Kyeyoung ParkView profile
Professor
Kyeyoung Park is Professor of Anthropology and Asian American Studies at UCLA, holding the Korea Times-Hankook Ilbo Endowed Chair in Korean-American Studies. She is a sociocultural anthropologist whose work focuses on inequality, social justice, and the migration of people, particularly displaced populations and their relationship to political economy, critical race theory, and transnationalism. Her research spans Korean American communities in the United States and Korean diaspora communities in Latin America, examining how structural forces shape cultural beliefs and ideologies across different contexts. Ph.D., City University of New York (1990) Professor Park's research centers on urban anthropology, inequality across race, class, and gender dimensions, migration and diaspora studies, and transnational processes. She examines how structural imperatives of migration lead to transformations in gender, kinship, family, politics, and religion among Korean diaspora communities. Her work employs intersectional analysis to understand multi-ethnic relations, with particular focus on Korean communities in both the United States and Latin America, exploring how axes of inequality impact racial minorities and their relationships with each other in global contexts. Her recent scholarship demonstrates consistent focus on Korean diaspora communities across the Americas, bridging urban anthropology with critical race theory to examine how race, class, and gender intersect in immigrant experiences. She has made significant contributions to understanding Korean-Latino relations in Los Angeles and Korean immigrant entrepreneurship in South American textile industries, reflecting her broader interest in immigrant adaptation and inter-ethnic dynamics across diverse geographic settings. Professor Park has received numerous prestigious awards and grants for her scholarship: 1998 Outstanding Book Award from the Association for Asian American Studies for "The Korean American Dream: Immigrants and Small Business in New York City" 1997-98 Visiting Scholar Award from the Russell Sage Foundation 2016-19 Research Grant from The Republic of Korea's Ministry of Education and Korean Studies Promotion Service 2008-09 Translation Grant from The Overseas Korea Foundation for "The Korean American Dream" 2008-09 AAP Faculty Recognition Award from UCLA Professor Park has secured substantial research funding throughout her career, including multiple grants from The Academy of Korean Studies, Korea Foundation, and UCLA research programs. Her funded projects have examined Korean diaspora communities across the Americas, with particular focus on transnational connections between Korean American and Latin American contexts. She has served as Principal Investigator on projects exploring Korean routes of migration in the Americas and second-generation Korean American transnationalism, demonstrating her sustained commitment to understanding immigrant experiences through anthropological and interdisciplinary lenses. Professor Park has been actively involved with UCLA's Center for Korean Studies (CKS) and the International Institute, where she served as Deputy Program Chair for Korean Studies in Latin America from 2006-2011. Her collaborative work extends to research teams examining Korean diaspora communities across the Americas, including partnerships with scholars in Latin America. She has also participated in interdisciplinary initiatives such as UCLA's Urban Humanities Institute Faculty Research Seminar, reflecting her commitment to cross-disciplinary approaches to understanding migration, diaspora, and transnational processes.












