Research, ideas, and leadership for a more secure, peaceful world
Past Event
Seminar
Korea: A New History of North and South
Harvard Faculty, Fellows, Staff, and Students
Please join the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs for a seminar with Dr. Victor Cha, Professor of Government at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service, & Dr. Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Head of the Department of European & International Studies and Professor of International Relations at King's College London, and moderated by S.T. Lee Chair in U.S.-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School, Dr. Rana Mitter on Tuesday, April 16th from 2:30-3:30 PM in the Belfer Library (L369).
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.
This event will be off-the-record, in-person, and is restricted to Harvard ID holders.
Professor Victor D. Cha is Distinguished University Professor, D.S. Song-KF Chairholder, and Professor of Government in the Department of Government and School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He is also Senior Vice President for Asia and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. He is the author of seven books, including the award-winning Alignment Despite Antagonism: The United States-Korea-Japan Security Triangle (Stanford University Press, 1999) (winner of the 2000 Ohira Book Prize), and The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future (Harper Collins Ecco, 2012 selected by Foreign Affairs as a “Best Book on the Asia-Pacific for 2012.” His most recent book is Korea: A New History of South and North (Yale University Press, 2023) with Ramon Pacheco Pardo. His other books are Beyond the Final Score: The Politics of Sport in Asia (Columbia University Press, 2009); Nuclear North Korea: A Debate on Engagement Strategies (Columbia University Press, 2003) with David Kang; and Powerplay: The Origins of the American Alliance System in Asia (Princeton University Press, 2016). His forthcoming book is The Black Box: Methods and Data in the Study of Korean Unification and North Korea (Columbia University Press, 2024). His articles on international relations and Asian affairs have appeared in numerous journals including International Security, Political Science Quarterly, International Studies Quarterly, Armed Forces and Society, Foreign Affairs, Asian Survey, Journal of Asian Studies, International Journal of the History of Sport, and Journal of Strategic Studies.
He was appointed in 2021 by Joseph R. Biden administration to serve on the Defense Policy Board in an advisory role to the Secretary of Defense. He formerly served on the White House National Security Council where he was responsible primarily for Japan, the Korean peninsula, Australia/New Zealand and Pacific Island nation affairs. Dr. Cha was also the Deputy Head of Delegation for the United States at the Six Party Talks in Beijing, and received two Outstanding Service commendations during his tenure at the NSC.
Dr. Cha is a two-time Fulbright Scholar, former Olin Fellow at Harvard University, and former Hoover, CISAC, and Koret Fellow at Stanford University. He currently serves on ten editorial boards of academic journals and is co-editor of the Contemporary Asia Book Series at Columbia University Press. In 2022, he was elected to serve on the Board for the National Endowment for Democracy, and he remains a Senior Fellow in Human Freedom (non-resident) at the George W. Bush Institute in Dallas, Texas. He is a Foreign Affairs Contributor for MSNBC and NBC News. Dr. Cha has appeared in a variety of media including ESPN, The Colbert Report, and a cameo role (as himself) in the 2012 film Red Dawn. He co-hosts The Impossible State podcast and The Capital Cable YouTube show.
In 2023, he was named Distinguished University Professor, the highest honor bestowed upon a tenured faculty member at Georgetown. He is the recipient of the 2023 Hubert H. Humphrey award from the American Political Science Association for notable public service by a political scientist and the 2023 Joseph Kurzel Memorial Prize for excellence in scholarship and public service (also from APSA).
Dr. Cha received his Ph.D. in political science at Columbia University, MIA from Columbia, B.A. Honors in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from Oxford University, and A.B. in Economics from Columbia. He was born and raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Ramon Pacheco Pardo is Professor of International Relations at King’s College London and the KF-VUB Korea Chair at the Brussels School of Governance of Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He is also King's Regional Envoy for East and South East Asia, helping to shape and implement the university's strategy for the region.
Prof Pacheco Pardo is also Adjunct Fellow (Non-Resident) with the Korea Chair at CSIS, Scientific Council Member at Elcano Royal Institute and Committee Member at CSCAP EU. He has held visiting positions at Korea University, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and Melbourne University.
His publications include the books Korea: A New History of South & North (Yale University Press, 2023; with Victor Cha), South Korea's Grand Strategy: Making Its Own Destiny (Columbia University Press, 2023), Shrimp to Whale: South Korea from the Forgotten War to K-Pop (Hurst and Oxford University Press, 2022) and North Korea-US Relations from Kim Jong Il to Kim Jong Un (Routledge, 2019). Prof Pacheco Pardo has been editor of Millennium: Journal of International Studies and currently sits in the editorial boards of East Asia: An International Quarterly and Korea-Europe Review.
He has participated in track 1.5 and 2 dialogues with South Korea, North Korea, China, Japan and the United States. Prof Pacheco Pardo has testified before the European Parliament and consulted and advised NATO, the OECD and the governments of Canada, the EU, South Korea, Spain, the UK and the United States, among others. He is a frequent media commentator on North East Asian affairs and EU-East Asia relations.
