Following a presidential diplomatic tour through South America, the Korea Foundation is moving to translate high-level momentum into academic ties, launching a multicity university lecture series this week across Chile, Brazil and Colombia. The 2026 KF Korea Insight Lecture Series program will run from Aug. 12-21 across six prominent Latin American institutions. Aimed at cultivating the next generation of Korean studies scholars in the region, the series will cover topics ranging from economic development to the social critiques embedded in globally popular "Squid Game" series. The lecture tour opens in Chile, where Kim Won-ho, professor emeritus at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, will address audiences at the Central University of Chile and the University of Chile. His talks will focus on Korea's rapid postwar economic modernization and the policy lessons it offers for developing economies across Latin America. In Brazil and Colombia, the focus shifts to how Korean cinema and television reflect broader social transformations. Park Jung-won, a professor of Spanish at Kyung Hee