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The Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) is delighted to share that Stanford Sociologist Gi-Wook Shin, the William J. Perry Professor of Contemporary Korea, director of APARC, and founding director of the Korea Program at APARC, is the recipient of the Korean American Achievement Award for his contributions to promoting Korean Studies, strengthening U.S.-Korea relations, and fostering transnational collaboration. The award was presented at the 122nd anniversary celebration of Korean American Day in San Francisco on January 11, 2025.

The Korean American Achievement Award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Korean American community’s academic, cultural, and civic development. Shin, a historical-comparative and political sociologist who is also a senior fellow at the Freeman Spoglli Institute for International Studies, has dedicated himself to addressing Korea’s contemporary challenges and bridging the United States and Korea. His work combines rigorous research with actionable policy insights, focusing on democracy, nationalism, societal development in Korea, migration, and international relations. He is also a sought-after media commentator on Korean affairs and U.S.-Korea ties.

Shin is the author and editor of 25 books and numerous articles. His most recent book is Korean Democracy in Crisis: The Threat of Illiberalism, Populism, and Polarization (Shorenstein APARC, 2022). Stanford University Press will publish his next book, The Four Talent Giants: National Strategies for Human Resource Development Across Japan, Australia, China, and India, in July 2025.

Under Shin’s leadership as its founding director, the Korea Program has become a renowned Stanford hub for interdisciplinary research and dialogue on contemporary Korea. The program celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2022, marking two decades of promoting education and exchange on Korea’s political, economic, and social evolution. Beyond academia, the program is a platform for fostering the next generation of leaders dedicated to advancing Korea’s future and strengthening Korea-U.S. ties.

Shin also spearheads the Stanford Next Asia Policy Lab (SNAPL), an initiative committed to addressing emergent social, cultural, economic, and political challenges in Asia through interdisciplinary, policy-relevant, and comparative studies and publications.

The Korean American Day commemorates the arrival of the first Korean immigrants in the United States on January 13, 1903. The 122nd anniversary of Korean American Day was co-hosted by the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in San Francisco, the San Francisco & Bay Area Korea Center, and Korean organizations in Northern California. The event was held at the San Francisco & Bay Area Korea Center.

Congratulations to Professor Shin on this well-deserved honor! It is a testament to his leadership and contributions that enrich the Korea Program and APARC’s mission to deepen the understanding of Asia and strengthen U.S.-Asia relations.

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Korea’s Bumpy Road Toward Democracy

The historical and sociopolitical contexts of President Yoon’s declaration of martial law and its aftermath
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Gi-Wook Shin, Evan Medeiros, and Xinru Ma in conversation at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
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Dafna Zur
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Dafna Zur Awarded South Korea’s Order of Culture Merit

The award, the highest recognition bestowed by the government of the Republic of Korea, honors Zur for her contributions to promoting the Korean writing system, Hangeul.
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The award recognizes Shin’s contributions to advancing Korean studies and strengthening U.S.-Korea relations through scholarship and bridge-building.

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Gi-Wook Shin
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This piece first appeared on the Stanford University Press Blog.


The declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024, in South Korea (hereafter Korea) stunned the world. People are still wondering how such an undemocratic measure could happen in an advanced nation like Korea, long viewed as a beacon of Asian democracy. Simply put, the declaration was President Yoon’s political suicide, based on miscalculations and poor judgment, and he is primarily to blame. His days as Korea’s top leader are numbered, and he may face criminal charges for violating the Constitution and even attempting insurrection.

Still, to understand what has happened and learn any lesson for the future of Korean democracy, we need to consider the larger historical and sociopolitical contexts. As I warned in a 2020 essay, Korea’s democracy had been gradually crumbling in a manner captured by the Korean expression “to become soaked by a light drizzle without noticing.” As I argued in that essay and elsewhere, “the subtle subversion of democratic norms across multiple spheres could one day hit Korea's young democracy with unbearable costs.” This is what we are witnessing today.


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Democratic Rise and Backsliding


Korea’s struggle for democracy has been a long and arduous journey, marked by many challenges and sacrifices. It began in April 1960 with a student movement, the country’s first large-scale, grassroots expression of the desire for democratic change. That student-led movement toppled the authoritarian Syngman Rhee regime but, in the following year, faced a military coup led by Park Chung Hee. Park ruled until his assassination by his intelligence chief in 1979, which was soon followed by another military coup led by Chun Doon Whan. Chun brutally suppressed civilian protests in the city of Kwangju in May 1980. Many Koreans, including myself, still hold painful memories of the martial laws imposed in 1979 and 1980.

