Welcome from the Director
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| Greetings!
While the winter term this year started off with much snow and ice storm, I am pleased to see flowers blooming and trees getting greener on our beautiful campus, and am excited to see more of them over the next few weeks!
In this newsletter, we are happy to share snapshots from two events we hosted and co-sponsored in February, such as the piano performance by Dr. Susan Chan (Professor of School of Music), and a workshop on the Making of Women in Korea organized by Dr. Hyeyoung Woo (Professor of Sociology), Director of the Institute. These events were well received by not only the PSU faculty and students, but also larger communities including Asian American communities in the area and academics of Asian Studies in the disciplines.
Additionally, you will also find: “Student Corner” for students who have benefited our scholarship program and been active in our events; “New Faculty Members” for Dr. Yue Ni (Assistant Professor of Psychology) who recently joined the IAS; “Community Partners” for a former honorary consul of Korea, Greg Caldwell, who stays very active in the community; IAS faculty achievements; upcoming events; and Asian Studies-related courses in spring 2024.
To reiterate, we have one lecture scheduled this term on March 7th, and two lecture events in Spring. As the speakers of these talks are either well-established leading scholars or young promising scholars in the areas of social work, art history, and Korean history, we believe that these talks should be of interest to many members of the IAS.
Stay tuned for our events and announcements by following us on Instagram and liking the page on Facebook – we look forward to connecting with you!
Hyeyoung Woo, Ph.D.
Director of IAS and Professor of Sociology
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Piano Performance by Dr. Susan Chan,
Scenes from a Jade Window (February 9)
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A Workshop of the Making of Women in Contemporary Korea,
hosted by Dr. Hyeyoung Woo (February 19)
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Workshop participants from left to right: Juyeon Kim (Professor at University of Seoul), Yujin Kim (Associate Professor at Kangwon National University), Hyunjoon Park (Professor at University of Pennsylvania), Hyeyoung Woo (Professor at Portland State University), Kelly Raley (Faculty Emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin), Jieha Lee (Professor of Soongsil University), Minjeong Kim (Professor of San Diego State University), and James Raymo (Professor of Princeton University)
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Kristina Kaizer
IAS Scholarship Recipient
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Kristina is a former PSU student and currently majoring in Japanese language and Global and Regional Studies at the University of Washington.
After studying abroad in Japan (Nagasaki University of Foreign Studies) for one year 2022-23, Kristina wrote to us that “this unforgettable scholarship encouraged me to break down barriers and explore academic frontiers beyond my comfort zones such as participating in academic discussions with students from diverse cultural backgrounds while navigating cultural sensitivity, and studying in the environment in language other than what I am used to was an incredibly challenging barrier.” And “In the end, as a culmination of my reflection on education, cultural immersion and volunteering while studying abroad, I uncovered a new community in my life. For me, this scholarship was like a guiding force that helped me realize my potential of crossing both academic and cultural borders.”
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Angie Villegas
IAS Events Student Volunteer
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Angie is a senior in Speech and Hearing Sciences. She served as an interpreter for the Daejeon Metropolitan Dance Theater’s backstage crew, and PSU’s theater staff. My role was to communicate any necessary adjustments to the stage props that were requested by the stage director.
She said, “I have always enjoyed traditional Korean music and dance. I had the opportunity to visit South Korea this past summer and attend a traditional Korean dance and music event. It left a lasting impression on me and I hoped to be a part of something similar someday. As a volunteer, I was able to enjoy Korean culture and simultaneously get experience utilizing the Korean language in a professional setting. Previous to this event, I had only used the Korean language for casual conversation or class work.”
Angie hopes to continue studying the Korean language and prepare to be a speech language pathologist for English speakers that are residing in South Korea after graduation.
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| Dr. Yue Ni, Assistant Professor of Psychology
Dr. Ni is an assistant professor of Applied Developmental Psychology at Portland State University. She received her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Oregon State University in 2023. Her current research work focuses on civic engagement in the online and offline contexts and how it is related to psychological well-being among youth from diverse backgrounds. Another focus of her research is on the thriving of Asian American youth. She is particularly interested in how Asian American youth's intersectional identities and experiences can influence their positive developmental outcomes.
She aims to study how youth of Asian descent in the U.S. thrive with their unique individual experiences and contextual factors, such as cultural influences. She is developing a graduate seminar on the development and education of Asian-origin children and youth and will teach it this spring. She joined IAS as a faculty associate in Fall 2023 and hope to contribute to IAS by disseminating her research findings and promoting people's understanding about how culture can impact the development of youth of Asian descent.
