Winter 2024 Regional Studies—East Asia Newsletter 

Winter 2024

Letter from our Chair

Dear Alumni of the RSEA program,

The day we have spent much of the last year(s) working towards is arriving soon. On April 5th, we will celebrate the 75th birthday of the RSEA program (though, due to the Covid years, a bit later than we wished). The celebrations will greet many eminent Alumni back to campus as part of five panels representing some of the main career paths for RSEA graduates, but also many as part of the audience.

We hope you can join us as we hear from many Alumni what RSEA meant for their work today, but also about what role Asia will play in the future of journalism, education, business, government policy, and the arts.

Asia’s role in the world continues to grow, and many RSEA Alumni have played instrumental roles in that growth. It has never been more important to seek out balanced knowledge and ways of understanding a world in which Asia is a pivotal presence. RSEA takes the role of education for future generations of scholars and practitioners extremely

seriously and looks back on its history with pride.

We hope you can make it to Cambridge in early April to participate in the festivities and meet current students in the program. We have exciting announcements to make at the event, and you can even stay on to join the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences’ Alumni Day on April 6th.

Take a look below for the exact program. We look forward to seeing you in April! All best wishes,

Alexander Zahlten

Chair, Regional Studies East Asia

Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations Harvard University

Congratulations to our November 2023 graduates—Mengqiu Liu and Yue Wu!

Harvard East Asia Society Conference 2024

Knots: Complex Legacies and Imagined Futures of East Asia

February 16-17, 2024

1730 Cambridge Street, CGIS South

The RSEA 75th Anniversary Symposium at Harvard University

Friday, April 5th, 2024, 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. 1730 Cambridge Street, CGIS

Website: http://tinyurl.com/2s35e4sj

Panels

What are the outlooks for East Asia in business, and for business in East Asia?

Panelists: Satohiro Akimoto, Richard Dyck, Greer Meisels Moderator: Glen Fukushima

How is East Asia important for the future of journalism?

Panelists: Rebecca Choong Wilkins, Joseph Kahn, Scott MacKenzie

Moderator: Mable Chan

Possible political futures of East Asia – how can we shape them for the better?

Panelists: Lars Fredén, Anka Lee, Scott Snyder Moderator: Alastair Iain Johnston

How are Asian arts shaping the world?

Panelists: Virginia Moon, Anne Morse, Joseph Scheier-Dolberg Moderator: TBA

What is the future role of East Asia in higher education – or of higher education in East Asia?

Panelists: Mark Henderson, Katherine Wilhelm, Don Wyatt Moderator: Bill Kirby

Followed by an RSEA Alumni and Student Dinner (Alumni may register to attend the dinner here!)

Jannis Jizhou Chen, AM ’17, Assistant Professor, Department of Chinese Language and Literature at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Joseph Doyle, AM ’17, started a new position as an International Trade Specialist at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Nick Drake, AM ’16, is now the Associate Director of Graduate & International Admission at St. Mike's and is teaching a survey course on Modern East Asia this semester.

John Ferguson, AM ’22, graduated from the Schwarzman Scholars program at Tsinghua University in late June 2023.

Cornerstone of the Nation: The Defense Industry and the Building of Modern Korea under Park Chung Hee by Peter Banseok Kwon, AM ’08, was just published by the Harvard University Asia Center and released in February 2024. Kwon is Assistant Professor of Korean Studies at the University at Albany, State University of New York.

Robert Joo-Hyung Lee, AB/AM ’12, has just become a Managing Partner at Anseres Capital Management.

Hideki Murai, AM ’10, was appointed the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary in the Kishida cabinet in September 2023 (Read more here).