Asia Society Korea will host a fundraising dinner to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its foundation on Sept. 19, the nonprofit organization said.

The event is expected to draw around 300 dignitaries from the US and South Korea, diplomatic envoys here as well as the group’s members. It will take place at Lotte Hotel in central Seoul.

Charles Rockefeller, the great-grandson of Asia Society’s founder John D. Rockefeller III, will be present to deliver a keynote speech. A speech will also be given by former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
 

Also in attendance will be Lee Hong-koo, honorary chairman of Asia Society Korea, and Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, chairman of Asia Society Korea.

The event will also include the ceremony for this year’s Ambassador of the Year awards.

This year’s awards will be presented to H.E. Vikram Doraiswami of India, H.E. Bader Mohammad Al’Awadi of Kuwait and H.E. Ramzi Teymurov of Azerbaijan.

Asia Society Korea is the Korean branch of the New York-headquartered Asia Society, which was founded in 1956 to promote mutual understanding and strengthen partnership between Asian nations and the United States. It now runs centers in 10 locations -- four in US cities, apart from New York, and six outside America, including China, India and the Philippines.

Asia Society Korea was established in April 2008, with support from Christopher Hill, the 25th assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, and Richard Holbrooke, former chairman of Asia Society. Since then, the institute here has been promoting cooperation between South Korea and the Asia-Pacific region through seminars and forums dealing with social issues.

Through its major project Asia 21 Young Leaders Initiative, the institute has built a network of over 800 leaders from 30 countries. The initiative kicked off in 2006 and annually selects 30 leaders of the year to support them. Its members include Jungwook Hong, the chairman of Herald Corp., who was appointed to the Policy Advisory Board in 2007.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)