MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - Middlebury College will present a student-organized symposium titled “North Korea - Impending Inferno or Smoldering Embers?” from Tuesday through Thursday, Oct. 16-18. The symposium will explore the complex relationships between the United States and North Korea, the North Korean nuclear crisis, human rights issues, and economic decline. All events are free and open to the public.

“One of the most pressing political and social issues facing our global community lies in the Korean Peninsula,” says Daniela Fiedler, a Middlebury College student and one of the symposium organizers. “We hope that this symposium will help contribute to our understanding of the complex and serious issues facing the Korean Peninsula and, by extension, all of Northeast Asia.”

Dartmouth College Associate Professor of Government David C. Kang will open the symposium on Tuesday, Oct. 16, with a lecture titled “Making Sense of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis: What We Know, What We Wish We Knew.” The talk will take place at 4:30 p.m. in the conference room of the Robert A. Jones ‘59 House, located on Hillcrest Road off College Street (Route 125). Kang is co-author of the book “Nuclear North Korea: A Debate on Engagement Strategies” (2003). Kang is also adjunct associate professor of business administration for Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, where he teaches courses on doing business in Asia and manages teams of students in the Tuck Global Consultancy Program, which conducts in-country consulting projects for multinational companies in Asia.

On Tuesday evening, Oct. 16, there will be a screening of the CNN report on North Korean human rights issues titled “Undercover in the Secret State” at 8 p.m. in Room 216 of McCardell Bicentennial Hall, located on Bicentennial Way off College Street (Route 125). This news documentary offers a rare glimpse into the day-to-day living conditions and the state of human rights in North Korea.

On Wednesday, Oct. 17, Peter M. Beck, executive director of the nongovernmental organization U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, will give a lecture titled “The Plight of North Korean Women in China” at 4:30 p.m. in the conference room of the Robert A. Jones ‘59 House, located on Hillcrest Road off College Street (Route 125). Beck will discuss how human rights issues in North Korea affect neighboring countries, especially addressing the impact on North Korean women who live in China.

On Thursday, Oct. 18, at 4:30 p.m., Charles L. Pritchard, president of the Korea Economic Institute in Washington, D.C., and author of the book “Failed Diplomacy” (2007), will give a talk on diplomatic relations between the U.S. and North Korea. The talk will take place in the conference room of the Robert A. Jones ‘59 House, located on Hillcrest Road off College Street (Route 125).

For more information, contact student organizers Alexis Stangarone at astangar@middlebury.edu, Daniela Fiedler at dfiedler@middlebury.edu, or Byungkyu Park at byungkyu@middlebury.edu. All events are free and open to the public.
 

To follow is a schedule of symposium events:

Middlebury College Symposium
“North Korea - Impending Inferno or Smoldering Embers?”
Oct. 16-18

Tuesday, Oct. 16
4:30 p.m. “Making Sense of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis: What We Know, What We Wish We Knew”
Keynote talk by David C. Kang, Associate Professor of Government, Dartmouth College, Adjunct Associate Professor of Business Administration, Tuck School of Business, co-author of “Nuclear North Korea: A Debate on Engagement Strategies”
Robert A. Jones ‘59 House, Hillcrest Road off College Street (Route 125)

8 p.m. “Undercover in the Secret State”
CNN news documentary on North Korean human rights issues
McCardell Bicentennial Hall, Room 216, located on Bicentennial Way off College Street (Route 125)

Wednesday, Oct. 17



4:30 p.m.    “The Plight of North Korean Women in China”
A talk by Peter M. Beck, Executive Director, U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
Robert A. Jones ‘59 House, Hillcrest Road off College Street (Route 125)

Thursday, Oct. 18
4:30 p.m.    “Failed Diplomacy”
A talk by Charles L. Pritchard, President, Korea Economic Institute, Washington, D.C., and author of “Failed Diplomacy” (2007)
Robert A. Jones ‘59 House, Hillcrest Road off College Street (Route 125)

For more information, contact student organizers Alexis Stangarone at astangar@middlebury.edu, Daniela Fiedler at dfiedler@middlebury.edu, or Byungkyu Park at byungkyu@middlebury.edu. All events are free and open to the public.