Understanding the Korean War Through the Lens of Film | Asia Society Skip to main content

Unsupported Browser Detected.
It seems the web browser you're using doesn't support some of the features of this site. For the best experience, we recommend using a modern browser that supports the features of this website. We recommend Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Microsoft Edge

  • About
    • About Asia Society
    • Our People
    • Financial Statements
    • Career Opportunities
    • Contact Us
  • Support
    • Individual Membership
    • Corporate Membership
    • Corporate Supporters
    • Honorary Ambassador Members
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
    • Event Recaps
  • Blog
    • All Posts
    • Ambassador Series
    • Eat Taste Learn (Healthy Food of Asia)
    • East Asia Coverage
    • Event Recaps
    • Get to Know Us
    • Innovative Minds
    • Meet the Author
    • Monthly Lecture Series
    • North Korea Coverage
    • ROK'n Seoul
    • Student Programs
  • News
    • News
    • 2008
    • 2009
    • 2010
    • 2011
    • 2012
    • 2013
    • 2014
    • 2015
    • 2016
    • 2017
    • 2018
    • 2019
    • 2020
    • 2021
    • 2022
    • 2023
  • Video
    • Video Gallery
    • The Glitch
  • 아시아소사이어티
    • 코리아센터 사람들
    • 오시는 길
  • 사업
    • 2014 프로그램
    • 2015 프로그램
    • 2016 프로그램
    • 2017 프로그램
    • 2018 프로그램
    • 2019 프로그램
    • 2020 프로그램
    • 2021 프로그램
    • 2022 프로그램
    • 프로그램 일정
  • 후원 안내
    • 법인 회원
    • 개인 회원
Korea
Search
Korea
  • About
    • About Asia Society
    • Our People
    • Financial Statements
    • Career Opportunities
    • Contact Us
  • Support
    • Individual Membership
    • Corporate Membership
    • Corporate Supporters
    • Honorary Ambassador Members
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
    • Event Recaps
  • Blog
    • All Posts
    • Ambassador Series
    • Eat Taste Learn (Healthy Food of Asia)
    • East Asia Coverage
    • Event Recaps
    • Get to Know Us
    • Innovative Minds
    • Meet the Author
    • Monthly Lecture Series
    • North Korea Coverage
    • ROK'n Seoul
    • Student Programs
  • News
    • News
    • 2008
    • 2009
    • 2010
    • 2011
    • 2012
    • 2013
    • 2014
    • 2015
    • 2016
    • 2017
    • 2018
    • 2019
    • 2020
    • 2021
    • 2022
    • 2023
  • Video
    • Video Gallery
    • The Glitch
  • 아시아소사이어티
    • 코리아센터 사람들
    • 오시는 길
  • 사업
    • 2014 프로그램
    • 2015 프로그램
    • 2016 프로그램
    • 2017 프로그램
    • 2018 프로그램
    • 2019 프로그램
    • 2020 프로그램
    • 2021 프로그램
    • 2022 프로그램
    • 프로그램 일정
  • 후원 안내
    • 법인 회원
    • 개인 회원

  • All Posts
  • Ambassador Series
  • Eat Taste Learn (Healthy Food of Asia)
  • East Asia Coverage
  • Event Recaps
  • Get to Know Us
  • Innovative Minds
  • Meet the Author
  • Monthly Lecture Series
  • North Korea Coverage
  • ROK'n Seoul
  • Student Programs

Understanding the Korean War Through the Lens of Film

lens

On June 14th, Asia Society Korea held the year’s first face-to-face monthly lecture. Against the backdrop of the upcoming 72nd anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, distinguished ambassadors and guests from the diplomatic community were treated to a fascinating analysis of the role of film in depicting the war from South Korea, North Korea, and Chinese perspectives.

Moderated by John Delury, a senior fellow of Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations and professor of International Studies at Yonsei University, the lecture included insights from Tatiana Gabroussenko, professor of North Korean studies at Korea University; Henry Em, associate professor of Korean history at Yonsei University; and Andrew Salmon, Seoul-based journalist, broadcaster, and author.

Often labeled as the forgotten war, the battle on the peninsular was a vast human tragedy that defined and shaped relationships between Korea and the wider world. While the Korean War may be distant and abstract to those outside Korea, the film and cinema industry has produced hundreds of movies worldwide depicting the conflict in popular culture. As the panelists highlighted, countries often use these films to show different perspectives and historical interpretations and portray the main protagonists in various lights. 


Moderator

John Delury headshot

John Delury is Professor of Chinese Studies at Yonsei University Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS), where he serves as chair of the Program in International Cooperation. He is also chair of the undergraduate Program in International Studies at Yonsei’s Underwood International College (UIC), and founding director of the Yonsei Center on Oceania Studies.

