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Jean H. Lee

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TALKS & PRESENTATIONs

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Feb. 12, 2025 • Roundtable on North Korea, hosted by the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy. San Diego, CA.

RECENT Events

Jean served as emcee and moderator of a private discussion with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te during his visit to the East-West Center on Dec. 1, 2024, on a transit stopover in Honolulu.

Jean served as emcee of the 3rd Annual Women of Impact event held by the East-West Center, where the EWC’s Board of Governors honored President Hilda C. Heine of the Marshall Islands with this year’s Women of Impact Award to celebrate the remarkable achievements of women leaders. Jean also moderated a discussion exploring the role of women in innovation and their impact on addressing critical challenges with Dr. Yanghee Lee, Professor Emeritus, Sungkyunkwan University, Department of Child Psychology and Education; Mona Pasquil Rogers, Director of California Government Engagement, Meta, and Kristen Udui, Graduate Degree Fellow, East-West Center. View photos from the event on Flickr.

On Oct. 15, 2024, Jean spoke at the Asia New Zealand Foundation Te Whītau Tūhono’s Asia Summit at New Zealand’s Parliament in Welllington, joining leading experts on Asia from New Zealand and offshore to discuss the big trends shaping the region for an event marking the Foundation’s 30th anniversary.

FEATURED TALKS

Featured
East-West Center hosts Taiwan President Lai Ching-te
Dec 1, 2024
East-West Center hosts Taiwan President Lai Ching-te
Dec 1, 2024

Such an honor to moderate a private discussion with Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te during his stopover in Honolulu in December 2024.

Read More →
Dec 1, 2024
East-West Center: Women of Impact Awards 2024
Oct 26, 2024
East-West Center: Women of Impact Awards 2024
Oct 26, 2024

Jean served as emcee at the 2024 Women of Impact event at the East-West Center to honor President Hilda C. Heine of the Marshall Islands, and moderated a panel discussion on women’s leadership with Dr. Yanghee Lee, Mona Pasquil Rogers and Kristen Udui.

Read More →
Oct 26, 2024
Atlantic Council's Global Future Forum: Reporters at risk
Sep 26, 2024
Atlantic Council's Global Future Forum: Reporters at risk
Sep 26, 2024

Journalists with firsthand experience in authoritarian countries shed light on the challenges that journalists face reporting on closed societies, discuss ways to help reporters overcome these challenges, and explore how this vital work relates to the broader global struggle between democracy and autocracy.

Read More →
Sep 26, 2024
East-West Center: International Media Conference 2024
Jun 25, 2024
East-West Center: International Media Conference 2024
Jun 25, 2024

Generative AI is everywhere in the news today, but where will it be tomorrow? Jean Lee speaks to Charlie Beckett and Art Min about how artificial intelligence will shape the coming years, from elections to academia to mass media, and everything in between.

Read More →
Jun 25, 2024
East-West Center: Assignment Pyongyang: A Journalist’s Perspective on Life in Kim Jong Un’s North Korea
Jan 10, 2024
East-West Center: Assignment Pyongyang: A Journalist’s Perspective on Life in Kim Jong Un’s North Korea
Jan 10, 2024

Jean Lee shares her perspective on how to read and understand North Korea today in a talk at the East-West Center in Honolulu.

Read More →
Jan 10, 2024
House Foreign Affairs Committee: Illicit IT: Bankrolling Kim Jong Un
Jul 27, 2023
House Foreign Affairs Committee: Illicit IT: Bankrolling Kim Jong Un
Jul 27, 2023

Jean Lee testifies before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs about North Korea’s suspected illicit financing campaign using cyber theft.

Read More →
Jul 27, 2023
Korea Society: The North Korean Cyber Threat
Apr 13, 2023
Korea Society: The North Korean Cyber Threat
Apr 13, 2023

Jean Lee joins cybersecurity expert Michael Barnhart and Korea Society policy director Jonathan Corrado for a discussion about the North Korean cyber threat.

Read More →
Apr 13, 2023
BBC: The Lazarus Heist LIVE in New York City
Sep 26, 2022
BBC: The Lazarus Heist LIVE in New York City
Sep 26, 2022

Jean Lee joins co-host Geoff White and musician Dessa — along with special guests — for a live recording of the Lazarus Heist podcast in New York City.

Read More →
Sep 26, 2022
East Asia Institute: Financing Pyongyang’s Provocations - Kim Jong Un’s Cyber Strategy
Jun 20, 2022
East Asia Institute: Financing Pyongyang’s Provocations - Kim Jong Un’s Cyber Strategy
Jun 20, 2022

For this month, we invited Jean Lee, Public Policy Fellow at the Wilson Center, to discuss North Korea’s cyber-attacks and how they finance Pyongyang’s missile developments despite the international sanctions against the regime.

