Greetings!

It is a great pleasure to connect with you. With the upcoming holidays and the end of the term, this is an especially busy time of year. Yet we are delighted to share a number of exciting updates in this newsletter. As you scroll through, you will find information about:

You will also find a comprehensive list of faculty accomplishments since last spring, along with upcoming IAS events and Asian Studies courses offered in Winter 2026. 

Last, but not least, we have been working to update our IAS website – please check it out and let us know what you think. 

As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions and suggestions, and we send our warmest wishes as the term comes to a close.

Warmest regards,
Hyeyoung Woo
Director of the Institute for Asian Studies
Professor and Chair of Sociology 

IAS Kick-off 

We are thrilled to share highlights from our fall term kickoff event! It was an incredible afternoon that brought together approximately 60 students, faculty, and staff to celebrate the start of the new academic year. 

The event opened with welcoming remarks from OGEI Director Eowyn Ferey, who gave a great open remark and emphasized the importance of our vibrant community.

Throughout the event, attendees enjoyed a lively game of Bingo, which sparked laughter and friendly competition, along with light refreshments. More importantly, it provided the perfect opportunity for everyone to connect and reconnect with one another. Whether catching up with familiar faces or meeting new members of our community.

We are grateful to everyone who turned out to make this event such a success. Your participation remind us why building a strong, engaged community is at the heart of what we do at the Institute for Asian Studies.

Highlights of the talk by Dr. Jeannie Kenmotsu

We recently had an enlightening experience learning about the Portland Art Museum's renovation and the stunning new Asian arts addition. Dr. Jeannie Kenmotsu presented to our community, sharing insights about the artists and rich history behind each piece. Before the museum's grand opening, she gave us a special sneak peek of the renovated space, and we had a great turnout from our faculty, staff, and students!

Discovering the cultural heritage and artistry of the Asian arts collection was truly a beautiful experience, and we extend our deepest gratitude to Dr. Kenmotsu for taking the time to share her knowledge and expertise with us.

We encourage our community to explore the newly renovated Portland Art Museum! The museum offers two valuable discount programs:

For College Classes: If your course requires students to visit the museum, a Course Access Pass is available for purchase. Learn more at: https://portlandartmuseum.org/educators/college-visits/

For the General Public: The museum offers monthly and quarterly free days, along with other discounts. Find out more at: https://portlandartmuseum.org/discounts/

We hope you all take advantage of these opportunities to experience this incredible cultural resource right here in Portland!

 New! PSU KORE Initiative 

The PSU Korean Outreach, Research, and Education (KORE) Initiative is a newly launched program at Portland State University dedicated to advancing Korean Studies on our campus.

This initiative is made possible through the generous support of Peter and Helen Chun Endowment for Korean Studies at PSU. 

Born and raised in Korea, Peter and Helen moved to Oregon in 1964 to pursue their studies in the United States. Since then, Oregon has been home to their family and business. Over the years, they supported the Korean American community, serving as President of the Korean Society of Oregon—the largest nonprofit organization for Korean Americans in the state—and as Chair/President of the Oregon Korea Foundation.

They believe that Portland State University is the ideal place to expand learning opportunities in Korean Studies, given our deep ties to both the city and the state as the only urban research university in Oregon. We are deeply grateful for their generous support of our students and confident that the PSU KORE Initiative will become a central hub for Korean Studies in Oregon. Today, the PSU KORE Initiative offers the Undergraduate Fellowship Program and supports PSU faculty in developing Korean Studies courses for our students.

Please stay tuned for more exciting opportunities and events at the PSU KORE Initiative, and reach out to psukore@gmail.com for any inquiries about the initiative!

On behalf of the PSU Office of Global Engagement and Innovation, we are very pleased that PSU has signed MOUs with a number of universities in Korea this year! They include: 

In addition, we are in the process of signing an MOU with the following universities. 

We look forward to building our partnerships with these universities for our students and faculty!

Meet Young Juo Han

The Section Head of the Korean Language Program at WLL at PSU

 Hello the IAS community, I am Young-Ju Han, the Section Head of the Korean Program in the Department of World Languages and Literatures (WLL) at Portland State University (PSU). I manage a three-year language and culture program, ensuring that courses meet academic standards and proficiency goals. I lead and coordinate faculty by overseeing course scheduling, supporting instructional quality, and providing mentorship. In addition, I oversee program resources, contribute to strategic and budget planning, assist with student academic advising for Korean minor students, and promote student engagement and involvement.

I am very excited that we are now offering a Korean Minor in WLL! I am deeply grateful for the support of many colleagues across the university and partners, including the Institute for Asian Studies and the Oregon Korea Foundation. To earn the minor, students must complete a total of 24 credits, which include 16 credits of Korean language courses, 4 credits of a Korean content course, and one general linguistics course.

As you pursue the Korean Minor program, you will learn to speak, read, and write in Korean, while exploring what makes Korea's culture so unique and exciting. More than 80 million people worldwide speak Korean, and the U.S. Department of State has designated it as one of 15 critical languages for national security and economic prosperity. Studying Korean can open doors to a wide range of opportunities, including:

If you are a heritage Korean student, I would strongly encourage you to consider our Korean Minor program. Even if you do not feel the need to improve your Korean, earning a Korean Minor at PSU will be a valuable academic credential. As Korean companies continue expanding into the U.S., they often prefer candidates who can communicate in Korean. Pairing a major in any discipline with a minor in Korean can significantly expand your career opportunities and strengthen your profile in the global job market. Beyond professional advantages, studying Korean also supports personal growth by enhancing cognitive skills, deepening cultural understanding and appreciation, and boosting self-confidence and social connections.

