A Sociologist of Contemporary Korean Society and Global Mobilities

An Asianist of Asian Transnational Families

Dr. Jeehun Kim is professor of sociology in the Department of Social Studies Education, and Director of the Center for Global Korean and Asian Studies, Inha University, South Korea. Also, he was recently a visiting professor at the Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre, London School of Economics (03-05/2025), and the Department of European and International Studies, King’s College London (03-05/2025), a visiting scholar at the National Institute of Education, Singapore (02/2025), a visiting researcher in the Department of Sociology, University of California, Irvine (01/2022-08/2024) and a visiting senior research fellow (June – August 2019) at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. He was assistant professor at Sogang University, Korea and held visiting scholar positions at the Centre for International and Strategic Studies (Jakarta, Indonesia), Stockholm University, New York University and Columbia University. While a tenure-track faculty member at Sogang University, he served as a founding associate editor for a new journal on Southeast Asian studies, TRaNS: Trans-Regional and -National Studies of Southeast Asia, the first Korea-based journal directly launched by the Cambridge University Press.

He is a sociologist-cum-[Southeast/East] Asianist of contemporary Korean and Asian societies and global mobilities. The span of his research interests in Asia are seen not only in his work on older adults in Singapore, but also his research on middle-aged and young adult Koreans in Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries, on pre-college and post-college student mobilities across Asia and beyond, on urban neighborhood changes in post-Suharto Jakarta and globalizing Hanoi, and on changing identities of so-called ‘multicultural families’ in Korea. Projects on older Korean expatriates have addressed their experiences in South Korea, Singapore, and other countries moving between global cities. In a way, his research centers on issues of social and geographical mobilities across global and globalizing cities in Korea and other parts of Asia (Singapore, Jakarta, Hanoi, and Seoul) and its focus is at the intersections of urban, migration, educational, and family sociologies. He aims to understand how privileged, less privileged, and under-privileged Koreans and Asians aspire for social mobility and utilize the (trans-)national institutions and global infrastructures of mobilities for themselves, their children, and their parents.

His current or recent past research projects include ‘Transnational Elder Korean Immigrants in Singapore, Seoul and Los Angeles’ (funded by NRF, 2021-2024), ‘Korean community and Koreatown in globalizing Hanoi’ (a spin off project of funded NRF project, 2018-21), ‘Korean Professional and Middle-class Transnational Migrants in Global City Singapore’ funded (funded by NRF, 2018-21) and ‘Transnationalizing Korean Communities in Southeast Asia and Singapore’ (funded by AKS, 2016-9).

His work appeared in Asia Pacific Viewpoint, Journal of Adolescent Research, Korea Journal, Research in Sociology of Education, Ageing and Society and Asian Women and contributed chapters to South Korea’s Education Exodus: The Life and Times of Study Abroad (Washington, 2015) and Parenting From Afar and the Reconfiguration of Family Across Distance (Oxford, 2018).

He earned B.A. in sociology from Korea University, a Master’s degree in sociology from National University of Singapore, MSc from School of Geography and the Environment and DPhil in sociology from University of Oxford. In addition, he was a visiting student at SOAS, University of London and the Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania. During his degree programs, the fellowship awards he received include Korean Government Overseas Fellowship (Ministry of Education, Korea), Ambassadorial Scholarship of The Rotary Foundation, and Queen Elizabeth Scholarship.

Education

• 2009 Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology, University of Oxford  

•            Visiting Student, University of Pennsylvania (2007/8)  

• 2003 MSc in Nature, Society, and Environmental Policy, University of Oxford  

• 2002 Master of Social Science in Sociology, National University of Singapore  

•             Visiting Student, SOAS, University of London (1996/7)  

• 1995 BA in Sociology, Korea University

 

 Academic Positions 

2019-Current                Professor, Dept. of Social Studies Education, Inha University

09/2022 – Current     Founding Director, Center for Global Korean and Asian Studies, Inha University

03/2025 – 05               Visiting Professor, London School of Economics

03/2025 – 05               Visiting Professor, King’s College London

02/2025                        Visiting Scholar, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University

01/2022 – 08/2024    Visiting Researcher, Department of Sociology, University of California, Irvine

06-09/2019                  Visiting Senior Research Fellow, National University of Singapore

2014-2019                     Associate Professor, Inha University 

2015-2017                     Department Chair, Dept. of Social Studies Education, Inha University

07-08/2015                   Visiting Scholar, New York University   

2014-2015                      Visiting Scholar, Columbia University

2011-2014                      Assistant Professor, Inha University

2010-2011                      Assistant Professor, Institute for East Asian Studies, Sogang University 

 

(Inter-)Nationally-selected Research Grants

 

2023 – 2026                                  The Academy of Korean Studies , Korean Studies Global Lab Grant (Principal Investigator), “Global Korea, Transnational Koreans: Comparative Analysis of Korean Migration and Dynamic Mobilities of Koreans and Asians” 300,000 Thousand Korean Won (AKS-2023-LAB-1230001) for 3 years. 

