Asia Society

About

The Asia Society is a 501(c)(3) organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States (Manhattan, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle) and around the world (Hong Kong, Manila, Seoul, Melbourne, Sydney, Tokyo, Mumbai, Delhi, Paris and Zurich). The Society's headquarters are in New York City, and includes a museum that exhibits pre-modern, modern, and contemporary art from Asia, Oceania and the Asian diaspora. Asia Society also publishes an online magazine, ChinaFile.

In January 2024, Kyung-wha Kang, who served as the first female Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Korea, from 2017 to 2021, was named its president and CEO, effective in April 2024; in October 2025, she stood down to become South Korea's ambassador to the United States; former president and CEO, Kevin Rudd, returned to that position in March 2026, having resigned early from his role as Australian ambassador to the United States. Asia Society has sometimes been described by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a participant in its "backchannel" diplomatic efforts with the United States government. Others have disputed any characterization of the Asia Society as speaking on behalf of the United States in track II diplomacy.