We hope you all had healthy and memorable summers. We happily welcome you back to the Harvard campus for the new fall semester! We encourage you to reach out to the Korea Institute to learn about upcoming Korea Institute events, activities, programs and funding. Please see our Upcoming Events page for more information. There is also a KI Events Email Listserv sign-up, via the red subscribe button, on the front page of our website.
For student program questions, please reach out to our Program...
Dr. Youngeun Koo is the 2023–24 SBS Korean Studies Postdoctoral Fellow in the Social Sciences. Her research focuses on the entanglements of care, humanitarianism, and development as crucial sites of social governance in the Global South. Her current book project, tentatively titled Expert, Empire, and Dictator: The Transnational Politics of Care and the Making of International Adoption in Cold War South Korea, 1961–1979, tells the story of the world’s longest-running and largest international adoption program from the little-known perspective of the first generation of...
Dr. Jeehyun Choi is a scholar of Asian American literature whose research interests lie at the intersection of Korean diasporic literatures, the global history of leftist cultural and social movements, and translation studies. She is currently working on a book manuscript about the radical anti-imperialist politics of early Korean diasporic writers in the U.S. During her time at the Korea Institute, Jeehyun will continue her work in excavating the vibrant Korean diasporic literary scene of the 1930s. She approaches translation as an opportunity to excavate transpacific dialogues obscured...
Dr. Solmi Chung's research focuses on Korean traditional fantasy, with a particular emphasis on pre-modern records documenting ghosts, spirits, and monsters. In her doctoral dissertation (2021), Chung explored the transformative encounters between imaginative entities and the introduction of novel ideologies, religions, philosophies, and cultures to trace the altered perceptions and sensory experiences of humans.
As a Fulbright postdoctoral fellow at Harvard, Chung plans to investigate how pre-modern...
The Korea Institute, Harvard University announces the 2023 Student Grant and Fellowship Awards
The Korea Institute at Harvard University promotes the study of Korea and brings together faculty, students, scholars, and visitors to create a leading Korean studies community at Harvard. Through the Korea Institute, Harvard offers resources for graduate and undergraduate students to study Korea. On campus in Cambridge, students take courses on Korea and may choose from a wide array of Korea-related programmatic activities. Graduate and undergraduate...
The inaugural award ceremony for the Namhi Kim Wagner Korean Language Prize took place on Thursday, April 27, 2023, in the South Concourse of the Center for Government and International Studies (CGIS). Faculty, staff, students, and members of Namhi Kim Wagner’s family gathered in recognition of Namhi Kim Wagner’s legacy as the first director of the Korean Language Program at Harvard University, and to celebrate the winner of the Namhi Kim Wagner Korean Language Prize.
It is with our deepest sadness that we convey the news of the passing of Namhi Kim Wagner (1923 - 2023). Mrs. Wagner was the first Director of the Korean Language Program at Harvard University. She remained an active supporter and close friend of the Korea Institute after retirement. Mrs. Wagner generously shared her passion for Korean language and Korean Studies with generations of faculty, staff, and students. We will keep you informed as plans develop to honor her memory and...
