Book Talk: Victor Cha’s “Korea: A New History of South and North”
Join the Asian Studies Program to celebrate Dr. Victor Cha’s latest book, discussing a major new history of North and South Korea.
As a result of high demand, RSVP is highly encouraged to secure your seat at the event.
About the book: Korea has a long, riveting history—it is also a divided nation. South Korea is a vibrant democracy, the tenth largest economy, and is home to a world-renowned culture. North Korea is ruled by the most authoritarian regime in the world, a poor country in a rich region, and is best known for the cult of personality surrounding the ruling Kim family. But both Koreas share a unique common history.
Victor Cha and Ramon Pacheco Pardo draw on decades of research to explore the history of modern Korea, from the late nineteenth century, Japanese occupation, and Cold War division to the present day. A small country caught amongst the world’s largest powers—including China, Japan, Russia, and the United States—Korea’s fate has been closely connected to its geography and the strength of its leadership and society. This comprehensive history sheds light on the evolving identities of the two Koreas, explaining the sharp differences between North and South, and prospects for unification.
Korea: A New History of South & North was published in 2023 through Yale University Press.
About the author: Victor D. Cha (Ph.D. Columbia, MA Oxford, BA Columbia) is a Distinguished University Professor and DS Song-KF Professor of Government & Asian Studies at Georgetown University. He is a dedicated academician having been a member of the Georgetown faculty for over 25 years since joining the university in 1995. He served for one decade as director of Asian Studies, creating the M.A. degree in Asian Studies (MASIA), and bringing over $1 million in US Department of Education Title VI funding on Asia to campus for the first time in Georgetown’s history. He served as Vice Dean for Faculty and Graduate Affairs in the SFS from 2019 to 2023. Outside of Georgetown, Dr. Cha serves as a Senior Adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC., a member of the non-partisan Defense Policy Board for the Biden administration, and on the Boards of the National Endowment for Democracy and the Korea Society. He left the White House in May 2007 after serving since 2004 as Director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council.
Please kindly RSVP so we can ensure an accurate headcount for catering. To request accommodations due to a disability, contact Annalise Burke at annalise.burke@georgetown.edu no later than 10/24/2023. A good-faith effort will be made to fulfill all requests made after this date. Please contact Annalise with any other inquiries regarding this event.