North Korea, U.S. and Asia Discussed at Lecture
Frank Plantan, Ph.D., co-director of International Relations Program at the University of Pennsylvania and honorary consul-general of Republic of Korea for Pennsylvania, will discuss “The North Korean Conundrum for the U.S. and Asia” at a free, public lecture on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at 5:30 p.m. in the Pearn Auditorium of Brennan Hall on The University of Scranton’s campus.The University of Scranton will present a public lecture entitled “The North Korean Conundrum for the U.S. and Asia” Sept. 19
Given the recent intensified conflict between North Korea and the U.S., The University of Scranton will present a public lecture entitled “The North Korean Conundrum for the U.S. and Asia,” by Frank Plantan, Ph.D., co-director of International Relations Program at the University of Pennsylvania and honorary consul-general of Republic of Korea for Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, Sept. 19. The lecture, which is free of charge and open to the public, begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Pearn Auditorium of Brennan Hall. Doors will open at 5 p.m. and light refreshments will be served. The lecture is co-sponsored by the University’s Asian Studies Program and the history and political science departments.
At the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Plantan also served 18 years as the director of the Penn-in-Seoul Study Abroad and Internship Program. He was a consultant to the World Bank as a member of the corporate restructuring team in Seoul during the Asian economic crisis in 1998-99. Earlier in his career, he worked for the Economic Planning Board of the Republic of Korea. He also does occasional consulting and is a partner in Gotham Orient Partners, an investment advisory firm.
As a member of the New York Hedge Fund Roundtable, he has spoken on investing in Korea and on corporate social responsibility and sustainability. He has consulted with Kyung Hee University, Korea, on the development of their new Global Academy and NGO Complex and the development of the 2008 World Civic Forum in conjunction with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. He served on the Planning Committee of the United Nations Department of Public Information-NGOs 61st Annual Conference.
His other international education and research experience includes serving for 10 years as executive secretary of the International Consortium for Higher Education, Civic Responsibility, and Democracy (a joint project of the Council of Europe and the University of Pennsylvania); and as the General Raporteur for the Council of Europe on a 17-nation comparative research project, Universities as Sites of Citizenship and Civic Responsibility. He is the national president of Sigma Iota Rho, the national honor society for international studies with chapters on more than 180 campuses in the U.S. and abroad.
Dr. Plantan earned bachelor’s degree is from Illinois State University, and his master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.
For more information or questions, please contact Ann A. Pang-White, Ph.D., director of Asian Studies at Scranton, at ann.pang-white@scranton.edu or 570-941-6312.