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| Greg Caldwell, a former honorary consul for the Republic of Korea in Northern Oregon
For the last ten years Greg Caldwell served as honorary consul for the Republic of Korea in Northern Oregon. It has been a great privilege and honor to work with the Korean American community and with US friends of Korea during that time. His interest in and love for Korea began in 1971 when he served for three years in Korea as a Peace Corps volunteer. He lived with a Korean family and taught English to 7th grade boys. Immersing myself in the daily life of Korea was a life changing experience. He felt like it altered his career path and led me on a path of “all things international.”
His professional career began at Lewis & Clark College in 1976. He taught ESL for several years, became the Director of the ESL program, and then moved into the position of Associate Dean and Director of International Students and Scholars. Over his 35+ years at Lewis & Clark, worked with and supported international students and scholars from around the world, including many Koreans.
After retiring from higher education in 2011, he was invited to apply for the position of honorary consul for the R.O.K., which required approval by both the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the U.S. State Department. He began my duties in November of 2013. The position opened the door to the Korean American community in Oregon and I became quite involved in Korean American organizations in the State.
Early in his role as honorary consul, he reached out to Portland State University’s Institute for Asian Studies (IAS) and to Korean faculty members there for support and to lend a hand where he could. Over the years he worked with IAS faculty and members of the Korean American community to apply for a grant from the Korea Foundation to bring a Korean Studies faculty member to PSU for a three-year assignment. With the help of the Korean American community, we raised over $100,000 to match the grant from the Korea Foundation to make it a reality.
His plans for the future will always involve Korea in some way. He believes the work of the IAS plays an essential role in connecting PSU students with the people, and culture of Korea. He will continue to support that connection, when possible, in the years to come.
“It has been an honor to work with PSU staff, faculty, and students during the past ten years. I am thankful for the support of Korean Studies in all of its forms.”
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| Dr. Jeffrey C. Kinkley (Faculty Emeritus of WLL):
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| Dr. Pronoy Rai (Associate Professor of Geography):
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- was appointed to lead Portland State University Office of Student Success' Student Voices Initiative Project as a Student Success Fellow (Winter and Spring 2023-24).
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| Dr. Ken Ruoff (Professor of History):
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- will teach a course in Hokkaido University's summer program about how to interpret heritage sites.
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| Dr. Ji Woon Ryu (Assistant Professor of the School of Business):
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Ryu, J. W., Gonzalez-Mulé, E., & O'Boyle, E. H. (2023). “Taking a Heavier Toll? Racial Differences in the Effects of Workplace Mistreatment on Depression.” Journal of Applied Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0001170
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| Dr. Suwako Watanabe (Professor and Chair of WLL):
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- is serving on the Executive Committee of the Association of Language Departments, a division of the Modern Language Association
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| Dr. Hyeyoung Woo (Professor of Sociology and Director of IAS):
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- was appointed as Chair of the Department of Sociology in January, 2024.
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hosted a workshop on the Making of Women in Contemporary Korea at Portland State University (KMC 318) on February 19th, 2024
- was quoted “A Cultural Snapshot of South Korea” at CANVAS8, January 2, 2024.
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was interviewed for an article, “Seoul hopes egg freezing can help S. Korea baby crisis, experts disagree” by Agence France-Presse (AFP), which was featured at multiple news outlets including NBC Right Now, France 24, The Korea Times, Courthouse News, The Delta News, Channel News Asia, The Mountaineer, and Reddit
- had a meeting with Mr. Yuzo Yoshioka, Consul General of Japan in Portland, on February 27, 2024 to discuss potential collaboration to strengthen the relationship between IAS and Japanese community in Oregon.
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Upcoming Events
Save the dates!
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| "Modernism/Universalism/Exorcism: Designing for the 1988 Summer Olympics."
Speaker: Dr. Seungyeon Gabrielle Jung, Assistant Professor of Art History at University of California, Irvine
Date and Time: Thursday, April 25, 2024, 5:30-7:00
Location: TBA
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| Trena Gillette Memorial Lecture: Title: TBD
Speaker: Dr. Jisoo M. Kim, Korea Foundation Associate Professor of History, International Affairs, and East Asian Languages and Literatures at George Washington University
Date and Time: Thursday, May 9, 2024, 6:00 - 7:30
Location: Native American Student and Community Center (NASCC), Room 110
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Asian Studies-related Courses in Spring 2024
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Portland State University Office of International Affairs PO Box 751 | Portland, OR 97207-0751 US
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