The 81st Societas Koreana Lecture Meeting was held in the Press Club at Korea Press Foundation at 5:30 pm on Wednesday, November 20, 2019. Professor John Delury (Yonsei University) presented a lecture titled “The Indo-Pacific Strategy and Korean Peace Process: Historical Reflections and Future Prospects.” Around 100 foreign opinion leaders in Korea (diplomats and researchers) attended the lecture.

Professor Delury received a PhD in history from Yale University in 2007 and is currently assistant professor at Yonsei University. In this lecture, he explained what the United States’ Indo-Pacific strategy means for future priorities of the Korean government. In other words, what it means for the prospect of peace with North Korea. In particular, he described the possible impact the new US strategies might have on Korea based on historical evidence and the current state of the US government. Participants at the lecture were able to consider and discuss the historic and diplomatic implications of the peacekeeping strategies between North and South Korea.