2022 World Affairs Council of the Year
Network of Independent World Affairs Councils of America
Presents
Geopolitical Divergences on the Korean Peninsula
Tuesday, February 13th – 12:00pm-1:00pm
In recent months, North and South Korea have seen a divergence in their geopolitical fortunes. On December 3, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol briefly declared martial law, setting off a political crisis that has seen President Yoon impeached and hindered Seoul’s ability to coordinate with the new Trump administration. In contrast, North Korea continues to deepen its relationship with Russia to which it has exported 9 million artillery shells and provided more than 10,000 troops in exchange for food, fuel, and advanced military technology. Please join the Tennessee World Affairs Council for a discussion of the current state of affairs in North and South Korea, as well as how they are adapting to changes in geopolitics.
Featured Speaker:
Troy Stangarone (Director of the Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy; Deputy Director of the Indo-Pacific Program at The Wilson Center)
Troy Stangarone is the Director of the Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy and the Deputy Director of the Indo-Pacific Program at the Wilson Center. Mr. Stangarone specializes in economic and foreign policy relations on the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region.
In addition to his work at the Wilson Center, Mr. Stangarone is columnist for The Korea Times and a contributing author for The Diplomat. He is also a member of the Steering Committee for the North Korea Economic Forum at the George Washington Institute for Korean Studies, a member of the Korea-America Student Conference’s National Advisory Committee and on the Board of the International Council of Korean Studies.
Prior to joining the Wilson Center, Mr. Stangarone was Senior Director and Fellow at the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI) where he oversaw the Institute’s programmatic initiatives and focused on issues pertaining to economic and foreign policy on the Korean Peninsula. During his time at KEI, he was also a 2012-2013 Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow in South Korea, sponsored by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, and a Posco Visiting Fellow at the East-West Center. Mr. Stangarone also previously worked on Capitol Hill for Senator Robert Torricelli on issues relating to foreign affairs and trade.
Mr. Stangarone holds an MSc. in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a B.A. in Political Science and Economics from the University of Memphis.
Moderator:
Natalie Thibault (Talent Executive | NBJ 40 Under 40 | Nashville Emerging Leader | MBA Candidate)
Natalie is an Award-Winning Global Leader with expertise in talent strategy and operational excellence. For 17+ years, Natalie delivered high impact results in one of the most complex, matrixed, fastest growing, and innovative Fortune 10 tech companies in the world. She is now pursuing her MBA at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Natalie values immersive international experiences to learn first-hand about politics, food, art, geography, global economics, etc. At 68 countries and counting, she believes it builds an almost instant connection when you can say ‘I know something about where you are from’. One of her favorite local hobbies is Salsa Dancing each week at Plaza Mariachi.