USC Korean Studies Institute

03/05/2025

👏 Our Graduate Conference in Korean Studies this year was a success! 🎉

We got to hear from a group of talented rising scholars coming from far and wide who presented their research in a wide variety of disciplines. 😊

👏 Thank you once again to everyone who helped out and volunteered to make this conference so memorable.

03/03/2025

Join us for a dialogue with former Ambassador Cho Hyun and Councilmember Jon Kaji on "Opportunities and Challenges for US-Asia Relations," moderated by Professor Jane Junn (USC).

The West Coast US-Asia Scholars Network is an event that brings together senior scholars and mid-career professionals who study topics related to U.S.-Asia relations with some interest in policy relevance or public intellectual space.

The event will address topics of importance to US-Asia relations in politics, economy, and diplomacy.

To RSVP, please email Gloria Koo at [email protected].

02/21/2025

This event marks the inaugural March First Symposium on History and Democracy.

Inspired in part by the publication of Kim San and Nym Wales’ Song of Arirang, conference speakers will address a diverse range of topics, including the transpacific critical reimagining of Korean history, the contributions of diasporic activism to the domestic independence movement, and the effects of colonization on the development of Korean American identity.

To RSVP, fill out the Google Form that is linked in the description for this event posting on our website.

09/24/2024

👉 Looking to have a positive impact on campus? Join our Hangul Day event crew and be part of something special! 🎉✨

The USC Korean language program is looking for passionate student volunteers to contribute to an unforgettable Hangul Day event. 😆

📍 The deadline for volunteer applications is next Friday, September 27th!

09/09/2024

The USC Korean Studies Institute is delighted to announce the sixth U.S.-Asia Grand Strategy Predoctoral Fellows class for the 2024-25 academic year!

Chi Fang | UCSD
Jiwon Jung | USC
Siyu Liang | UCLA
Kangkyu Lee | Georgia Tech
Kayeon Roh| USC
Stephen Schick | USC

The GSP Fellows spend the year researching and writing about US-Asia relations, security issues, and US policy toward the region and contribute to the intellectual & scholarly community at KSI.

08/08/2024

WELCOME BACK STUDENTS! The school year starts in a little under a month and the USC Korean Studies Institute would like to invite ALL UNDERGRADS to apply for the UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWS PROGRAM!

This program allows students to write a research paper on any Korean or Korean-American topic of their choosing under the academic mentorship of the Korean Studies Institute. Students also learn presentation skills and selected fellows get to participate in the annual USC-Michigan Korean Studies Exchange (this year to be held at USC in Los Angeles, CA).

Submit your application by FRIDAY, August 30th to attend the pre-program orientation session.

For more info about the program + the application, click here: https://dornsife.usc.edu/ksi/opportunities/undergraduate/ksi-undergraduate-fellows-program/.

08/01/2024

We are very excited to announce the 2024-2025 CSIS | Center for Strategic & International Studies- USC Korean Studies Institute NextGen Scholars!

💠Donna Lee Kwon, Ciara Sterbenz, Joseph Seeley, Hannah Kim, So Jin Lee, David Fields, Kristi Govella, Carolyn Choi, Soosun You, James Dongjin Kim

For more information | https://t.co/um8KiZiZI4

04/29/2024

🎉 Join us for a conversation with a former USC Korean Studies Institute postdoctoral fellow, who is currently the BGInS Program Director and Associate Professor of Anthropology at Carleton University. 👏💯

👉 Dr. Fahy has published widely on North Korea, including Marching Through Suffering: Loss and Survival in North Korea (Columbia University Press) and Dying for Rights: Putting North Korea’s Human Rights Abuses on the Record (Columbia University Press). 🔥

Dr. Fahy received her B.A. and M.A. at York University and relocated from Canada to further pursue her studies in East Asia. 😊

04/23/2024

👉 Thank you to everyone who showed up at our end-of-semester community lunch! 🥰✨

To all the people who support us and are involved in our programs, we hope to see you all again very soon. ❤️

04/22/2024

🎉 Congratulations to our graduating KSI Undergraduate Fellow Judy Lee for placing 2nd in the USC Libraries Research Awards! 🥰👏

Her paper, titled "The Power of Youth: Student Activism in the Gwangju Uprising," was recognized for its excellence and creativity among many other works in USC Libraries' research collections/services. 💯✨

😊 We are so proud of Judy and excited to see where her fruitful efforts will lead her! ❤️

04/18/2024

🎉 The USC KSI Undergraduate Fellows recently presented at the USC/UM Korean Studies Undergraduate Exchange! 😮👏

The fellows have been working all year on independent research projects that feature a wide range of topics such as Korean Cinema, South Korean domestic issues, Korean American Identity, and more! 🥰

👉 We awarded Blake Levins the Best Paper Award for his paper "The Origins, Development, and Legacy of Hip Hop Dance in South Korea" and Dionee Simmons the Best Presentation Award for her paper "Women Consuming Women: Portrayals of Le***an Desire in New Korean Cinema Horror Film". 🏆

They did an amazing job and we are so, so proud of the work all of the fellows have done. 😊❤️

To celebrate their success, we held a commencement reception at the Ahn House, where we said goodbye to our seniors and came together one more time to enjoy each other's company.

👩‍🎓 Congratulations to our graduating KSI Undergraduate Fellows Bo Kim, Eujean Doo, Sydney Tsai, Nathan Kim, Dionee Simmons, Judy Lee, Claire Lee, and Daphne Yaman! 👏💯

If you want to join this amazing program, then click the link in our bio! ✨

03/25/2024

The USC Korean Studies Institute is now accepting applications for the 2024-2025 Undergraduate Research Fellows Program!

Are you an outstanding USC student?
Are you interested in Korea or Korean American issues?
Are you interested in conducting an independent research paper and presenting at academic conferences?

Then you should join the KSI Undergraduate Fellows Program!

Learn more: https://dornsife.usc.edu/ksi/opportunities/undergraduate/ksi-undergraduate-fellows-program/

Apply by April 9th to be invited to the KSI Fellows commencement reception where we'll celebrate the graduating seniors of the 2023-2024 cohort.

Submit your application through this link: https://usc.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eX3WSlQuduo2LDU

03/06/2024

Join the USC East Asian Library on Thursday, April 18 at the Doheny Memorial Library for Science Fiction and East Asia! This is the closing event for USC East Asian Library's exhibition of the South Korean SF and Fantasy Collection.

More info on the event can be found here: https://bit.ly/sciencefictionandeastasia

Sponsored by the Korean Heritage Library, USC Libraries, USC East Asian Studies Center, and USC Korean Studies Institute.

02/21/2024

🚨 Just a reminder that Professor Susan Hwang's talk is happening tomorrow at the Ahn Family House from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM!

We hope to see you there! 🥰

02/15/2024

02/13/2024

👉 Come join us for a talk by Professor Susan Hwang on February 22 at the Ahn Family House! 🎉

She hones her studies on topics that span from protest cultures in Modern Korea to the relationship between aesthetics and politics—among others. 💭

👩‍🎓 Professor Hwang is currently writing a book, “Uncaged Songs: Culture and Politics of Protest Music in South Korea,” and has previously written scholarly works across various venues such as The Journal of Korean Studies and The Routledge Handbook of Modern Korean Literature.

02/02/2024

👉 Ms. Jenny Town visited the KSI earlier this week and shared her experiences of becoming involved in North Korean issues, her founding and running of 38 North, and her take on U.S.-North Korea relations.

Stay tuned for more information about upcoming speaker events at the KSI. 👏🎉