About

Ethics, rebuilt for a new generation.

The Interscholastic Ethics Society, United States — a student-led movement bringing rigorous, honest conversations about ethics, character, and civic responsibility into American high schools.

Our Mission

To give American students a serious space to think, speak, and lead with integrity.

Every chapter cultivates dialogue over debate, character over credential, and principled action over performative virtue.

Our Seal

A mark of principle.

The U.S. Chapter seal carries the American flag flanked by two doves — a pledge to civil dialogue and peace — with a single heart at its center, marking the ethical core of our work. The encircling inscription, IES National · The U.S. Chapter · Est. 2026, anchors our founding.

Leadership Message

A shared vision for an American culture of ethical leadership.

Aden Lee

Co-President · Internal Operations

The Lawrenceville School

Our vision is to build an institution with the discipline to endure. IES United States should give students more than a place to discuss difficult questions; it should give them the standards, responsibility, and trust required to lead well.

Internally, that means clear direction, accountable executives, durable bylaws, and chapters built to remain strong after their founders graduate. The character of our organization must reflect the character we ask students to practice.

Onew Choi

Co-President · External Operations

St. Mark's School

Our ambition is national, but our work begins with genuine relationships. Every school, faculty sponsor, partner, and student leader should understand both what IES stands for and how they can help carry that mission forward.

Externally, we are building a clear public voice and a network rooted in serious dialogue rather than performance. By connecting chapters across regions, we can turn local conversations into a lasting American movement for principled action.

“Together, we envision IES United States as a student-led institution where thoughtful dialogue becomes disciplined leadership—and where integrity is practiced before it is proclaimed.”

Founder's Message

Co-Founder & Student Vice Chair

Joseph Hahmmin Kang

Co-Founder & Student Vice Chair · Director of Global Operations, Interscholastic Ethics Society

The Interscholastic Ethics Society began with a simple conviction: students should have a serious place to think about the choices that shape their lives, their schools, and their communities. What started in Korea has grown into a global conversation, and the United States chapter is the next chapter of that story.

As co-founder and Director of Global Operations, I have watched chapters form, fail, and rebuild — and I have learned that the strength of IES is never in any one leader. It is in the daily discipline of students who choose to ask hard questions out loud, and who hold each other accountable to answers that match their actions.

To every student joining IES United States: you are not joining a club. You are joining a tradition. Build it with the seriousness it deserves, and leave it better than you found it.

— Joseph Hahmmin Kang