Faculty:
Dr. Soyoung Kwon is the Director of the CSPS-Korea. She teaches courses from our Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University Korea. Prior to joining Mason Korea, she taught and conducted research as a research associate fellow at University of Cambridge’s East Asia Institute and as a Shorenstein fellow at Stanford University’s Asia Pacific Research Center. She served as a Korean specialist and advisor on EU-Korea relations at Belgium’s European Parliament and international relations advisor at an international sports organization. She taught at the Kyung Hee University’s Graduate School of International Studies and at Chonbuk National University’s Faculty of International Studies. She is a research associate fellow at Yonsei University’s Yonsei Institute for North Korean Studies and an International Sports Relations Foundation board member. Her main areas of interest are comparative politics, international relations, North Korean studies, inter-Korean relations, peace and security in Northeast Asia, and sports for development and peace. Prof. Kwon received her bachelor’s degree in political science and diplomacy from Ewha Womans University, her first master’s degree and doctorate in social and political sciences from University of Cambridge, and a second master’s degree from Stockholm University.
Dr. Moon Joon Kim is the Acting Director of the CSPS-Korea. He is an Assistant Professor of Economics at George Mason University Korea. He holds his Ph.D. in economics from North Carolina State University and a B.A. in economics from Yonsei University. His specializations include environmental economics, health economics, energy economics, and applied microeconometrics. His research primarily focuses on the intersections of these fields, utilizing advanced empirical microeconometric techniques to analyze the causal impact of air pollution on various outcomes such as health, renewable energy efficiency (specifically solar PV power generation), and migration decision-making. In his most recent work, Dr. Kim investigates Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing, emphasizing the role of environmental economics in optimizing sustainable investment strategies. Before joining Mason Korea, Dr. Kim held positions as a Research Professor in the Graduate School of Energy and Environment (KU-KIST Green School) at Korea University and as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the International Master of Environmental Policy (iMEP) program and the Division of Social Sciences at Duke Kunshan University. Additionally, he taught economics as an adjunct faculty member at Elon University and North Carolina State University.
Dr. Intaek Han is a Visiting Research Fellow of the CSPS-Korea. He was formerly the president of the Jeju Peace Institute (JPI), a think tank created and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea and Jeju Special Self-Governing Province. He also served as chair of the executive committee of the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity; a regional security dialogue organized annually by the Jeju Peace Institute. An internationalist and a proponent of non-governmental diplomacy, he has been researching security cooperation, public diplomacy, and the role of dialogues in promoting international cooperation. He has also consulted for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Korea Foundation on public diplomacy. Before joining JPI, he taught at Ewha Womans University, the University of Washington, Seattle, and the University of California, Davis. Han received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley, and his M.A. in political science and B.A. in economics from Seoul National University.
Dr. Boyoung Kim is a Research Professor at the Center for Security Policy Studies-Korea, George Mason University Korea (Mason Korea). She earned her Ph.D. in Psychology from Brown University, as well as a Master of Science in Experimental Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in the Psychology Intensive Program from Korea University. Prior to joining Mason Korea, Dr. Kim served as a postdoctoral research fellow at the United States Air Force Academy’s Warfighter Effectiveness Research Center and at George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus. Dr. Kim’s research aims to create psychological frameworks that guide the development and application of safe and trustworthy AI and robotic systems, promoting ethical, sustainable, and seamless human-technology collaboration across diverse sectors of society. She employs methods from cognitive science, social psychology, behavioral game theory, and philosophy, embracing a multidisciplinary approach to support human-centered technologies.
Staffs:
Ms. Keira Lee is the Center Coordinator of the CSPS-Korea and a member of Mason Korea’s Office of Academic Affairs. Prior to joining us, she acquired several years of experience working as a registrar and administrative assistant at Asia Pacific International School. She also worked in Publicis Group’s Publicis Modem. Ms. Lee was awarded our 2018 Staff Recognition Award. The award is an acknowledgement of a strong commitment to excellence, professionalism, and consistent demonstration of cooperation with faculty and staff. Ms. Lee has a bachelor’s degree in social science from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University.