So far, I’ve lived in more than ten cities across five countries on two continents. I was born and raised in South Korea (Jeonju, Daejeon, Seoul, Changwon, and Dongducheon) and have lived in Hong Kong (Kowloon Tong), Taiwan (Muzha District, Taipei City), Canada (Vancouver), and across the United States, including the San Francisco Bay Area (CA), Ann Arbor (MI), Cambridge (MA), and soon the Research Triangle (NC). My path has also been non-linear, spanning academia, industry, public service, and civic technology. These diverse experiences have shaped my identity as a bridge builder and translator, someone who works across boundaries of scholarship and practice, discipline and sector, and place and community. They guide the research questions I pursue and the problems I choose to engage with—rooted in both scholarship and lived experience.

At the same time, my story has been shaped by where I began. As a first-generation college student from a working-class family, I’ve written personal essays reflecting on my career, research, and life as an ongoing uphill journey—one motivated by both a deep curiosity about the world and a commitment to public service and social impact.

Professional Reflections

Personal Reflections

Career Advice

Korean essays

Here are some resources that have shaped my thinking on how social sciences can critically and directly inform, as well as improve, policy practice (listed alphabetically):

Back to top