Korean Studies Center
About NU KSC
NU Korean Studies Center is housed in the School of Sciences and Humanities (SSH) of Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan. The Center was established through the seed program for Korean Studies (2018-2021), sponsored by the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS) in South Korea.
The study of Korea in Central Asia has been dominated by scholars of language education and the humanities. While historical and education studies of Korea have been conducted in depth, systematic Korean studies in areas such as politics, society, economics, and science are relatively underdeveloped.
NU Korean Studies Center aims to introduce a variety of research topics and methodologies to Korean studies in Central Asia by conducting Korean studies research through the lens of social scientists. The Center also actively interacts with local Korean specialists and researchers to enrich foundations of Korean studies in Central Asia.
To this end, the Center conducts various academic and research activities. Being a relatively young research center, KSC has been able to produce academic results through in-depth research, as well as serve as a link between Korea and Central Asia in various fields. If you are interested in Korean Studies or would like to get involved in our activities, please feel free to contact us by email or find and follow us on social media.
The study of Korea in Central Asia has been dominated by scholars of language education and the humanities. While historical and education studies of Korea have been conducted in depth, systematic Korean studies in areas such as politics, society, economics, and science are relatively underdeveloped.
NU Korean Studies Center aims to introduce a variety of research topics and methodologies to Korean studies in Central Asia by conducting Korean studies research through the lens of social scientists. The Center also actively interacts with local Korean specialists and researchers to enrich foundations of Korean studies in Central Asia.
To this end, the Center conducts various academic and research activities. Being a relatively young research center, KSC has been able to produce academic results through in-depth research, as well as serve as a link between Korea and Central Asia in various fields. If you are interested in Korean Studies or would like to get involved in our activities, please feel free to contact us by email or find and follow us on social media.
Director’s Greeting
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the Korean Studies Center at Nazarbayev University. I am Chun-Young Park, Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations, and it is an honor to serve as the Director of the Center.
The Korean Studies Center is dedicated to fostering a deeper understanding of Korea’s history, politics, society, and culture both in Kazakhstan and beyond. Our mission is to serve as a hub for interdisciplinary research, academic exchange, and public engagement related to Korea and its role in the world.
Through research initiatives, international partnerships, student programs, and cultural events, we aim to promote dialogue and mutual understanding between Korea and Central Asia. We are proud to support scholars, students, and the broader community in exploring the dynamic changes on the Korean Peninsula and their global implications.
Whether you are a student, researcher, or member of the public with an interest in Korea, I invite you to participate in our programs, contribute to our growing community, and collaborate with us as we expand the reach and relevance of Korean Studies in the region.
I look forward to building on the Center’s achievements and working with colleagues and partners to advance scholarship and cultural understanding in this exciting field. Thank you for visiting our website, and I hope to see you at one of our events soon.
Warm regards,
Chun-Young Park
Director, Korean Studies Center
NU Korean Studies Center brings together professors from different departments at Nazarbayev University to conduct research related to Korea.
Director
Dr. Chun-Young Holden Park (PSIR) joined the faculty of Nazarbayev University in Fall 2023 after completing his doctoral degree at the University of Georgia. He is currently leading the NU Korean Studies Center. Prior to his doctoral training, Dr. Park worked for the Dokdo Institute of the Northeast Asian History Foundation in Seoul conducting research on the territorial and historical disputes between Korea and Japan in maritime space. He specializes in human security, international organizations, and foreign policy. His dissertation is about how less-recognized actors (middle powers and non-government organizations) strive for influence and status in the Universal Periodic Review through naming and shaming. His key research interests are on how states and non-state actors behave in the Universal Periodic Review, and interested in various methods, including text analysis and social network analysis.
NU Professors
Dr. Hoyoun Koh (PSIR) joined the faculty of Nazarbayev University in Fall 2016 after completing his doctoral degree at the University of Maryland, College Park. He specializes in conflict studies, experimental research, and East Asia. His research interest includes experimental design, voting behavior, gender, technology and politics, and Korean diaspora in post-Soviet countries. He is currently living in Astana with his lovely family.
Dr. Chunho Park (PSIR) joined NU in 2018 after earning his Ph.D. in Political Science at Michigan State University. Prior to NU, he was Assistant Professor (fixed-term) in the Department of Political Science at MSU for a year. His research and teaching interests focus on comparative political economy, comparative political institutions, electoral politics, and quantitative methods. He is leading the research on political participation within the Center.
