Korea Working Group
The Korea Working Group is an academic community devoted to advancing research on the Korean Peninsula from a global and regional perspective. Founded in 2026, the group emerged from the growing strength of Korea-focused scholarship at the Keough School of Global Affairs and seeks to provide a collaborative forum for faculty, students, and practitioners in the humanities, social sciences, and public policy.
"Former President Yoon's declaration of martial law in late 2025 serves as a powerful reminder that democracy is never a finished project. The Korea Working Group will serve as a platform for deepening our understanding of democratic resilience and the institutional vulnerabilities that enable backsliding—lessons that extend far beyond the Korean peninsula."
Sharon Yoon, Korea Working Group leader
The working group is founded and led by sociologist Sharon Yoon, an associate professor of Korean Studies at the Keough School of Global Affairs, whose research examines social movements, migration, and contentious politics in Korea and East Asia. The group's founding members also include Yong-suk Lee, associate professor of Technology, Economy, and Global Affairs, and Dahjin Kim, assistant professor of Asian Studies and Global Affairs, both at the Keough School of Global Affairs.
Together, they bring complementary expertise on how Korean society—one of the most vibrant democracies in Asia—has responded to technological advancement, economic precarity, migration, and political polarization. Their scholarship addresses these interconnected challenges from diverse disciplinary perspectives, positioning the working group to produce research that is both deeply grounded in the Korean context and broadly relevant to global conversations.
Through guest lectures, manuscript workshops, research collaborations, and symposia, the Korea Working Group seeks to solidify Notre Dame’s role as an emergent center for Korea-related research. In doing so, it advances the Liu Institute’s mission of fostering globally engaged and policy-relevant inquiry on Asia and beyond.
