Lee Seong-bok's poems have made him not only a poet's poet but a favorite of RM, leader of K-pop superstars BTS, whose support of his work on social media has brought him international attention.
In a conversation with Stine An, Lee Seong-bok and his translator Anton Hur will discuss his poetry and career.
Pre-order your copy of That Summer's End here.
For more information, please visit the link below:
https://www.koreasociety.org/arts-culture/literature/author-talkslee-seong-bok-anton-hur/

October 6, 2026 - Delve into the frontlines of humanitarian aid in North Korea. Join us for a special discussion with seasoned experts Kathi Zellweger, Mike Chinoy, and Jerome Sauvage as they share first-hand insights from years of experience on the ground inside North Korea.

In Miss Kathi: Saving Lives in North Korea, Swiss aid worker Kathi Zellweger collaborates with veteran journalist and author Mike Chinoy to chronicle her nearly three decades in North Korea. Dubbed the "Mother Teresa of North Korea" by local officials, Zellweger navigated state suspicion and international skepticism to deliver life-saving relief to thousands of vulnerable North Koreans, focusing especially on children. The book is available for purchase on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

In Witness to North Korea: Three Years on the Ground in the DPRK, former UN Resident Coordinator Jerome Sauvage offers a rare insider account of daily life and operational realities inside Pyongyang. Drawing on his tenure leading international aid operations, Sauvage reflects on the successes and challenges of delivering humanitarian assistance and offers strategic guidance for future engagement. The book is available for purchase here, with a 20% discount using the code: WITNESS20.

The discussion is moderated by Korea Society policy director Jonathan Corrado.

This program is made possible by the generous support of the Korea Foundation and our individual and corporate members.
For more information, please visit the link below:
https://www.koreasociety.org/geopolitical-affairs/on-the-ground-in-north-korea/