Read More →
Jun 20, 2022
Korea Society: New Developments in Inter-Korea Relations
Mar 4, 2021
Korea Society: New Developments in Inter-Korea Relations
Mar 4, 2021

Jean Lee speaks with senior director Stephen Noerper on ROK-DPRK relations. They address impasse and opportunity between North Korea and South Korea and offer recommendations for US and other policy makers on peninsular realities and possibilities.

Read More →
Mar 4, 2021
Korea Global Forum 2018: A New Path Forward: Charting a Roadmap to Peace on the Korean Peninsula
Nov 15, 2018
Korea Global Forum 2018: A New Path Forward: Charting a Roadmap to Peace on the Korean Peninsula
Nov 15, 2018

Jean Lee welcomes Cho Myoung-Gyon, Minister of Unification for South Korea, to Washington, DC, to share his thoughts on inter-Korean unity and prospects for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Read More →
Nov 15, 2018
Milken Institute Global Conference 2018: Avoiding War with North Korea
May 1, 2018
Milken Institute Global Conference 2018: Avoiding War with North Korea
May 1, 2018

Is the perfect storm brewing on the Korean Peninsula? Jean Lee joins geopolitical experts at the Milken Institute Global Conference to discuss security in East Asia and potential avenues for conflict resolution.

Read More →
May 1, 2018
Wilson Center: The Trump-Kim Summit: High Stakes, Uncertain Prospects
Mar 13, 2018
Wilson Center: The Trump-Kim Summit: High Stakes, Uncertain Prospects
Mar 13, 2018

In a high-stakes diplomatic gamble, President Trump has accepted an invitation to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un – and the dramatic development raises crucial questions:

Could this summit lead to meaningful constraints on North Korea’s nuclear program? What are the attitudes of China and South Korea toward bilateral U.S.-North Korean diplomacy? What preparatory work must be done to ensure a successful summit? And what would be the criteria for success?

In this Ground Truth Briefing, three veteran observers of U.S.-Asia policy and North Korea addressed these issues.

Read More →
Mar 13, 2018
Korea Economic Institute: Soap Operas and Socialism: Kim Jong-un’s Policy Priorities through TV Dramas in North Korea
Nov 29, 2017
Korea Economic Institute: Soap Operas and Socialism: Kim Jong-un’s Policy Priorities through TV Dramas in North Korea
Nov 29, 2017

Romance, humor, tension — everyone loves a good sitcom, even North Koreans. But in North Korea, TV dramas are more than mere entertainment. They play a crucial political role by serving as a key messenger of the party and government policy.

Read More →
Nov 29, 2017
Brookings Institution: The path forward: Who is Kim Jong Un?
Oct 10, 2017
Brookings Institution: The path forward: Who is Kim Jong Un?
Oct 10, 2017

Leading U.S. experts and former officials to identify actionable policy steps the White House and Congress should take to address the growing threat from North Korea.

Read More →
Oct 10, 2017
C-SPAN: The Rise and Rule of North Korea's Kim Dynasty
Aug 25, 2017
C-SPAN: The Rise and Rule of North Korea's Kim Dynasty
Aug 25, 2017

The Sidebar with Steve Scully: As tensions with North Korea rise, this week we examine the history of that country's ruling Kim family. We spoke to Jean H Lee, author of "Kings of Communism: Inside Kim Jong Un's Bloody Scramble to Kill of His Family" in the September edition of Esquire Magazine. 

Read More →
Aug 25, 2017
Chicago Council: NORTH KOREA ON THE BRINK?
Jun 7, 2017
Chicago Council: NORTH KOREA ON THE BRINK?
Jun 7, 2017

What steps should the United States and South Korea take to maintain peace and stability in Northeast Asia?

Read More →
Jun 7, 2017
beyond caricatures
Dec 6, 2016
Wilson Center: Beyond Caricatures: Writing About the Real North Korea
Dec 6, 2016

Award-winning foreign correspondents, researchers and writers on the challenges of writing about North Korea today, from getting on the ground to turning to defectors for information about daily life inside the Hermit Kingdom. 

Read More →
Dec 6, 2016
Aspen Security Forum: Peril on the 38th Parallel
Jul 29, 2016
Aspen Security Forum: Peril on the 38th Parallel
Jul 29, 2016

Can Kim Jong Un be stopped before he turns the peninsula, and the region, into a nuclear wasteland? Jean Lee speaks at the Aspen Security Forum.

