People

In their research and teaching, UC San Diego faculty place a special emphasis on various aspects of the transnational construction of modern and contemporary Korea, especially in its relations to the dual empires of Japan and the United States, as well as in its complex relations with China, the rest of Asia and, of course, the West. In addition to their educational and scholarly work on the humanities – in history and literature, for example – UC San Diego faculty are also involved in creative approaches to Korean Studies such as in music and visual arts. In this way, almost every department of the Division of Arts and Humanities is represented by a Koreanist –a unique strength of UC San Diego that is rarely found even at larger institutions.

Jin-kyung Lee - Director
Department of Literature
jinkyung@ucsd.edu

Core Faculty

Patty J. Ahn, Department of Communication

Stephan M. Haggard, School of Global Policy and Strategy

Todd A. Henry, Department of History 

Byung Chu (Dredge) Kang, Department of Anthropology

Joo Ok Kim, Department of Literature 

Jeyseon Lee, Department of Literature 

Jin-kyung Lee,  Department of Literature 

Munseob Lee, School of Global Policy and Strategy

Kyong Park, Department of Visual Arts 

Affiliated Faculty

Joseph D. Hankins,  Department of Anthropology

Nancy Kwak, Department of History

Ping-Hui Liao, Department of Literature

Daniel Widener, Department of History

Post Doctoral Scholars

Benoit Berthelier, AKS Post-Doctoral Lecturer/Fellow in Transnational Korean Studies, Institute of Arts & Humanities (2017-18)

Minhwa Ahn, AKS Post-Doctoral Lecturer/Fellow in Transnational Korean Studies, Institute of Arts & Humanities (2016-17)

Layoung Shin, AKS Post-Doctoral Lecturer/Fellow in Transnational Korean Studies, Dept. of History (2015-16)

Han Sang Kim, AKS Post-Doctoral Lecturer/Fellow in Transnational Korean Studies, Dept. of History (2014-15)

Visiting Scholars

There is a relevant intellectual community consisting of numerous visiting scholars in Korean Studies that faculty at UC San Diego have hosted over the last 20 years. They participate in the intellectual life by attending Korean Studies colloquia and conferences as well as giving lectures on their own work. For scholars interested in visiting UC San Diego, please contact koreanstudies@ucsd.edu.

This scholar has been hosted in the Institute of Arts & Humanities:

• Sook Ja Park, Professor, Department of Physical Education, Gong-ju National University of Education (2017-18)

These scholars have been hosted in the Department of History:

• Minjung Baik, Senior Researcher, National Research Foundation of Korea (2016-17)
• Professor Baek Yung Kim, Kwangwoon University (2015-16)

These scholars have been hosted in the departments of Economics and Communication:

• Professor Young-Han Kim, Sungkyunkwan University
• Professor Young-Soo Shin, Seoul Women’s University
• Professor Woo-Hyun Won, former Vice-President of the Korean Broadcasting Commission and former President of the Korean Communication Association

This scholar has been hosted in the Department of Sociology:

• Professor Inyi Choi, Chungnam National University (2017-18), UC San Diego Alumni, PhD, Sociology '05

In addition, UC San Diego hosted five postdoctoral and senior visiting scholars working on monographs on Korean political economy:

• Professor Yoonkyung Lee, SUNY Binghamton
• Professor Seokchoon Lew, Yonsei University
• Professor Jae-Jin Yang, Yonsei University
• Professor Kyoungryung Seong, Hallym University
• Professor Jong Hak Hong, Kyungwon University
• Professor Chung-In Moon, Yonsei University

The Department of Literature has also hosted a steady stream of visiting scholars from South Korea and Japan in Korean literature and other areas such as English literature and Chinese literature, including the following:

• Prof. Kim Yong-Kyu, Busan National University (2000-2001)
• Prof. Kim Chul, Yonsei University (2002-2003)
• Prof. Kim Jong-Sung, Soongsil University (2003-2004)
• Prof. Park Chan-Gil, Ewha University (2004-2005)
• Prof. Suh Kyung-Hee, Kwangju University (2006-2007)
• Prof. Suk-Ku Rhee, Yonsei University (2010-2011)
• Prof. Watanabe Naoki, Musashi University (2011-2012)
• Prof. Hyungki Shin, Yonsei University, Fulbright Scholar (2016-2017)
• Prof. Hayiyan Yin, Nanjing University (2019-2020)