Joseph Seeley has won the 5th annual Korea Program Prize for Writing in Korean Studies for his paper entitled "Frozen Paths, Fluid Barriers:  The Seasonal Geographies of Yalu River Border Security, 1931-1945." A second-year PhD student in History, Joseph's research focuses on the environmental history of Japanese colonialism in East Asia from 1895-1945, with a particular interest in agriculture, hunting and other forms of natural resource use. Additional interests include popular memory of Japanese imperialism in modern Korea and China, comparative colonialisms, and the history of science and technology.

This year, there were also two honorable mention entries: Sangyop Lee, PhD student in Religious Studies, for his paper on "The Emergence of the 'Five-Terrace Mountain' Cult in Korea"; and Seung Yeol Kim, MA student in East Asian Studies, for her paper entitled "Implication of Judicial Review on Democracy: Comparative Study on Korea and Japan."

Sponsored by the Korea Program and the Center for East Asian Studies, the writing prize recognizes and rewards outstanding examples of writing by Stanford students in an essay, term paper or thesis produced during the current academic year in any discipline within the area of Korean studies, broadly defined. The competition is open to both undergraduate and graduate students.

Past Recipients:
4th Annual Prize (2015)
3rd Annual Prize (2014)
2nd Annual Prize (2013)
1st Annual Prize (2012)