Please join us for a special program on "Korea Matters for Hawaiʻi/Hawaiʻi Matters for Korea” with a distinguished panel of speakers who will provide an update and perspective on the longstanding relationships between Korea and Hawaiʻi and Korea and the United States. 

Hawaiʻi and Korea have had close ties since 1903 when the first Koreans arrived in Hawaiʻi bringing with them their rich cultural traditions. This year also marks the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement and the Mutual Defense Treaty, deepening the bonds between the United States and the Republic of Korea.  

Leading up to the May 3 program will be a summit between US President Joe Biden and President Yoon Suk Yeol of Korea on April 26 in Washington, DC. In addition, on April 20, East-West Center in Washington, in partnership with the Korean Economic Institute and the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, will launch a new edition of Korea Matters for America/America Matters for Korea at the US Congressional Visitors Center. 

Schedule

2:00-3:00 Reception 
3:00-4:00 Panel Discussion

Organizers

This event is organized by the Consulate General by the Republic of Korea in Honolulu, the Center for Korean Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and East-West Center.

Distinguished Speakers

Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke is the State of Hawaiʻi’s 16th lieutenant governor, the third woman to hold the office, and the highest-ranking Korean American in a US statewide position. Sylvia was first elected to the Hawaiʻi State Legislature in 1998, where she served until 2022. During her twenty-four-year tenure in the State House, she had many roles, most notably as Chair of the Finance Committee where she developed a reputation for bringing transparency and accountability to the State budget for over a decade. 

Throughout Sylvia’s career in public service, she has been recognized for her advocacy and leadership by many organizations including Hawaii Women Lawyers, Healthcare Association of Hawaii, Hawaii Technology Trade Association, Korean American Coalition, AARP Hawaii, Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau, Humane Society of the United States, and Hawaiʻi Foodbank as Chair of the Annual State Employees’ Food Drive. Lieutenant Governor Luke is leading the state’s broadband expansion efforts and the initiative for universal access to preschool, Ready Keiki, to support the education and futures of Hawaiʻi’s keiki. 

Consul-General Hong, Seok-in is a senior officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea. Prior to joining the Consulate, he served as Minister at the Korean Embassy in the US from September 2019 to January 2021. Consul-General Hong entered the diplomatic service in 1993. Throughout his career, he focused on security issues and public diplomacy. He served as Director- General for Public Diplomacy and Cultural Affairs from March 2018 to September 2019. He was a Senior Assistant Secretary at the Office of National Security from October 2016 to March 2018, and Director for Korean Peninsula Peace Regime Division from September 2009 to July 2011.  

His previous overseas assignments included Belgium, Ghana, the US, and Libya. He worked as Assistant Secretary at the Office of President twice in 2007 and 2008, and also served as Advisor to the Vice Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2008.  

Dr. Tae-Ung Baik is Professor of Law, and Director of the Center for Korean Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He was selected as a member of the UN Human Rights Council Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) in 2015 and served as member, Vice-Chair, and Chair-Rapporteur during 2015-2022, reviewing the enforced disappearance cases submitted to the United Nations by the member states and the families of the victims or civil society organizations. Dr. Baik received his first law degree from Seoul National University College of Law and earned his master (LLM) and doctoral (JSD) degrees on international human rights law from Notre Dame Law School. He was admitted to the Bar as an attorney-at-law in the State of New York. He stayed at Harvard University Law School East Asian Legal Studies Program as a visiting scholar. He joined the William S. Richardson School of Law in 2011 after teaching at the Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia from 2003-2010. He teaches international human rights law, comparative law, and Korean Law. His publication includes: Seeking Human Rights Community in Asia (Changbi, 2017) and Recommendations for a Ratification of the UN Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, 189 Justice 541 (2022).  

Dr. Edward J. Shultz is professor emeritus at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He first came to Korea as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1966, after graduating from Union College in New York. He was an East-West Center grantee from 1969 to 1971. On receiving his Phd in 1976 from the University of Hawaiʻi, he taught both at the University of Hawaiʻi and several universities in Korea.  In 1998 he became the Director of the Center for Korea Studies and in 2006 became interim Dean of the School of Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Studies as well Assistant Vice-Chancellor for International Programs and Exchange. After retiring in 2013, he taught in Korea for a year and on returning to Hawaiʻi was interim chancellor of Hawaii Tokai International College. He has studied both in Korea and Japan. His major area of research is Koryǒ history (918-1392) with a special interest in social, institutional, and political history. He has written about and translated several Korean primary texts.  

Suzanne (Suzy) Puanani Vares-Lum took office as President of the East-West Center in January 2022. She is the first woman and Native Hawaiian to be chosen for this role since the Center’s establishment in 1960. In 2022, she launched a new strategic plan that advances the Center’s mission to promote understanding and relationships among people and nations of the United States, Asia, and Pacific through cooperative study, research, and dialogue.  

As a retired Major General with 34 years of service, Vares-Lum has held key roles addressing priority national security challenges in the region. She brings decades of executive leadership and planning experience, culminating in over five years serving with and advising the most senior officials at US Indo-Pacific Command, where she cultivated and maintained key relationships with nations throughout the Indo-Pacific region. 

