As part of the annual dinner program, The Korea Society will honor the former Peace Corps Korea volunteers and journalist Don Oberdorfer with its 2008 James A. Van Fleet Award. The award is given to prominent Korean and American individuals or organizations for outstanding contributions to the U.S.-Korea relationship. Peace Corps Korea brought thousands of Americans to serve in Korea's classrooms and health-care centers. The assistance provided by these volunteers, at a critical period in Korean history, helped to cement U.S.-Korea ties. Kevin O'Donnell, the first country director of Peace Corps Korea, and fourth director of the Peace Corps program, will accept the award on behalf of the volunteers.
The Korea Society will honor the former Peace Corps Korea volunteers with its 2008 James A. Van Fleet Award that will be accepted by former Peace Corps Director and Korea Country Director Kevin O'Donnell
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to Address The Korea Society's Annual Dinner on First Official Visit to the U.S.
PR Newswire
Comtex
NEW YORK, April 8, 2008, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, traveling to the U.S. on his first official visit since his inauguration in February, will deliver the keynote address at The Korea Society's annual dinner on April 15 at The Plaza hotel in New York. The Korea Society is the leading organization in the United States devoted to promoting U.S.-Korea relations.
"We are honored to host President Lee at the first major public event on his U.S. itinerary, and gratified that the new Korean president will launch this important visit by making a major speech at The Korea Society," said Evans J.R. Revere, president of The Korea Society.
In the days following the dinner, President Lee will confer with U.S. business and political leaders, capping his visit by a summit with President Bush at Camp David. That meeting will provide an important opportunity for the two nations to reaffirm their close relations, and to infuse their growing partnership with new energy and an even greater level of cooperation.
As part of the annual dinner program, The Korea Society will honor the former Peace Corps Korea volunteers and journalist Don Oberdorfer with its 2008 James A. Van Fleet Award. The award is given to prominent Korean and American individuals or organizations for outstanding contributions to the U.S.-Korea relationship.
Peace Corps Korea brought thousands of Americans to serve in Korea's classrooms and health-care centers. The assistance provided by these volunteers, at a critical period in Korean history, helped to cement U.S.-Korea ties. Kevin O'Donnell, the first country director of Peace Corps Korea, and fourth director of the Peace Corps program, will accept the award on behalf of the volunteers.
Don Obderdorfer is currently chairman of the U.S.-Korea Institute at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. A former Tokyo diplomatic correspondent for the Washington Post, Oberdorfer is the author of five books, including The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History, a seminal work that has greatly enhanced public and academic understanding of the relationship between the U.S. and Korea.
For more information about The Korea Society's many programs, please visit http://www.koreasociety.org.
SOURCE The Korea Society
