August 28, 2023
Columbus State University will host a three-part public symposium series focused on
the legacy of the Korean War and post-war relations between the Republic of Korea
and the United States during the war’s 70-year armistice.
The first of these will be on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. in 1304 Frank Brown Hall
[map] on the university’s RiverPark Campus. Its focus will be on the state of U.S. and
Korean diplomatic and military relations from 2006 to present. It will feature a three-person
panel including:
“We are thrilled to have assembled a panel that will bring together internationally
recognized thinkers with vast, but also diverse, experience in U.S.-Korean relations,”
said Dr. David Kieran (pictured), Columbus State’s Col. Richard R. Hallock distinguished chair in military
history and an associate professor in its Department of History, Geography & Philosophy. “These are the leading experts who, over the past two decades, have played prominent
roles in analyzing the political dynamics of North Korea and crafting and implementing
U.S. policy relating to the Korean Peninsula.”
The 70th anniversary of the Korean Armistice is certainly an opportunity to think
about the events of 1950 to 1953 and of the seven decades that followed. But as the
U.S. turns its attention to the Pacific and to challenges posed by China and North
Korea, and as Korean corporations become increasingly prominent investors in the United
States —particularly the Chattahoochee Valley — the anniversary is also an opportunity
to think about the current state of affairs and how the U.S./Republic of Korea relationship
will continue to evolve over the next 70 years.
“The U.S.-Republic of Korea alliance stands as a beacon born from the Korean War,”
said Dr. Daewoo Lee, an associate professor in the School of Policy, Justice, and Public Safety and a
South Korean native who has been planning the symposium series alongside Kieran. “Our
series of events will remember and honor the sacrifices made — underscoring the importance
of chronicling a legacy that continues to guide our two countries’ shared journey
during the past 70 years.”
The second symposium session is scheduled on Thursday, Nov. 7 and will focus on U.S.
and Korean relations during the Cold War and after from 1953 to 2006. The final symposium
installment will be on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, and will focus on the legacy of the
Korean War. Both will begin at 7 p.m. in 1304 Frank Brown Hall Room.
“The program that we have created allows us to spend a year focusing and reflecting
on the different moments that have shaped the past 70 years of U.S.-Korean relations,”
Kieran said, “beginning with an assessment of the current challenges and opportunities
and moving backward to study the Cold War Era and the Korean Conflict itself.”
During the Summer 2024 semester, Kieran, Lee, and retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Pat
Donahoe will accompany a group of Columbus State students to South Korea as an endnote
to the symposium series. The study abroad excursion will include visiting several Korean conflict sites, some of the military installations
where U.S. troops serve today, and the think tanks, consular offices and corporate
headquarters that highlight the enduring relationship between these countries.
“Having spent a number of years serving in South Korea from my first assignment in
1989 to my most recent posting there in 2020 to 2022, I have seen South Korea develop
at lightning speed,” said Donahoe, who recently retired as the commanding general
of the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Moore. He now serves as CSU’s
special assistant to the president for military liaison.
“Their development is widely known as the ‘Miricle on the Han’ — the Han being the
river that runs through Seoul. As our nation looks to its future in the Pacific, our
South Korean ally is at the center of our strategy, so it’s incredibly important for
our students, our citizens, to better understand the US-South Korean relationship
across our diplomatic, military and economic connections.”
The symposium program is hosted and funded by the university’s Hallock Endowment for
Military Studies. It is presented in partnership by CSU’s Center for Global Engagement; Military-Connected Student Services; Department of History, Geography & Philosophy; and School of Policy, Justice & Public Safety.
All three symposium sessions are open to the public at no charge. No registration
is required.
Media contacts:
- Dr. David Kieran, Colonel Richard R. Hallock Distinguished Chair in Military History
and Associate Professor, Department of History, Geography & Philosophy, 706-507-8355,
[email protected] - Michael Tullier, APR, Executive Director of Strategic Communication + Marketing, Columbus
State University, 706.507.8927, [email protected]