Korea Foundation selects 10 next-gen Korea specialists in U.S.

The Korea Foundation on Wednesday launched the Korea-U.S. NextGen Scholars Program to cultivate Korea experts in the United States jointly with the U.S. Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and University of Southern California (USC).

The two-year program, designed to promote the South Korea-U.S. relations, has selected 10 next-generation scholars and journalists as "U.S.-Korea NextGen Scholars" to nurture them as Korea specialists. The 10 NextGen Scholars include Robert Kelly, an associate professor at Pusan National University; Jaeeun Kim, the Korea Foundation assistant professor of Korean Studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and Elizabeth Shim, a reporter at United Press International.

Victor Cha, the CSIS`s senior adviser and Korea chair and a professor at Georgetown University, USC professor David Kang and former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens will mentor the selected scholars.

The program, an expansion of the Korea-U.S. Nextus Program, which was launched in 2013, involves more think tanks such as the Mansfield Foundation, the Korea Economic Institute and the Foreign Policy Initiative, and diversifies areas of specialization.

Cha said that the NextGen Scholars will contribute to promoting deeper and more vigorous knowledge-based discussion of Korea-related policy in the United States and other places, adding that he is "happy" to help them. Kang also vowed to help the next-general specialists share their knowledge about and affection of Korea with the general audience.

Yu Hyun-seok, president of the Korea Foundation, noted that the program is aimed at raising next-generation specialists who will contribute to the South Korea-U.S. relations in various fields in 10 to 20 years.

kyle@donga.com