He is the author, with Orville Schell, of Wealth and Power: China's Long March to the Twenty-first Century, and is writing a book about US-China relations in the early Cold War. Based in Seoul since 2010, his articles can be found in journals such as Asian Survey, Late Imperial China, and Journal of Asian Studies, his commentaries appear in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The New York Times, Washington Post, and 38 North, and he contributes book reviews for the quarterly journal Global Asia, where he is associate managing editor. John is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, National Committee on US-China Relations, and National Committee on North Korea; he is also Pacific Century Institute board member, Asia Society senior fellow, National Committee on American Foreign Policy leadership council member, and Center on Strategic and International Studies adjunct fellow. He is a member of the Republic of Ireland’s foreign affairs advisory network and is invited to offer his analysis on East Asian affairs with government, think tank, corporate, and civil society organizations globally.

Professor Delury received his Ph.D. in History from Yale University.

∨ Show More

Panelists

Henry Em

Henry Em (임흥순) is associate professor of Korean history at Yonsei University Underwood International College. He was born in Seoul, grew up in Chicago, and received his BA, MA, and PhD (History, 1995) from the University of Chicago. From 1995 to 2013, he was assistant professor at UCLA and University of Michigan, and associate professor at NYU.

He was a Fulbright Senior Scholar to Korea (1998-1999) and Visiting Professor at Centre de Recherches sur la Corée, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris (2000). Professor Em began teaching at Yonsei University in 2013.

His recent publications include North Korea as Neighbor: Critical Scholarship on North Korea, Korea Journal, 61:3 (autumn, 2021), Christianity, the Cold War, and the Construction of the Republic of Korea, Korea Journal, 60:4 (winter, 2020), and Killer Fables: Yun Ch’i-ho, Bourgeois Enlightenment, and the Free Laborer, Journal of Korean Studies, 25:1 (March, 2020). His book, The Great Enterprise: Sovereignty and Historiography in Modern Korea, was published by Duke University Press in 2013.

∨ Show More

Tatiana Gabroussenko

Tatiana Gabroussenko graduated from the Far Eastern State University (ex-USSR), where she majored in Korean history. She obtained her Ph.D. in East Asian Studies at the Australian National University. Tatiana is an Assistant Professor in North Korean Studies at the Faculty of Korean Studies at Korea University where she teaches subjects related to mass culture, arts and propaganda of the DPRK.


Andy Salmon

Andrew Salmon holds a BA in History and Comparative Literature from the University of Kent and an MA in Asian Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. A resident of Seoul since 1998, he is Asia Times' Northeast Asia editor. His work has also appeared in the BBC, CNN, Forbes, France24, The International Herald Tribune, The South China Morning Post, The Times and The Washington Times. 

His books on the Korean War have garnered a "Korea Wave" award from South Korea's National Assembly and a "Member of the British Empire" award from Queen Elizabeth II.

∨ Show More

 

Sponsors
  • All Posts
  • Ambassador Series
  • Eat Taste Learn (Healthy Food of Asia)
  • East Asia Coverage
  • Event Recaps
  • Get to Know Us
  • Innovative Minds
  • Meet the Author
  • Monthly Lecture Series
  • North Korea Coverage
  • ROK'n Seoul
  • Student Programs
About
  • Mission & History
  • Our People
  • Become a Member
  • Career Opportunities
  • Corporate Involvement
visit us
  • Hong Kong
  • New York
  • Texas
global network
  • Australia
  • France
  • India
  • Japan
  • Korea
  • Northern California
  • Philippines
  • Southern California
  • Switzerland
  • Washington, D.C.
resources
  • Arts
  • Asia Society Magazine
  • ChinaFile
  • Current Affairs
  • Education
  • For Kids
  • Policy
  • Video
shop
  • AsiaStore
initiatives
  • Arts & Museum Summit
  • Asia 21 Next Generation Fellows
  • Asia Arts Game Changer Awards
  • Asia Game Changer Awards
  • Asia Society Museum: The Asia Arts & Museum Network
  • Asia Society Policy Institute
  • Asian Women Empowered
  • Center on U.S.-China Relations
  • Coal + Ice
  • Creative Voices of Muslim Asia
  • Global Cities Education Network
  • Global Talent Initiatives
  • U.S.-Asia Entertainment Summit
  • U.S.-China Dialogue
  • U.S.-China Museum Summit
Connect
Email Signup For the media
Asia Society logo
©2023 Asia Society | Privacy Statement | Accessibility | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap | Contact

Asia Society takes no institutional position on policy issues and has no affiliation with any government.
The views expressed by Asia Society staff, fellows, experts, report authors, program speakers, board members, and other affiliates are solely their own. Learn more.

 

 

  • Visit Us
  • Hong Kong
  • New York
  • Texas
  • Global Network
  • Australia
  • France
  • India
  • Japan
  • Korea
  • Northern California
  • Philippines
  • Southern California
  • Switzerland
  • Washington, DC