May WEBINAR
THURSDAY, May 21, 7PM - 8PM (CDT)

COVID-19 SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RESPONSE IN SOUTH KOREA

South Korea has achieved remarkable success in dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic over the past three months, including single-digit confirmed cases per day over the past few weeks. Beyond South Korea’s renowned health care system, what are the key social and cultural factors contributing to this success? Does the cultural treatment of privacy play a special role? How does this critical moment for South Korea affect its position on the world stage?

Speaker: Benjamin Engel (Seoul National University)

Moderator: Seungkwon You (Chairperson, Gateway Korea Foundation)

Benjamin A. Engel is a Ph.D. Candidate at Seoul National University’s Graduate School of International Studies where he focuses on modern Korean history, US-ROK relations, and South Korean democratization. He also completed his Master’s Degree at the same school in Korean Studies. He was a Research Associate at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University from 2016 to 2019 and a Research Associate at the East Asia Institute from 2015 to 2016. His most recent publications are entitled “Aiding and Abetting: Role of Foreign Missionaries in the South Korean Democracy Movement” (Korea Observer Vol. 51 No. 1) and “Viewing Seoul from Saigon: Withdrawal from the Vietnam War and the Yushin Regime” (Journal of Northeast Asian History Vol. 13 No. 1). His op-eds have also appeared in The Diplomat. Originally from O’Fallon, Missouri, he has been living in Seoul since August 2010. Before moving to Korea, he was a Program Coordinator at the Asian Affairs Center, University of Missouri. He also holds Bachelors Degrees in History and Political Science from the University of Missouri. 

Please join GKF for a discussion with Mr. Ben Engel of the South Korean response to COVID-19. This event will be live streamed on Zoom with an interactive Q and A session.