Korean War Legacies: Healing the Trauma of Korean American Family Separation

On June 25, USIP held a conversation that explored alternative pathways for facilitating reconciliation between Washington and Pyongyang at a time of deadlocked U.S.-North Korea relations. This event highlighted current initiatives that aim to support Korean American divided families, including the proposed Divided Families National Registry Act, which would establish a U.S. government registry for divided families, and Letters to My Hometown, a storytelling project to archive video messages from elderly Korean Americans to their relatives in North Korea. 

Speakers

Frank Aum, welcoming remarks
Senior Expert, Northeast Asia, U.S. Institute of Peace

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), introductory remarks
U.S. Representative from California 

Former Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL), recorded video message 
Former U.S. Senator 

Ambassador Julie Turner
U.S. Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues, Department of State

Paul Kyumin Lee
President, Divided Families USA

HJ Lee
Co-Founder and Executive Director, KoreanAmericanStory.org

Chahee Lee Stanfield
Korean-American Divided Family Member; Executive Director, National Coalition for the Divided Families

For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/korean-war-legacies-healing-trauma-korean-american-family-separation