Please join us for a special program on "Korea Matters for Hawaiʻi/Hawaiʻi Matters for Korea” with a distinguished panel of speakers who will provide an update and perspective on the longstanding relationships between Korea and Hawaiʻi and Korea and the United States. 

Hawaiʻi and Korea have had close ties since 1903 when the first Koreans arrived in Hawaiʻi bringing with them their rich cultural traditions. This year also marks the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement and the Mutual Defense Treaty, deepening the bonds between the United States and the Republic of Korea.  

Leading up to the May 3 program will be a summit between US President Joe Biden and President Yoon Suk Yeol of Korea on April 26 in Washington, DC. In addition, on April 20, East-West Center in Washington, in partnership with the Korean Economic Institute and the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, will launch a new edition of Korea Matters for America/America Matters for Korea at the US Congressional Visitors Center. 

Schedule

2:00-3:00 Reception 
3:00-4:00 Panel Discussion

Organizers

This event is organized by the Consulate General by the Republic of Korea in Honolulu, the Center for Korean Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and East-West Center.

Distinguished Speakers

Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke is the State of Hawaiʻi’s 16th lieutenant governor, the third woman to hold the office, and the highest-ranking Korean American in a US statewide position. Sylvia was first elected to the Hawaiʻi State Legislature in 1998, where she served until 2022. During her twenty-four-year tenure in the State House, she had many roles, most notably as Chair of the Finance Committee where she developed a reputation for bringing transparency and accountability to the State budget for over a decade. 

Throughout Sylvia’s career in public service, she has been recognized for her advocacy and leadership by many organizations including Hawaii Women Lawyers, Healthcare Association of Hawaii, Hawaii Technology Trade Association, Korean American Coalition, AARP Hawaii, Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau, Humane Society of the United States, and Hawaiʻi Foodbank as Chair of the Annual State Employees’ Food Drive. Lieutenant Governor Luke is leading the state’s broadband expansion efforts and the initiative for universal access to preschool, Ready Keiki, to support the education and futures of Hawaiʻi’s keiki. 

Consul-General Hong, Seok-in is a senior officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea. Prior to joining the Consulate, he served as Minister at the Korean Embassy in the US from September 2019 to January 2021. Consul-General Hong entered the diplomatic service in 1993. Throughout his career, he focused on security issues and public diplomacy. He served as Director- General for Public Diplomacy and Cultural Affairs from March 2018 to September 2019. He was a Senior Assistant Secretary at the Office of National Security from October 2016 to March 2018, and Director for Korean Peninsula Peace Regime Division from September 2009 to July 2011.  

His previous overseas assignments included Belgium, Ghana, the US, and Libya. He worked as Assistant Secretary at the Office of President twice in 2007 and 2008, and also served as Advisor to the Vice Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2008.  

Dr. Tae-Ung Baik is Professor of Law, and Director of the Center for Korean Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He was selected as a member of the UN Human Rights Council Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) in 2015 and served as member, Vice-Chair, and Chair-Rapporteur during 2015-2022, reviewing the enforced disappearance cases submitted to the United Nations by the member states and the families of the victims or civil society organizations. Dr. Baik received his first law degree from Seoul National University College of Law and earned his master (LLM) and doctoral (JSD) degrees on international human rights law from Notre Dame Law School. He was admitted to the Bar as an attorney-at-law in the State of New York. He stayed at Harvard University Law School East Asian Legal Studies Program as a visiting scholar. He joined the William S. Richardson School of Law in 2011 after teaching at the Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia from 2003-2010. He teaches international human rights law, comparative law, and Korean Law. His publication includes: Seeking Human Rights Community in Asia (Changbi, 2017) and Recommendations for a Ratification of the UN Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, 189 Justice 541 (2022).  

Dr. Edward J. Shultz is professor emeritus at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He first came to Korea as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1966, after graduating from Union College in New York. He was an East-West Center grantee from 1969 to 1971. On receiving his Phd in 1976 from the University of Hawaiʻi, he taught both at the University of Hawaiʻi and several universities in Korea.  In 1998 he became the Director of the Center for Korea Studies and in 2006 became interim Dean of the School of Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Studies as well Assistant Vice-Chancellor for International Programs and Exchange. After retiring in 2013, he taught in Korea for a year and on returning to Hawaiʻi was interim chancellor of Hawaii Tokai International College. He has studied both in Korea and Japan. His major area of research is Koryǒ history (918-1392) with a special interest in social, institutional, and political history. He has written about and translated several Korean primary texts.  

Suzanne (Suzy) Puanani Vares-Lum took office as President of the East-West Center in January 2022. She is the first woman and Native Hawaiian to be chosen for this role since the Center’s establishment in 1960. In 2022, she launched a new strategic plan that advances the Center’s mission to promote understanding and relationships among people and nations of the United States, Asia, and Pacific through cooperative study, research, and dialogue.  

As a retired Major General with 34 years of service, Vares-Lum has held key roles addressing priority national security challenges in the region. She brings decades of executive leadership and planning experience, culminating in over five years serving with and advising the most senior officials at US Indo-Pacific Command, where she cultivated and maintained key relationships with nations throughout the Indo-Pacific region.