Dr. Marilyn Plumlee (Writing Center) joined NU in 2018. She holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Hawaii. She has taught a wide variety of linguistics courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels at universities in the U.S., South Korea and Egypt, focusing on second language acquisition, linguistic pragmatics and phenomena of multilingualism and language contact. From 2000-2012 she was a faculty member at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul (South Korea), and director of the International Summer Session in Korean Studies from 2003-2012. From 2012-2018 she was an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Linguistics at the American University in Cairo (Egypt) and director of the MA TESOL program from 2015-2018.
Dr. Zhanibek Arynov (GSPP) received his doctoral degree in International Relations from the University of St. Andrews, UK. His research interests include Central Asian geopolitics and security, EU-Central Asia relations, international identity, image and perception studies. Prior to joining the GSPP, Zhanibek Arynov served as a Senior Expert of the Program of Eurasian Studies at the Institute of World Economics and Politics (IWEP), a think-tank based in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Dr. Hyesong Ha (GSPP) received his Ph.D. at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) of the Indiana University at Bloomington, IN. His academic interests cover employee empowerment and HRM, e-governments and organizational innovation, public health, organizational behavior and theory, policy analysis, and data analytics and quantitative methods.
Dr. Min-ho Lee (Computer Science) is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences at Nazarbayev University. His research interests are machine learning and data science. Currently, he is working on analyzing emotions and contextual information from multiple modalities such as text, vision, and audio, utilizing large language models and deep learning techniques.
External members
Dr. Kyungmin Baek (Sociology) is Associate Professor of Information Sociology at Soongsil University, Seoul, Korea. Prior to his appointment at Soongsil University, he was teaching at NU Sociology department. His primary research investigates institutional changes in developmental states, including Korea and Post-Soviet Transition States. He has also investigated how workplaces in Asian countries adopt and implement antidiscrimination policies and the impact of these policies on the demographic composition of the workforce. He can be reached at kbaek37@ssu.ac.kr.
Dr. Inkyung Kim (Economics) is Associate Professor of Economics at Sogang University in South Korea. Prior to his current position, he taught in Economics at Nazarbayev University as Assistant Professor. He received a Ph.D. degree from Indiana University, Bloomington. His area of research includes empirical industrial organization and applied econometrics. He earned a B.A. in Economics from Seoul National University and worked at the Korea Development Bank for over five years as a financial analyst. He is also a CFA charter holder.
Dr. Myung-hoon Kang (Political Science) is Assistant Professor of Political Science at POSTECH in South Korea.
Director
Dr. Chun-Young Holden Park (PSIR) joined the faculty of Nazarbayev University in Fall 2023 after completing his doctoral degree at the University of Georgia. He is currently leading the NU Korean Studies Center. Prior to his doctoral training, Dr. Park worked for the Dokdo Institute of the Northeast Asian History Foundation in Seoul conducting research on the territorial and historical disputes between Korea and Japan in maritime space. He specializes in human security, international organizations, and foreign policy. His dissertation is about how less-recognized actors (middle powers and non-government organizations) strive for influence and status in the Universal Periodic Review through naming and shaming. His key research interests are on how states and non-state actors behave in the Universal Periodic Review, and interested in various methods, including text analysis and social network analysis.
NU Professors
Dr. Hoyoun Koh (PSIR) joined the faculty of Nazarbayev University in Fall 2016 after completing his doctoral degree at the University of Maryland, College Park. He specializes in conflict studies, experimental research, and East Asia. His research interest includes experimental design, voting behavior, gender, technology and politics, and Korean diaspora in post-Soviet countries. He is currently living in Astana with his lovely family.
Dr. Chunho Park (PSIR) joined NU in 2018 after earning his Ph.D. in Political Science at Michigan State University. Prior to NU, he was Assistant Professor (fixed-term) in the Department of Political Science at MSU for a year. His research and teaching interests focus on comparative political economy, comparative political institutions, electoral politics, and quantitative methods. He is leading the research on political participation within the Center.
Dr. Marilyn Plumlee (Writing Center) joined NU in 2018. She holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Hawaii. She has taught a wide variety of linguistics courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels at universities in the U.S., South Korea and Egypt, focusing on second language acquisition, linguistic pragmatics and phenomena of multilingualism and language contact. From 2000-2012 she was a faculty member at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul (South Korea), and director of the International Summer Session in Korean Studies from 2003-2012. From 2012-2018 she was an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Linguistics at the American University in Cairo (Egypt) and director of the MA TESOL program from 2015-2018.
