[Webinar] South Korea-Cuba Diplomatic Relations: Seoul Joins the Havana Club

March 18, 2024 – Asia Society Korea’s latest webinar examined the recent diplomatic normalization between South Korea and Cuba. Moderated by Asia Society Korea’s Senior Contributor Mason Richey from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, the distinguished panel of speakers included Hyun-Wook Kim, professor and Director-General of the Korea National Diplomacy Academy and Andrei Lankov, professor of Korean Studies from Kookmin University.

Exploring the rationale behind this rekindled relationship, the experts shed light on historical context, North Korea's potential reactions, US perceptions, and the economic dividends for both nations. They navigated complex geopolitical terrain, offering insights into this significant diplomatic maneuver and its implications on regional dynamics.

Mason Richey (Moderator)

Mason Richey is a senior contributing writer to Asia Society Korea and an associate professor of international politics at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (Seoul, South Korea). Dr. Richey has also held positions as a POSCO Visiting Research Fellow at the East-West Center (Honolulu, HI) and a DAAD Scholar at the University of Potsdam.

His research focuses on U.S. and European foreign and security policy as applied to the Asia-Pacific. Recent scholarly articles have appeared (inter alia) in Pacific Review, Asian Security, Global Governance, and Foreign Policy Analysis. Shorter analyses and opinion pieces have been published in War on the Rocks, Le Monde, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, and Forbes, among other venues.

Dr. Richey received his Ph.D. from Binghamton University, New York.

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Hyun-Wook Kim

Hyun-Wook Kim is currently Professor and Director-General at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy. His research areas include ROK-US alliance, US-DPRK relations and Northeast Asian security. He was a member of the 20th Presidential Inauguration Preparation Committee in 2022.

In 2024, he is the President of the Korean Association of Area Studies. He is now a policy advisory member for the National Security Council, a non-resident director for Korea Foundation, a member for the unified future planning committee, a standing member for the National Unification Advisory Council, a policy advisor for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a Registration Review Committee Member at Korean Bar Association. He was an advisory member for the Ministry of Unification, an honorary research fellow at Korean Naval Academy, and a guest commentator for KBS.

He was a visiting scholar at UC San Diego and George Washington University. He has finished his Ph.D. and M.A. in political science from Brown University, and worked at the University of Southern California as a postdoctoral fellow. He received his B.A. in political science from Yonsei University.

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Andrei Lankov

Dr. Andrei Lankov is a professor at the College of Social Studies at Kookmin University. Prior to joining the faculty at Kookmin University in 2004, he taught Korean history at the Australian National University (1996-2004) and was director of the Korearisk.com group. His major research interest is North Korean history and society.

His major English language publications on North Korea include From Stalin to Kim Il Sung: the Formation of North Korea-1960 (2003); Crisis in North Korea: The Failure of De-Stalinization, 1956 (2004); North of the DMZ: Essays on Daily Life in North Korea (2007); and The Real North Korea (2013). He has contributed to the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times, Newsweek, and published a number of academic articles, including two articles in the Foreign Affairs. He completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at Leningrad State University (Ph.D. in 1989).

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