Read More →
Jul 29, 2016
Korea Society: Opening Pyongyang
May 14, 2015
Korea Society: Opening Pyongyang
May 14, 2015

Jean Lee discusses the challenges of reporting on a country considered among the world's worst for press freedom, the role her Korean-American ethnicity played in her interactions with the North Koreans, and her observations on reunification after working as a journalist on both sides of the DMZ.

Read More →
May 14, 2015

ARCHIVE

  • 2024
    • Dec 1, 2024 East-West Center hosts Taiwan President Lai Ching-te Dec 1, 2024
    • Oct 26, 2024 East-West Center: Women of Impact Awards 2024 Oct 26, 2024
    • Sep 26, 2024 Atlantic Council's Global Future Forum: Reporters at risk Sep 26, 2024
    • Jun 25, 2024 East-West Center: International Media Conference 2024 Jun 25, 2024
    • Jan 10, 2024 East-West Center: Assignment Pyongyang: A Journalist’s Perspective on Life in Kim Jong Un’s North Korea Jan 10, 2024
  • 2023
    • Jul 27, 2023 House Foreign Affairs Committee: Illicit IT: Bankrolling Kim Jong Un Jul 27, 2023
    • May 21, 2023 Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital May 21, 2023
    • Apr 13, 2023 Korea Society: The North Korean Cyber Threat Apr 13, 2023
  • 2022
    • Oct 21, 2022 Indiana University: IKS Conference on the US-Korea Relationship Oct 21, 2022
    • Sep 28, 2022 University of Georgia: US-Korea Security Forum Sep 28, 2022
    • Sep 26, 2022 BBC: The Lazarus Heist LIVE in New York City Sep 26, 2022
    • Sep 25, 2022 BBC World Service: The Lazarus Heist: Live in New York Sep 25, 2022
    • Jun 20, 2022 East Asia Institute: Financing Pyongyang’s Provocations - Kim Jong Un’s Cyber Strategy Jun 20, 2022
    • Feb 18, 2022 Duke University: A Look Inside North Korea's Kim Regime Feb 18, 2022
    • Feb 15, 2022 NCNK/Network 20/20: South Korea’s Election and Its Impact on U.S.-ROK-DPRK Relations Feb 15, 2022
  • 2021
    • Sep 17, 2021 Hudson Institute: Kim Jong Un and the Northeast Asian Arms Race Sep 17, 2021
    • Sep 6, 2021 CDA Institute: Enhancing engagement with North Korea: What Canada can do Sep 6, 2021
    • Mar 4, 2021 Korea Society: New Developments in Inter-Korea Relations Mar 4, 2021
  • 2020
    • Mar 22, 2020 War on the Rocks: COVID in North Korea Mar 22, 2020
    • Mar 19, 2020 NBR: South Korea in a Challenging Maritime Security Environment Mar 19, 2020
    • Mar 18, 2020 The National Bureau of Asian Research: South Korea in a Challenging Maritime Security Environment Mar 18, 2020
    • Mar 18, 2020 Wilson Center: Geopolitical Implications of the Coronavirus for the Indo-Pacific Mar 18, 2020
  • 2019
    • Sep 9, 2019 Need to Know: Negotiations and Love Notes - Where Do The North Korea Nuclear Talks Stand? Sep 9, 2019
    • Feb 6, 2019 Wilson Center: Book launch of Van Jackson's "On the Brink" Feb 6, 2019
    • Jan 30, 2019 Wilson Center: Geopolitical Implications of a New Era on the Korean Peninsula Jan 30, 2019
  • 2018
    • Nov 22, 2018 National Geographic: Inside North Korea's Dynasty Nov 22, 2018
    • Nov 16, 2018 Moon Jae-in and Inter-Korean Détente: Korea Strategic Review 2018 Nov 16, 2018
    • Nov 15, 2018 Korea Global Forum 2018: A New Path Forward: Charting a Roadmap to Peace on the Korean Peninsula Nov 15, 2018
    • Jun 12, 2018 Wilson Center: North Korea Summit: Historic Deal or Just a Historic Handshake? Jun 12, 2018
    • May 1, 2018 Milken Institute Global Conference 2018: Avoiding War with North Korea May 1, 2018
    • Apr 25, 2018 Wilson Center: New Year, New Strategy: Shifting Policies on North Korea in 2018 Apr 25, 2018
    • Apr 12, 2018 International Journalism Festival: Foreign correspondents: how women have changed the role Apr 12, 2018
    • Mar 13, 2018 Wilson Center: The Trump-Kim Summit: High Stakes, Uncertain Prospects Mar 13, 2018
  • 2017
    • Nov 30, 2017 United States Institute of Peace: Is Diplomacy Possible with North Korea? Nov 30, 2017
    • Nov 29, 2017 Korea Economic Institute: Soap Operas and Socialism: Kim Jong-un’s Policy Priorities through TV Dramas in North Korea Nov 29, 2017
    • Oct 24, 2017 Zocalo Public Square: Before going to war in North Korea, try understanding the place first Oct 24, 2017
    • Oct 12, 2017 BROOKINGS NOW What do experts make of the North Korea challenge? 5 takeaways from a Brookings event Oct 12, 2017
    • Oct 10, 2017 Brookings Institution: The path forward: Who is Kim Jong Un? Oct 10, 2017
    • Sep 12, 2017 COMEXI: North Korea: An unfinished war, an insight from Seoul by Jean H. Lee Sep 12, 2017
    • Aug 25, 2017 C-SPAN: The Rise and Rule of North Korea's Kim Dynasty Aug 25, 2017
    • Jun 7, 2017 Chicago Council: NORTH KOREA ON THE BRINK? Jun 7, 2017
    • May 19, 2017 IFES: Preventing North Korea's Nuclear Breakout May 19, 2017
  • 2016
    • Dec 6, 2016 Wilson Center: Beyond Caricatures: Writing About the Real North Korea Dec 6, 2016
    • Jul 29, 2016 Aspen Security Forum: Peril on the 38th Parallel Jul 29, 2016
  • 2015
    • Dec 10, 2015 UMG and Korea Press Foundation: Realizing Freedom of Information in North Korea Dec 10, 2015
    • Nov 18, 2015 Global Education Conference Nov 18, 2015
    • Nov 9, 2015 Unification Media Group: #신지은의 통일공감 13회 #진 리 Jean H. Lee (前 AP통신 서울평양 지국장) Nov 9, 2015
    • Oct 14, 2015 UCLAN Korea Conference Oct 14, 2015
    • May 14, 2015 Korea Society: Opening Pyongyang May 14, 2015
  • 2014
    • Sep 7, 2014 Radio NZ: The trickiest job, reporting North Korea Sep 7, 2014
  • 2013
    • Dec 1, 2013 East Asia Foundation: Daily life in North Korea in the Kim Jong Un Era Dec 1, 2013
    • May 30, 2013 Asia Society: Interview: AP's Jean H. Lee Covers Both Koreas with Objectivity, Understanding May 30, 2013
    • May 26, 2013 AAJA: Uncovering North Korea May 26, 2013
    • Mar 9, 2013 SXSW: Tweets from the DMZ: Social Media in North Korea Mar 9, 2013