Dr. Zhanibek Arynov (GSPP) received his doctoral degree in International Relations from the University of St. Andrews, UK. His research interests include Central Asian geopolitics and security, EU-Central Asia relations, international identity, image and perception studies. Prior to joining the GSPP, Zhanibek Arynov served as a Senior Expert of the Program of Eurasian Studies at the Institute of World Economics and Politics (IWEP), a think-tank based in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Dr. Hyesong Ha (GSPP) received his Ph.D. at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) of the Indiana University at Bloomington, IN. His academic interests cover employee empowerment and HRM, e-governments and organizational innovation, public health, organizational behavior and theory, policy analysis, and data analytics and quantitative methods.
Dr. Min-ho Lee (Computer Science) is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences at Nazarbayev University. His research interests are machine learning and data science. Currently, he is working on analyzing emotions and contextual information from multiple modalities such as text, vision, and audio, utilizing large language models and deep learning techniques.
External members
Dr. Kyungmin Baek (Sociology) is Associate Professor of Information Sociology at Soongsil University, Seoul, Korea. Prior to his appointment at Soongsil University, he was teaching at NU Sociology department. His primary research investigates institutional changes in developmental states, including Korea and Post-Soviet Transition States. He has also investigated how workplaces in Asian countries adopt and implement antidiscrimination policies and the impact of these policies on the demographic composition of the workforce. He can be reached at kbaek37@ssu.ac.kr.
Dr. Inkyung Kim (Economics) is Associate Professor of Economics at Sogang University in South Korea. Prior to his current position, he taught in Economics at Nazarbayev University as Assistant Professor. He received a Ph.D. degree from Indiana University, Bloomington. His area of research includes empirical industrial organization and applied econometrics. He earned a B.A. in Economics from Seoul National University and worked at the Korea Development Bank for over five years as a financial analyst. He is also a CFA charter holder.
Dr. Myung-hoon Kang (Political Science) is Assistant Professor of Political Science at POSTECH in South Korea.
KSC showcases the latest research in Korean Studies. NU professors usually present their research on Korea, but we also invite scholars from Korea and abroad to give seminars.
In 2024-2025, KSC organized a special lecture series “Social Policies and Economic Growth: Applying South Korean Experience to Kazakhstan” with support of Korea Foundation. The lectures were offered to the NU Community and the general public of Kazakhstan to promote the academic exchanges between Korea and Kazakhstan. The lecture series covered the following topics (click the topic to see the summary of the lecture):
In 2024-2025, KSC organized a special lecture series “Social Policies and Economic Growth: Applying South Korean Experience to Kazakhstan” with support of Korea Foundation. The lectures were offered to the NU Community and the general public of Kazakhstan to promote the academic exchanges between Korea and Kazakhstan. The lecture series covered the following topics (click the topic to see the summary of the lecture):
- “The Evolution of South Korea’s Environmental Policy and the Role of Environmental Policy in Transitioning to ESSD” by Dr. Tae-hoon Moon (Chung-Ang University) [video link]
- “Gender-based Violence Policies and the Women’s Movement in South Korea” by Dr. Jin Yu (Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice) [video link]
- “Emerging Technologies and Future Government: Prospects and Challenges” by Dr. Myung-jae Moon (Yonsei University) [video link]
- “Regulatory Rule-making in South Korea: Regulatory Impact Assessment and Post-implementation Review” by Dr. Seung-hun Hong (Korea Institute of Public Administration) [video link]
- “Social Acceptance of Nuclear Power in South Korea” by Dr. Myung-hoon Kang (POSTECH) [video link]
- “Korean Civil Service Recruitment System: Status and Prospects” by Dr. Ji-hyung Park (Soongsil University)
The Korean Studies Center actively participates in various academic conferences to promote Korean Studies in the Astana region. In particular, the Central Asian Conference of Korean Studies is an annual academic gathering held every June that connects scholars of Korean Studies from Central Asia with researchers from other regions. The Center hosted this conference twice, in 2020 and 2023.
Those interested in the Central Asian Conference of Korean Studies are welcome to contact us for further information.
Those interested in the Central Asian Conference of Korean Studies are welcome to contact us for further information.
The School of Sciences and Humanities (SSH) offers a wide range of Korea-related courses across various disciplines. Regular courses on Korean politics and economy are provided within majors such as Political Science and Economics, alongside Korean language courses. To support these academic offerings, the Korean Studies Center actively promotes initiatives such as the dispatch of Korean language instructors, aiming to enhance students’ academic engagement with Korea and support their language learning. Since 2018, the university has newly introduced Korean language courses within the Department of Linguistics, Literatures and Languages. These courses—offered at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels—are taught by Korean language instructors dispatched from institutions such as the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS), the Korea Foundation (KF), and the National Institute for International Education (NIIED). Through these programs, the department continues to expand opportunities for Korean language education and promote greater understanding of Korean culture and society.