Please check out our website for more information, and feel free to reach out to me at yhan@pdx.edu with any questions. Thank you! 

Faculty Achievements

Mel Gurtov

Emeritus Professor of Political Science 

China Inside and Out (Bloomsbury, forthcoming in Jan. 2026). This is an innovative textbook, with brief essays on both foreign and domestic policy and a documents section at the end of each chapter.

Hyeyoung Woo

 Professor of Sociology, and Chair of the Department of Sociology
Director of the Institute for Asian Studies 

Hyeyoung Woo (Sociology faculty) served on a panel to discuss birth rates in Korea, “S. Korea's birth rate rebounds, but can new government policies sustain it?” Arirang News.

Hyeyoung Woo (Sociology faculty) served as an Invited Panelist at the “AKSA Past Presidents’ Panel” at the AKSA 10-Year Anniversary Conference, Chicago, IL. 

Hyeyoung Woo (Sociology faculty) served as a Member of the Program Committee and Paper Award Committee, The 4th International Conference of Sociology of Korea, Stanford University, CA.

Hyeyoung Woo (Sociology faculty) and Yujin Kim presented “Education, Employment, and (Un)Intended First Births: The Case of South Korea” at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Chicago, IL.

Lee, Byung Soo and Hyeyoung Woo (Sociology faculty) presented “Korean Americans (Dis)Advantages: Korean Immigrants’ Goals and Strategies for the Children’s Education” at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Chicago, IL.

Hyeyoung Woo (Sociology faculty) was elected to be a council member for Korean and Korean American Community (2025 – 2028) for the American Sociological Association.
                                             

Yue Ni

Assistant Professor of  Psychology  of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Publications:

Ni, Y., Geldhof, G. J., Settersten, R. A., Jr., & Tominey, S. L. (in press). Civic participation and meaning in life: Similarities and differences across diverse youth. Youth & Society. 

Berg, J., McMahon, R., Hung, C., Geldhof, G. J., Ni, Y., Chavarria, M., & Boyd, M. (2025). Adolescent sense of purpose and associations with characteristics and contexts of students within and across individuals: An intensive longitudinal study. Applied Developmental Science, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2025.2505134

Conference Presentations:

Ni. Y. & Dinh, X. (Oct 2025). Does ethnic identity buffer or heighten the psychological costs of critical reflection among Asian American college students? It depends on the type of reflection. Paper presented at the 2025 Biennial Conference of the Society for the Study of Human Development, Lexington, KY.

Ni. Y. & Dinh, X. (Aug 2025). Critical consciousness and mental health among Asian American college students: The role of critical agency. Poster presented at the Asian American Psychological Association 2025 Annual Convention, Denver, Colorado. 

Ni. Y. (May 2025). Youth civic engagement on the internet: Validation of a multidimensional measure. Poster presented at the 2025 Biennial Meeting of Society for Research in Child Development, Minneapolis, MN.

Dinh, X., & Ni, Y. (May 2025). Discrimination and executive functioning: Exploring the mediating role of sleep. Poster presented at the 2025 Biennial Meeting of Society for Research in Child Development, Minneapolis, MN.

Linda Walton

Professor Emerita of History

Presented paper "A Hybrid World of Learning?: Non-Han Peoples and Confucian Academies under the Mongol Yuan" at the International Medieval Congress, Leeds UK, July, 2025

Jungmin Kwon

Professor of 
Film, College of the Arts

Kwon, J. (2025). Korean women, gwangjang feminism, and transmedia feminist worldbuilding. Women’s Studies in Communication, 48(4), pp. 1-10.
Kwon, J. (2025). Queer visibility in Korean popular culture and queer invisibility in Korean communication and media studies. Korean Journal of Communication, 2(2), pp. 269-277.

Masami Nishishiba

Professor of Public Administration and the Associate Director of the Center for Public Service, at Mark O. Hatfield School of Government, Portland State University

Successfully completed the Japanese Local Governance and Management Training (JaLoGoMa) 7/27-8/1; Conducted State Department Funded Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative 9/27-10/30

Yan Long, PhD
Associate Professor of Sociology
University of California at Berkeley 

Title: The Transnational Remaking of Epidemic Politics in China.

Date: Jan 22, 2026

Time: 12:30 pm - 2:00pm

Location: Zoom

Maryann Bylander, PhD
Associate Professor of Sociology
Lewis & Clark College

Title: The Trade-Offs of Legal Status: Safe Migration, Documentation, and Debt in Southeast.

Date: Feb 12, 2026

Time: 4:30 pm - 6:00pm

Location: ASRC 515

Seungkyung Kim, PhD
Korea Foundation Professor
East Asian Languages and Cultures
Director, Korean Studies Institute
Indiana University Bloomington

Trena Gillette Memorial Lecture
Title:  TBD 

Date: May 14, 2026

Time: 4:00 pm - 5:30pm (refreshment starts at 3 pm)

Location: ASRC 515

Andrew Kim, PhD
Assistant Professor of Sociology
University of Tennessee at Knoxville 

Title: U.S. Race Relations and the Asian American Achievement Paradox.

Date: Apr 09, 2026

Time: 4:30 pm - 6:00pm

Location: ASRC 515 

Asian Studies Related Courses Offered in Winter 2026

Institute for Asian Studies

Check out our website: 

https://www.pdx.edu/asian-studies/

Email us: asianstudies@pdx.edu