Korea finally transitioned to democracy in 1987 after nationwide protests and has been considered an exemplary case of the “third wave” of democratization. Even after the transition, however, the young Korean democracy faced many challenges, including corruption charges against presidential families and even the suicide of a former president.

The real test for Korean democracy came in 2017, when then-President Park Geun Hye was impeached — a first in the nation’s history — after months of “candlelight” protests that drew tens of millions into the streets. I observed these protests firsthand. Some experts saw them as a sign that Korea’s young democracy had succumbed to populist forces and that its institutions had weakened, but I disagreed. Instead, I argued that these protests represented a movement to redress the violation of democratic institutions by the country’s political elite. Far from signaling a crisis of democracy, I further argued, Park’s impeachment was a step forward.

I had high hopes for the Moon Jae In administration that came into power through the following snap elections. President Moon, a former human rights lawyer, promised to create a new nation where “the opportunities are equal, the process is fair, and the result is just.” The public applauded his efforts: his approval ratings soared above 80 percent during his first year in office.

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3D mockup cover of APARC's volume 'South Korea's Democracy in Crisis'

Yet, warning signs did not take long to appear in various corners of Korean society. The Moon administration showed no qualms about embracing populist tactics, presenting itself as the champion of ordinary citizens in a battle against the establishment elite. In particular, this approach included a brutal campaign of political retribution to “eradicate deep-rooted evils,” which shed bad blood among conservatives. Many intellectuals in and outside Korea, including myself, grew increasingly concerned by illiberal and populist trends in Korea’s politics. This diagnosis formed the basis for my co-edited book, South Korea’s Democracy in Crisis (2022), which identifies illiberalism, populism, and polarization as key threats to the country’s hard-won democracy.

Crisis in Political Leadership


Yoon Suk-Yeol came into power in this toxic political environment, where democratic norms such as mutual toleration, coexistence, and compromise have become increasingly rare. Much like the 2020 U.S. presidential election, which was a pitched battle between pro- and anti-Trump forces, Korea’s 2022 presidential election was characterized by extreme confrontation between pro- and anti-regime forces. In both cases, a coalition of opposition groups won a narrow victory after a bruising election campaign. Yoon’s razor-thin margin of victory over his opponent Lee Jae-Myung—a mere 0.73 percentage points—is a sobering illustration of just how polarized Korea has become.

Like Joe Biden, Yoon won the conservative party’s nomination not necessarily because he provided a new vision or possessed appealing leadership qualities, but rather because he was regarded as the candidate best positioned to achieve a transfer of power. As a career prosecutor with little political preparation or experience, Yoon entered politics building on his reputation as a strong, corruption-fighting figure unyielding to political pressures. From the outset, however, his political ascendancy raised concerns. As I wrote in a 2022 column shortly after he was elected president, I felt “more apprehension than hope for the future.”

Korean politics, which is defined by a winner-take-all electoral system and a powerful presidency, further intensified tensions between the executive and legislative branches, especially as the opposition controls the National Assembly (with 192 of 300 seats). The Yoon administration was pressuring the opposition with prosecutorial investigations, and opposition leader Lee is now facing trial on multiple criminal charges, including bribery and corruption. In response, the opposition kept passing bills that the president then vetoed, such as the appointment of a special, independent counsel to investigate allegations surrounding First Lady Kim Keon-Hee.

In this highly contentious, polarized political landscape, Yoon’s declaration of martial law can be understood as a desperate attempt to assert control. Reportedly, Yoon said he made the declaration to send a strong warning to the opposition.

Crisis, Growing Pain, or Opportunity?


Now that both Yoon’s attempt to govern the country through martial law and the opposition’s motion to impeach him failed, Korea will suffer from political turmoil and uncertainties for the foreseeable future. The opposition will continue to press for Yoon’s impeachment, vowing to bring the motion to the floor every week until it is passed, while public anger and protests will only increase. There is no realistic path for Yoon to complete his term, which still has more than two years remaining, but it is uncertain how his presidency will end.

While preparing for a new political leadership, Koreans can reflect on their conflict-ridden journey to democracy and turn this crisis into an opportunity for political reforms. There is broad agreement in Korea that the institutions created by the 1987 democratic Constitution, referred to as the “1987 regime,” have outlived their historical purpose. The 1987 Constitution created an extremely powerful presidency with a single-term limit, giving rise to a host of negative repercussions. All but 47 of the 300 seats in the National Assembly are filled through winner-take-all elections in single-member districts. Constitutional reform is required to address the former, and electoral reform is needed to fix the latter. Political calculations, however, have continued to stymie efforts to overhaul these reforms.