2021-2024                                    National Research Foundation of Korea (PI), “Transnational Elders in Singapore, Seoul and Los Angeles: Korean Immigrant Families’ Negotiating (Im)mobility and Retirement During, Pre- and Post-Pandemic” 77,766 Thousand Won (2021S1A5A2A01071067) for 3 years

2018-2021                                     National Research Foundation of Korea (PI), “Korean Professional and Middle-class Transnational Migrants in Global City Singapore” 75,858 Thousand Won (2018S1A5A2A01035784) for 3 years

2017-2020                                      Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Collaborator), “Rethinking Global Student Mobility from Asia” (Principal Investigator: M. Ishigawa) for 3 years  

2016-2019                                       The Academy of Korean Studies (Co-PI), “Koreans and Korean Communities in Southeast Asia: Challenge, Settlement and Future” 450,000 Thousand Won for 3 years  

2014                                                  National Research Foundation of Korea (PI), “Becoming ‘Immigrant’ as a member of International Remarriage Family” 15,000 Thousand Won (NRF 332-2011-1-B00342)       

2011                                                   National Research Foundation of Korea, Early Career   Professor Grant (PI), “Exploring Transnational Mobility of Early  Study Abroad Students in Singapore” 18,900 Thousand Won (NRF  332-2011-1-B00342) (maximum amount awarded). 

2010                                                  National Research Foundation of Korea, Early Career Professor Grant (PI), “Returning Experiences of Korean Early Study Abroad Students who Studied in Southeast Asia”, 15,625 Thousand Korean Won (NRF-332-2010-1-B00301)

 

Selected English Publications

 

2022                  Ho, Kong Chong, Yun, Hae Young, KIM, Jeehun*. “Sojourning Korean Expatriate  Families and the Ethnic Enclave in Hanoi”. Korea Journal. 62(4): 18-47

2022                  Yun, Hae Young, KIM, Jeehun and Ho, Kong Chong. “Spatial capital, cultural consumption and expatriate neighbourhoods in Hanoi, Vietnam” Asia Pacific Viewpoint. 63(3): 426-440

2022                  KIM, Jeehun and Okazaki, Sumie. “Becoming  Multicultural: Kinship development of Korean adolescents with Asian cross-border marriage migrant stepmothers” Journal of Adolescent Research. 37(1): 3-28. DOI: 10.1177/07435584209060 

2018                   Okazaki, Sumie and KIM, Jeehun. “Going the Distance: Transnational Educational Migrant Families in Korea” de Guzman, Maria Rosario T., Jill Brown,  and Carolyn Pope Edwards (eds.) Parenting from Afar and the Reconfiguration of  the Family Across Distance. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 321-338. 

2017                   KIM, Jeehun and Okazaki, Sumie. “Short-term “Intensive Mothering” on a Budget: Mothers of Korean Children Studying Abroad in Southeast Asia” Asian Women 33(3):111-39. 

2015                  KIM, Jeehun. “The ‘Other Half’ Goes Abroad: The Perils of Public Schooling” Lo, Adrienne, Nancy Abelmann, Soo Ah Kwon, and Sumie Okazaki (eds).South Korea’s   Education Exodus: The Life and Times of Study Abroad  University of Washington Press. 

2012                  KIM, Jeehun. “Remitting ‘Actual’ and ‘Virtual’ Co-residence between Korean Professional Adult Children Couples in Singapore and Their Elderly Parents”  Ageing and Society 32(8): 1337-1359. DOI: 10.1017/S0144686X1100100 

2010                  KIM, Jeehun. “‘Downed’ and Stuck in Singapore: Lower/Middle Class South Korean Wild Geese (Kirogi) Children in Public School” Research in the Sociology of Education 17: 271-311. DOI: 10.1108/S1479-3539(2010)0000017012 

2002                 KIM, Jeehun. “Research Note on the Making of ‘Gated Community’: A Case Study on an Inner City Neighbourhood, Jakarta, Indonesia” Asian Journal of Social Science 30 (1): 97-108.

 

                    Click the below links of academic database if you want to know further about my works in these databases. Jeehun Kim’s ORCiD (ID: 0000-0001-7985-5519), SCOPUS (Scopus Author ID: 55272425200l), and Google Scholar databases.       

                       

 

Teaching

 

Undergraduate level: Courses that he has taught include ‘Introduction to Sociology’, ‘Social Science Methods’ ‘Sociology of Migration’ ‘Understanding Global Society’, ‘Understanding Korean Society’ and ‘Inquiring Korean Society Through Collaboration of Literature and Sociology’ .

Graduate level: Courses that he has taught include ‘Qualitative Research Methods’, ‘Seminar on Sociology of Migration’, ‘Seminar on Korean Society’ and ‘Seminar on Southeast Asia and International Migration’.

 

Contact
김지훈 JEEHUN KIM 金知勳
Department of Social Studies Education, Inha University
100 Inha-ro, Michuhol-gu, Incheon 22212 Korea
Email:   jeehkim@gmail.com                jhkim@inha.ac.kr