We organize a talk concert-like open mini-lecture series, where members of NU Community (students, faculty, staff, alumni, and family members) can apply for a presentation. Topics are limitless as long as it shares experiences about Korea. To apply, email us at koreanstudies@nu.edu.kz
We offer a scholarship to two students every year. Selected students will be offered chances to participate in conference and/or Olympiad on Korean Studies in major Central Asian cities such as Almaty and Bishkek.
Since 2019, NU KSC has been producing Korean Studies research in social sciences. Here is a list of selected works of the members of the Center:
- “Electoral Prospects, Political Tolerance and Partisan Attitudes: Evidence from a Survey Experiment in South Korea” (Hoyoun Koh & Chunho Park, working paper)
- “AI as a New Confidant: Social Capital and the Gendered Turn to Algorithmic Advice” (Hoyoun Koh & Kyungmin Baek, working paper)
- “Government Trust and e-Government Performance: Focusing on Government Website Quality and Usage in Korea” (Hyesong Ha)
- “Are Politicians Unresponsive to Feminists? A Field Experiment on Biases in Democratic Responsiveness among Local Representatives in South Korea” (Hoyoun Koh & Chunho Park, working paper)
- “Affective Polarization, Norm Transgression by Elites, and Eroding Public Support for Democratic Norms” (Chunho Park & Myung-hoon Kang, working paper)
- “Digital Capital of North Korean Refugees: A Comparative Study of South Korean Citizens and North Korean Refugees” (Hoyoun Koh & Kyungmin Baek, published in North Korean Review)
- “Social Support and COVID-19 Stress among Immigrants in South Korea” (Hoyoun Koh, Kyungmin Baek, Younbgin Kim and Minsun Kim, published in Asia Journal of Public Opinion Research)
- “Public Support for Nuclear Proliferation and Nationalist Sentiments in South Korea” (Hoyoun Koh, working paper)
- “Who Commits Fraud? Evidence from Korean Gas Stations” (Inkyung Kim, Christian Ahlin and Kyoo-il Kim, published in Industrial Organization)
- “Floating Population and Demand for Movie Theaters in Metropolitan Cities” (Inkyung Kim, Yoon-jin Lee and Young-ro Yoon, published in Hitotsubashi Journal of Economics)
- “The Impact of Social Distancing on Box-office Revenue: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic” (Inkyung Kim, published in Quantitative Marketing and Economics)
- “A study on How to Develop Korean Online Courses Based on the Analysis of the Constraints” (Young-chu Cho, published in New Korean Language Education)
- “Movie Variety and the City” (Inkyung Kim, published in The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy)
- “Overseas Korean Studies Programs As Public Diplomacy: An Empirical Analysis of Inbound Tourism and Student Inflows” (Hoyoun Koh, working paper)
- “Does Vertical Integration Enhance Non-price Efficiency? Evidence from the Movie Theater Industry” (Inkyung Kim and Vladyslav Nora, published in Review of Economic Design)
- “The Koran Diasporic Identity in the Context of K-pop Consumption: The Case of Young Female Diaspora Members in Kazakhstan” (Hoyoun Koh & Kyungmin Baek, published in Journal of Asian Sociology)
The Center has built networks with leading Korean Studies institutes in Central Asia, and aims to expand further academic and research exchanges with universities and research institutions in South Korea. In 2024, the Center signed MOUs with the following institutions to promote academic exchange and research collaboration:
- Institute of Migration and Multicultural Integration, Dongguk University (Seoul, South Korea)
- Division of Advanced Nuclear Engineering, POSTECH (Pohang, South Korea)
- Center for Koran Studies at Ablai-khan University of Int’l Relations and World Language (Kazakhstan)
- Center for Korean Studies at Korean Institute of Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan)
- Association of Korean Studies Professors in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan)
- Institute of Social Sciences at Soongsil University (South Korea)
- Korea Foundation (KF)
- National Institute for International Education (NIIED)
Phone: +7 717 270 6612, 9078
E-mail: koreanstudies@nu.edu.kz
E-mail: koreanstudies@nu.edu.kz
Korean Studies Center
53 Kabanbay Batyr Avenue, #8.417A
School of Sciences and Humanities
Astana, 010000
Republic of Kazakhstan
53 Kabanbay Batyr Avenue, #8.417A
School of Sciences and Humanities
Astana, 010000
Republic of Kazakhstan