Korea’s political culture must also change. Demonizing opponents, divisive identity politics, and insular political fandoms and populism have no place in a healthy democracy. A pluralistic, democratic society naturally encompasses a wide variety of views.

The turmoil in Korea clearly attests to the urgency of shifting toward a healthier political culture and enacting institutional reform. Without such changes, the country risks facing similar crises in the future.

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Protesters demonstrate against the country's president as police stand guard on December 04, 2024 in Seoul, South Korea.
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Turmoil in South Korea After Brief Martial Law: Stanford’s Gi-Wook Shin Weighs In

As political chaos plays out in South Korea following President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law attempt, Stanford sociologist Gi-Wook Shin, the director of APARC and its Korea Program, analyzes the fast-moving developments.
cover link Turmoil in South Korea After Brief Martial Law: Stanford’s Gi-Wook Shin Weighs In
Gi-Wook Shin, Evan Medeiros, and Xinru Ma in conversation at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
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College students wait in line to attend an information session at the Mynavi Shushoku MEGA EXPO in Tokyo, Japan.
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A New Approach to Talent Development: Lessons from Japan and Singapore

Stanford researchers Gi-Wook Shin and Haley Gordon propose a novel framework for cross-national understanding of human resource development and a roadmap for countries to improve their talent development strategies.
cover link A New Approach to Talent Development: Lessons from Japan and Singapore
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The historical and sociopolitical contexts of President Yoon’s declaration of martial law and its aftermath

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Portrait of Dahjin Kim on a flyer for her seminar, "Online Ingroup Bias Helps Correct Misinformation"

Online misinformation poses serious risks to politics and society, prompting researchers and policymakers to explore effective intervention strategies. While approaches like enhancing digital literacy, expert fact-checking, and regulation have shown limited success, a more collective strategy—user correction—offers promise. However, its effectiveness often relies on social factors, such as demographic information and interpersonal relationships, which are frequently absent in online interactions.

Kim will argue that shared membership in online communities serves as a critical yet underexplored social cue that enhances the persuasiveness of corrections. Drawing on two original studies conducted in South Korea—a highly connected but understudied region in misinformation research— Kim finds evidence of ingroup bias that is closely associated with participation in online communities. Furthermore, corrections from members of the same online community can effectively counter misinformation, even in anonymous settings. This research, funded by an APSA grant, offers actionable insights into leveraging online group dynamics to combat misinformation more effectively.

This event is part of APARC's Contemporary Asia Seminar Series.

 

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Dahjin Kim is a PhD Candidate in Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis. She studies online political communication and misinformation, with a particular interest in South Korea. Her research has been supported by the APSA Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant and has been published in the American Journal of Political Science,  International Organization, Political Science Research and Methods, Journal of Theoretical Politics, and Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. She received her M.A. in Political Science and her B.A. in Political Science from Seoul National University.

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Dahjin Kim Political Science PhD Candidate Washington University in St. Louis
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Visiting Scholar at APARC, 2025
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Joong-Seop Kim joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as visiting scholar for the 2025 calendar year. He currently serves as Emeritus Professor in the Department of Sociology at Gyeongsang National University in Korea. While at APARC, he will be conducting research on human rights and racism in East Asia.

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Cover of the working paper "Korean Cuisine Gone Global," showing a bowl of noodles.

To understand the transformation of Korean food from an “ethnic curiosity” into one of the world’s hottest cuisines, the Korea Program at Shorenstein APARC brought together culinary experts and  academics at the conference “Korean Cuisine Gone Global.” Held on April 11, 2024, the event featured celebrity chef Judy Joo, a renowned television star, an international restaurateur, and owner of the famed Seoul Bird, and Ryu Soo-young, an acclaimed actor turned culinary maestro. They shared their culinary journeys and joined a lineup of esteemed scholars to offer insights into the transformation of Korean cuisine, the role of race and place in its success story, and new directions in the study of food and Korean culture. The scholars' papers have been collected in this volume.

