Photo of Gi-Wook Shin

Gi-Wook Shin, PhD

  • Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
  • Professor of Sociology
  • William J. Perry Professor of Contemporary Korea
  • Director of the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
  • Director of the Korea Program
Shorenstein APARC
Encina Hall E301
616 Jane Stanford Way
Stanford, CA 94305-6055
(650) 723-2408 (voice)
(650) 723-6530 (fax)

Biography

Gi-Wook Shin is the director of the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center; the William J. Perry Professor of Contemporary Korea; the founding director of the Korea Program; a senior fellow of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; and a professor of sociology, all at Stanford University. As a historical-comparative and political sociologist, his research has concentrated on social movements, nationalism, development, and international relations.

Shin is the author/editor of more than twenty books and numerous articles. His recent books include South Korea's Democracy in Crisis (2022); The North Korean Conundrum: Balancing Human Rights and Nuclear Security (2021); Demographics and Innovation in the Asia-Pacific (2021); Shifting Gears in Innovation Policy from Asia (2020); Strategic, Policy, and Social Innovation for a Post-Industrial Korea: Beyond the Miracle (2018); Superficial Korea (2017); Divergent Memories: Opinion Leaders and the Asia-Pacific War (2016); Global Talent: Skilled Labor as Social Capital in Korea (2015); Criminality, Collaboration, and Reconciliation: Europe and Asia Confronts the Memory of World War II (2014); New Challenges for Maturing Democracies in Korea and Taiwan (2014); Asia’s Middle Powers? (2013); Troubled Transition: North Korea's Politics, Economy, and External Relations (2013); History Textbooks and the Wars in Asia: Divided Memories (2011); South Korean Social Movements: From Democracy to Civil Society (2011); One Alliance, Two Lenses: U.S.-Korea Relations in a New Era (2010); Cross Currents: Regionalism and Nationalism in Northeast Asia (2007); Rethinking Historical Injustice and Reconciliation in Northeast Asia (2006); and Ethnic Nationalism in Korea: Genealogy, Politics, and Legacy (2006). Due to the wide popularity of his publications, many of them have been translated and distributed to Korean audiences. His articles have appeared in academic journals including American Journal of Sociology, Comparative Studies in Society and History, Political Science Quarterly, International Sociology, Nations and Nationalism, Pacific AffairsAsian Survey, and Journal of Democracy.

Shin is now working on a new research initiative seeking to examine potential benefits of talent flows in the Asia-Pacific region, where countries, cities, and corporations have competed with one another to enhance their stock of "brain power" by drawing on the skills of both their own citizens and those of foreigners.  Taking an interdisciplinary approach, this project examines flows of talent across national boundaries and assesses the efficacy of transnational human and social capital in environments such as cities, universities, and corporations in the Asia-Pacific region.  In this way, the project aims to provide insights for policymakers as they devise policies to attract brainpower transnationally.

Shin is not only the recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, but also continues to actively raise funds for Korean/Asian studies at Stanford. He gives frequent lectures and seminars on topics ranging from Korean nationalism and politics to Korea's foreign relations and historical reconciliation in Northeast Asia. He serves on councils and advisory boards in the United States and South Korea and promotes policy dialogue between the two allies.

Before coming to Stanford, Shin taught at the University of Iowa and the University of California, Los Angeles. After receiving his BA from Yonsei University in Korea, he was awarded his MA and PhD from the University of Washington.

publications

Books
June 2022

South Korea’s Democracy in Crisis

Author(s)
South Korea’s Democracy in Crisis
Books
October 2021

The North Korean Conundrum

Author(s)
The North Korean Conundrum
Books
May 2021

Demographics and Innovation in the Asia-Pacific

Author(s)
Demographics and Innovation in the Asia-Pacific

Current research

In The News

Gi-Wook Shin, Amb. Jung-Seung Shin, and Oriana Skylar Mastro at the Winter Payne Lecture
News

Payne Distinguished Fellow Examines South Korea’s Strategic Path Amid U.S.-China Competition

Ambassador Jung-Seung Shin, the Winter 2023 Payne Distinguished Fellow, offered insights into the dynamics of the trilateral U.S.-China-South Korea relationship, the impacts of the great power competition between the United States and China on South Korea, and the prospects for enhanced Korea-U.S. collaboration.
Payne Distinguished Fellow Examines South Korea’s Strategic Path Amid U.S.-China Competition
The IndUS Entrepreneurs (TiE) co-founder Kanwal Rekhi speaks in an office, next to a shelf of books.
Commentary

Look South

Opportunities for Korea-India Relations
Look South
Gi-Wook Shin and Francis Fukuyama at Encina Hall, Stanford, in conversation.
Q&As

A Resurgence of Democracy?

A Conversation with Francis Fukuyama on the Challenges of a Changing Global Order
A Resurgence of Democracy?

Selected Multimedia

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