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Global Chair Prof. Chung-in Moon (Yonsei University)

Hosted by the Deparment of PoLIS, Prof. Moon is a leading scholar of the Korean peace process and Special Adviser to the President of South Korea.

Global Chair Prof Moon
Bath Global Chair Prof. Chung-in Moon at his Welcome Reception with host Prof. Timo Kivimäki in 2018

Professor Chung-In Moon is Distinguished Professor of Political Science and International Relations and former Dean of the Graduate School of International Studies at Yonsei University. He is also Special Adviser to the President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in. He was previously Ambassador for International Security Affairs of the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as well as Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Northeast Asian Cooperation Initiative, a cabinet-level post.

A leading scholar and expert on security in the Korean Peninsula, Professor Moon has been hosted at Bath by Professor Timo Kivimäki in the Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies.

Building on exsting links with Bath, he has been a key member of the University's research project team on Terror, Authoritarian Violence and Cosmopolitan Protection (2015-2021), developing a post-colonialist theory of security and engaging a number of academic staff and students across the Department of PoLIS. His Global Chair visit to Bath in January-February 2018 took place at a critical time ahead of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, with a strong public interest in the Korean peace process. Professor Moon not only met with colleagues and students but also engaged with diplomatic advisers and policy makers, and gave numerous media interviews.

Activities at Bath

Since his appointment as a Global Chair in 2017/2018, Professor Moon has:

  • worked with Professor Kivimäki on a joint book project, and engaged with academic staff and PhD students in the Institute for Policy Research (IPR) and the Department of PoLIS, including with the research team on Cosmopolitan Protection.

    • In addition to a number of specialist publications, Prof. Kivimäki has contributed Sanctions, Dialogue and Friendship-Building as a Strategy for Peace as a chapter to Prof. Moon's co-edited book on Bridging the Divide: Moon Jae-In's Korean Peace Initiative (2019), and has published two monographs, including, most recently, Protecting the Global Civilian from Violence: UN discourses and practices in fragile states (2021).
  • delivered two public lectures, on the topics of Security in the Third World: The Case of North Korea for undegraduate students on the Bath campus (February 2018), and Between Containment and Engagement: How to Deal with the North Korean Quagmire, with diplomatic and Cabinet Office representatives in London (31 January 2018)

  • facilitated a roundtable with key stakeholders in the Bath-Yonsei relationship to discuss institutional links and funding opportunities (February 2018).

  • engaged with diplomatic advisers and policy makers in the UK to discuss the Korean peace process (January-February 2018).

  • given numerous media interviews during his visit to Bath in 2018 to coincide with the opening of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, including to BBC, Sky TV, CNN, and RTV. Professor Moon and Professor Kivimaki also wrote an opinion piece, published in Euronews.

Explore Further

Find more information about Chung-in Moon's work and previous activity at the University.