CHUNG Yong Wook’s Biographical Sketch

CHUNG Yong Wook received his BA (1983), MA (1985), and PhD (1996) in Korean History at Seoul National University (SNU). The title of his doctoral dissertation is “The United States Policy regarding Korea and the Planning on the Type of the Interim Government, 1942-47.”

He first served as a researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies in Dankook University (1986-97), and then as a Professor at the Academy of Korean Studies (1997-2003). He has taught at the Department of Korean History at SNU as a Professor of Contemporary History since September 2003. He was appointed a visiting scholar at the Dept. of East Asian Language and Culture at Harvard University, and studied at the National Archives in Washington D.C. (1991-92). He was also a visiting professor at the Harvard-Yenching Institute (2001. 7-2002. 8), at the Center for Korean Cultural Studies, Tokyo University (2008. 12-2009. 2), and also at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University (2010. 1-2011. 2).

During his tenure at SNU, he has been the Director of the Research Team for Contemporary Korean Oral History in the Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies since June 2009. He served various positions at SNU: a member of the Steering Committee to the International Center for Korean Studies in Kyujanggak (2007. 11-2009. 11); the Head of the Department of Korean History (2011. 9-2013. 8); a University Senate member (2012. 7-2014. 10); the Vice Chair for the Compilation Committee of the SNU 70th Anniversary History Project; the Chair for the Compilation Committee of the College of Humanities 40th Anniversary History Project.

He also served as the President of the Korean History Research Association in 2015. He is currently the Chair of the Steering Committee for the Institute for Democracy in the Korean Democracy Foundation, a member of the Advisory Committee to the Institute for Military History in the Ministry of National Defense, and a member of the General Advisory Committee on Yongsan Park in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

His research interests focus on contemporary Korean history. Recently, he has focused on the intellectual history of modern Korea as well as on the cultural cold war during the Korean War period. He authored United States’ Policy on Korea around the Liberation Period (2003), Research on Source Materials of the United States Army Military Government in Korea (2003), and also edited Research on History of US Armed Forces in Korea and US Military Government Period (2002). All three books were chosen as Excellent Academic Books of the Year by the National Academy of Sciences,Korea. He translated Science of Coercion (written by Christopher Simpson, professor of communication studies at the American University) in 2009.

He has published many papers on contemporary Korean history in such quarterlies as Critical Review of History, History and Present, and Review of Korean History.He also served on the Editorial Boards of Critical Review of History (1988. 5-1990.6), History and Present (1993. 7-2002. 12), and Review of Korean Studies (2002. 3-2005. 2).