Current Sociology

Please welcome our Sociologist of the Month for October 2023, Jung Cheol Shin (Department of Education, Seoul National University, Republic of Korea). His article for Current Sociology Localization of social science research in selected academic disciplines in South Korea, co-authored with Jae Woon Huang, Jin-kwon Lee, and Youngeun An is Free Access this month.

Jung Cheol Shin

Could you please tell us about yourself? How did you come to your field of study?

J.C. Shin: I have been working on social sciences (e.g., Public Administration, Sociology, Education, Public Policy) since undergraduate and graduate studies. Also, I spent 20 years at the Ministry of Education of South Korea as a policy developer and policy analyst. Leveraging field experience and academic training, my research focuses on how education (or human resource development), knowledge production, and economy (and society) are closely linked, especially in South Korea.

What prompted you to research the area of your article, “Localization of social science research in selected academic disciplines in South Korea”? What do you see as the key findings of your article?

J.C. Shin: My study in this article revealed how the concept of social science is yet to be fully settled in South Korea. Though related journal publications are growing rapidly, they do not necessary explain social phenomena in South Korea based on locally developed theories. Instead, social scientists try to borrow theoretical perspectives from the West, and apply these theories to explain Korean society (local topics) with local data. A significant share of Korean academics (about 37% in 2018) have received their doctoral degree from abroad, which may have contributed to such behavior. Thus, the big challenge is to develop local social science theories to explain social development in South Korea. This academic endeavor will provide implications and suggestions to academic communities in other developing countries on the importance of developing social science in local context.

Jung Cheol Shin’s homepage: http://cheks.or.kr/