Advisory board
Advisors
Senior military, diplomatic and academic figures advising the production on the history it documents.
Hee-Eun Kim
Founder, President & CEO, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Hee-Eun Kim is the Founder, President & CEO of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy (CAPS) — a Washington-based, international security think-tank, providing policy recommendations regarding present and future threats to the security and stability of the Asia Pacific region.
In 2012, she joined the staff of United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, and U.S. Forces Korea, located in Seoul — serving initially as International Relations Officer at the Multi-national Logistics Division and ascending, finally, to the position of Chief of United Nations Command (UNC), Logistics Branch.
In 2016, Ms. Kim was appointed Deputy Director of Political-Military Engagement, as part of the Commander's Strategic Initiatives Group for the U.S. Four-star Commander of United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, and U.S. Forces Korea — where she provided direct support to the Commander and leadership group as Senior Political/Military Advisor. More recently, she was invited to join the Advisory Board for the Economic Conflict & Competition Research Group at King's College London.
General (Ret.) Curtis "Mike" Scaparrotti
Former Supreme Allied Commander, NATO
General (Ret.) Curtis "Mike" Scaparrotti completed a distinguished career in the United States Army in 2019, serving concurrently as Supreme Allied Commander, NATO and Commander of the U.S. European Command. In this position, General Scaparrotti collaborated and coordinated with the leaders of all 29 NATO member nations, as well as the various NATO partner countries around the world.
His military career spanned 41 years, from his beginning as a West Point cadet to key commands, including U.S. Forces Korea / United Nations Command, South Korea; Commander of forces during Operations Iraqi Freedom (Iraq), Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), and Support Hope (Zaire/Rwanda); and Commanding General of the 82nd Airborne Division.
The recipient of numerous military awards and decorations, General Scaparrotti also served as the 69th Commandant of West Point. He is a member of multiple boards, trusts and associations, and currently serves as Senior Counselor for The Cohen Group in Washington, D.C.
Markus Garlauskas
Director, Indo-Pacific Security Initiative, the Atlantic Council
Markus Garlauskas is Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative of the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council — leading the Council's initiative on conflict and nuclear deterrence, U.S. strategy, and efforts in building cooperation with allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region.
Mr. Garlauskas holds a Master's Degree from Georgetown University's Security Studies graduate program, where he is now an adjunct professor.
From 2014 to 2020, Mr. Garlauskas served on the National Intelligence Council, where he was appointed to the Senior National Intelligence Service and served as National Intelligence Officer (NIO) for North Korea. As NIO, he led the U.S. intelligence community's strategic analysis on North Korea issues and expanded analytic outreach to non-government experts. He also provided direct analytic support to top-level policy deliberations, including the presidential transition, as well as the Singapore and Hanoi summits with North Korea.
Professor Michael J. Seth, Ph.D.
Professor of History, James Madison University
Professor Michael J. Seth, Ph.D. — one of America's foremost scholars on Korean history and culture — has been a Professor of History at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia for more than twenty years, specializing in East Asian and Korean History.
Dr. Seth worked and taught in Korea for many years before receiving his Ph.D. in East Asian History from the University of Hawaii.
His books include:
- A Concise History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present (Fourth Edition, 2024)
- Korea at War (2023)
- Korea: A Very Short Introduction (2020)
- North Korea: A History (2018)
- A Concise History of Modern Korea: From the Late Nineteenth Century to the Present (2009)
- A Concise History of Premodern Korea: From the Neolithic to the Nineteenth Century (2006)
- Education Fever: Society, Politics and the Pursuit of Schooling in South Korea (2002)
Colonel (Ret.) David Maxwell
Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
David Maxwell is the Vice President of CAPS (Center for Asia Pacific Strategy) and a Senior Fellow at the Global Peace Foundation, where he focuses on a free and unified Korea. A retired U.S. Army Special Forces Colonel, Maxwell spent more than thirty years in the Asia Pacific region, specializing in Northeast Asian and Korean Security Affairs.
He commanded the Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines during the war on terrorism and is the former J5 and Chief of Staff of the Special Operations Command Korea, and G3 of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. His final military assignment was teaching national security strategy as a member of the military faculty at the National War College.
Colonel Maxwell was educated at Miami University, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, the School of Advanced Military Studies, and the National War College. Following his retirement, he was appointed Associate Director of the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University.
He is a member of the board of directors of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, the International Council on Korean Studies, and the OSS Society.
Colonel (Ret.) Seung Joon "Steve" Lee
Senior Vice President of Operations, Korea Defense Veterans Association · President, Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation
Colonel (Ret.) Seung Joon "Steve" Lee is the Senior Vice President of Operations for the KDVA (Korea Defense Veterans Association) and the President of the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation. As such, Colonel Lee plays a key role in the ROK–U.S. Alliance — with more than 27 years' experience working in the United Nations Command / Combined Forces Command / U.S. Forces Command (UNC/CFC/USFK), U.S. Embassy-Seoul, Joint Staff, Army Staff, Defense Intelligence Agency, and 2nd Infantry Division.
As Secretary of the United Nations Command component of the Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC), Colonel Lee led an international team responsible for managing the July 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement and negotiating with the North Korean People's Army.
Steve Lee was commissioned as an infantry officer upon graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He received an MA in East Asian Studies from the University of Virginia and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. He is a graduate of the ROK Army College.
Lieutenant General (Ret.) Michael S. Tucker
Former Commander, U.S. Army 2nd Infantry Division
Lieutenant General (Ret.) Michael S. Tucker is a native of North Carolina who enlisted as a Private in the U.S. Army in 1972 — ultimately rising to the rank of Three-star General in a remarkable military career that spanned five decades. In his final post, General Tucker served as Commanding General of the First United States Army from 2013 until his retirement in 2016.
General Tucker served as the Commanding General of the 2nd Infantry Division, Republic of Korea from 2009–2011 — returning to Korea multiple times to train and mentor 2nd Infantry Division and Eighth Army Commanding Generals.
In June 2011, General Tucker received the Order of National Security Merit Cheonsu Medal from the President of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak, for distinguished service to the Republic of Korea and for his singular contributions in strengthening the U.S.–ROK Alliance.