SEARCH

recent appearances

CEIP Moon Jae-in and Inter-Korean Détente: Korea Strategic Review 2018

Moon Jae-in and Inter-Korean Détente: Korea Strategic Review 2018 →

November 16, 2018
In Panel Tags North Korea, Moon Jae-in
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← National Geographic: Inside North Korea's DynastyKorea Global Forum 2018: A New Path Forward: Charting a Roadmap to Peace on the Korean Peninsula →

Latest Posts

Featured
Apr 8, 2023
BBC: The Lazarus Heist: S2, Ep 2: Big Boss
Apr 8, 2023
Apr 8, 2023
Apr 4, 2023
BBC: Lazarus Heist: The intercontinental ATM theft that netted $14m in two hours
Apr 4, 2023
Apr 4, 2023
Mar 27, 2023
BBC: The Lazarus Heist: S2, Ep 1: Jackpotting
Mar 27, 2023
Mar 27, 2023
Mar 26, 2023
BBC: The Lazarus Heist
Mar 26, 2023
Mar 26, 2023
Mar 10, 2023
BBC: The Lazarus Heist: Season 2 trailer
Mar 10, 2023
Mar 10, 2023
Sep 20, 2022
BBC: The Lazarus Heist - LIVE!
Sep 20, 2022
Sep 20, 2022
Jun 8, 2022
New York Times Opinion: There’s a Reason Kim Jong-un Wants Us to Know About North Korea’s Covid Outbreak
Jun 8, 2022
Jun 8, 2022
Mar 14, 2022
New York Times Opinion: Kim Jong-un Is Just Getting Started
Mar 14, 2022
Mar 14, 2022
Jun 21, 2021
BBC: The Lazarus Heist: How North Korea almost pulled off a billion-dollar hack
Jun 21, 2021
Jun 21, 2021
May 3, 2021
BBC: The Lazarus Heist: S1 Ep. 3: Superdollars
May 3, 2021
May 3, 2021

Copyright Jean H. Lee 2024

Copyright Jean H. Lee 2014
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