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15th Anniversary Special: An Interview With H.E. Joon Oh, Asia Society Korea Board Member
November 8, 2022 — Asia Society Korea Board Member and Save the Children Korea Chair H.E. JoonOh shares his views on the value of non-governmental organizations, the modern history of Korea with the U.N., and the reason behind his decision to become a diplomat. Oh also emphasizes the internal changes that have taken place in Korea over the last 30 to 40 years in light of the nation's globalization and advise the modern-day youth that “open-mindedness is an important quality for all global citizens.”
About H.E. Joon Oh, Asia Society Korea Board Member
H.E. Joon Oh serves as a board member of Asia Society Korea and is a professor of United Nations studies at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, Korea. He is also the chair of Save the Children Korea and President of the Korea Council of Children's Organizations.
Previously he was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations in New York from 2013 to 2016. During that time, he also served as the 71st president of the Economic and Social Council and as president of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2015 and 2016.
Before that, he was the Korean ambassador to Singapore (2010–13) and deputy minister for multilateral and global affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Seoul (2008–10). The Korean government twice awarded him the Order of Service Merit, in 1996 and 2006. In 2018, Oh received a Global Korea Award from Michigan State University. Rehabilitation International gave him a Global Presidential Award in 2016 in acknowledgment of his achievements as president of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He also received the 2014 Youngsan Diplomat of the Year award for his work on North Korean human rights issues.
He published his first book in Korean, For Mica, Who Contemplates Life, in 2015. He received a master’s degree in international policy studies from Stanford University in 1991.
