Events

Watson Events

Hongkyu Kim ─ History of the U.S. and Republic of Korea

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

12 p.m. – 1 p.m.

McKinney Conference Room, 111 Thayer Street

"The History of the U.S. and Republic of Korea (ROK) Partnership" will explore the historical relationship between the U.S. and ROK from 1866 to 2021, focusing on this critical and enduring military alliance. This presentation will briefly cover how the US and ROK have shared the prosperity and values of liberal democracy in the Asia-Pacific region and highlight the importance of this enduring partnership that has successfully maintained peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Military Fellows Speaker Series

Hongkyu Kim
Visiting Scholar & National Defense Fellow

I am a Republic of Korea Army Engineer officer. I was commissioned in 2005. I have served from tactical level to strategic level of command. Recently, I worked in ROK JCS as in charge of subcommittee of Wartime Operational Control Transition Group for two years. I also served in ROK-US Combined Division as an Engineer planning officer. By working with US army folks, we mutually helped each other. The biggest lesson for me was that even an engineer officer can lead an organization with strategic insight not just focusing on function. And I studied in Kuwait for 1 year. I could develop the insight to see the world from a third perspective, not just looking at the world through the United States. In 2012, I had opportunity to be deployed to South Sudan. I could discover South Korea 70 years ago from South Sudanese doing their best under really poor conditions.