My research interest lies in conflict resolution, civil-military relations, Korean politics, political psychology, and experimental methods.

Broadly speaking, I mainly study how social and political cleavages create serious challenges against cooperation and inclusion in contemporary democracies and how to build trust and resolve conflicts between political groups in the face of those challenges.

One strand of my research focuses on the aspects of civil-military relations as a power struggle and their consequences. I explore these in the context of several important issues of civil-military relations, such as the civilian control of the military, military effectiveness, military recruitment, minority inclusion in the military, and military politicization. The other strand of my research studies the politics of cleavages salient in South Korea (and the United States), such as gender, region, ideology, and partisanship, and their impact on intergroup conflicts and resolution of them.

I received Alexander George Award for the best graduate paper presented at the Foreign Policy Analysis section of International Studies Association. I am a Ph.D. student majoring in political science at the University of California, San Diego, where I am the recipient of Marsha Chandler Fellowship. I hold M.A. in political science from Columbia University, the other M.A. in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I received University Fellowship, and B.A., highest honors, in political science and philosophy from Yonsei University, where I received National Humanities & Social Sciences Scholarship (in Korean, “인문100년장학금”).

To fulfill the military service duty as a South Korean male citizen while working on my dissertation project, I am working as a lecturer of military history (first lieutenant) at Korea Army Academy from June 2024 to May 2027. I am particularly excited about this valuable opportunity to improve my teaching skills and also conduct fieldwork in the country of my academic interest.