hankyoreh

By Park Hyun, Washington correspondent

Wesleyan University political science professor Katharine Moon was named the first SK-Korea Foundation Chair at the Brookings Institution on May 20.

The Korea Foundation, chaired by Yu Hyun-seok, and the conglomerate SK signed an agreement with the institution to provide financial support to institute the research position, with operating expenses from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) and other sources.

Moon, who takes office in July, will be specializing in Korean studies for the institution‘s Center for East Asia Policy Studies. Born in San Francisco in 1964, Moon majored in political science at Smith College before earning a doctorate in the same field from Princeton University. She is currently director of the East Asia research program and director of the social sciences at Wesleyan. Her major research topics have included the South Korea-US alliance, social movements and nationalism in East Asian countries, and sexual issues in international relations.

She is married to Jeffrey Frankel, a professor of economics at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government.

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