About the Contributors

Rebecca Jo Kinney is an interdisciplinary teacher and scholar of American Studies and Ethnic Studies, and an associate professor at the School of Cultural Studies at Bowling Green State University. Kinney’s award-winning first book, Beautiful Wasteland: The Rise of Detroit as America’s Postindustrial Frontier (University of Minnesota Press, 2016), argues that contemporary stories told about Detroit’s potential for rise enable the erasure of white supremacist systems. Her research has appeared in American Quarterly, Food, Culture & Society, Verge: Studies in Global Asia, Radical History Review, and Race&Class, among other journals. Her second book, Mapping AsiaTown Cleveland: Race and Redevelopment in the Rust Belt, is forthcoming from Temple University Press in 2025. She is working on a third book, Making Home in Korea: The Transnational Lives of Adult Korean Adoptees, based on research undertaken while a Fulbright Scholar in South Korea. 

Robert Ji-Song Ku is an associate professor of Asian and Asian American Studies at Binghamton University (SUNY) and the managing editor of Foundations and Futures: Asian American and Pacific Islander Multimedia Textbook of the Asian American Studies Center at UCLA. His teaching and research interests include Asian American studies, food studies, and transnational and diasporic Korean popular culture. Prior to Binghamton, he taught at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and Hunter College (CUNY). He is the author of Dubious Gastronomy: Eating Asian in the USA (University of Hawai‘i Press, 2014) and co-editor of Eating More Asian America: A Food Studies Reader (NYU Press, forthcoming 2025), the sequel to Eating Asian America (NYU Press, 2013). He is also co-editor of Pop Empires: Transnational and Diasporic Flows of India and Korea (University of Hawai‘i Press, 2019) and Future Yet to Come: Sociotechnical Imaginaries in Modern Korea (University of Hawai‘i Press, 2021), as well as the Food in Asia and the Pacific series for the University of Hawai‘i Press. Born in Korea, he grew up in Hawai‘i and currently lives in Culver City, California. 

Jooyeon Rhee is an associate professor of Asian Studies and Comparative Literature and director of the Penn State Institute for Korean Studies. She specializes in modern Korean literature and culture. Her main research concerns Korean popular literature, with particular emphasis on transnational literary exchanges and interactions. Currently, she is writing her second book on cultural imaginations of crime and deviance manifested in late colonial Korean detective fiction. Her other research interests include diasporic art and literature and food studies. 

Dafna Zur (editor) is an associate professor of Korean literature and culture in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and director of the Center for East Asian Studies at Stanford. Her first book, Figuring Korean Futures: Children’s Literature in Modern Korea (2017), interrogates the contradictory political visions made possible by children’s literature in colonial and postcolonial Korea. Her second project explores sound, science, and space in the children’s literature of North and South Korea. She has published articles on North Korean popular science and science fiction, translations in North Korean literature, the Korean War in children’s literature, childhood in cinema, children’s poetry and music, and popular culture. Zur’s translations of Korean fiction have appeared in wordwithoutborders.org, Modern Korean Fiction : An Anthology, and the Asia Literary Review

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Papers from Shorenstein APARC’s Korea Program Conference

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Dafna Zur
Rebecca Jo Kinney
Robert Ji-Song Ku
Jooyeon Rhee
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Journal of Marriage and Family

This study examines the determinants of marriage decline in South Korea, a representative case of the “demographic crisis” sweeping East Asia. Background The major theories accounting for marriage and family trends are for the most part based on Western cases. A complementing focus on non-Western societies is likely to identify a more diverse range of processes governing marriage patterns in advanced capitalist societies. The study draws on the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS) to analyze a sample of 4201 unmarried individuals whose longitudinal data were organized into 55,989 person-year records. Discrete-time hazard models incorporating 23 waves of KLIPS data (1998–2020) identify the gendered determinants of marriage. Results Socioeconomic resources continue to positively impact men's marriage chances although income, relative to employment status and educational attainment, has become paramount for members of the younger 1980s cohort. Parental wealth, an important precondition for home purchases, also positively impacts the likelihood of marriage for men. Income and parental wealth have become important for women as well but unlike the documented “educational crossover” that has occurred elsewhere, high educational attainment remains negatively associated with marriage probability for Korean women. This study clarifies the scope conditions for arguments about the “shifting economic foundations of marriage,” while foregrounding the enduring legacy of extended-family resources in strong familism societies. The results also lend empirical leverage to past studies highlighting the clear disincentives for marriage among highly educated women and provide a more comprehensive picture of why underprivileged men are being left out of Korea's marriage market.

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Journal of Marriage and Family
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Paul Y. Chang
Jihye Oh
Young-Mi Kim
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