I am Yong Wook Lee , an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and
International Relations at Korea University . My research interests are in international
relations theory, international political economy, Asian regionalism, international relations
and comparative politics of Japan and Korea, and international migration and societal
(in)security issues. I examine how identities and norms affect and are affected by states and
their practices within domestic and international contexts. My first book (from Stanford
University Press 2008), entitled "The Japanese Challenge to the American Neoliberal World
Order: Identity, Meaning, and Foreign Policy," develops this issue into an analytical framework
designed to demonstrate a causal mechanism through which identity shapes national interest. The
book examines Japan's confrontations with the U.S. in various international finance and
development forums, such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Asian Pacific Economic
Cooperation, and Asian Monetary Fund. I received Ph.D. in International Relations from the
University of Southern California. Before coming to Korea University. I previously taught at
the University of Oklahoma , Brown University , and the University of Southern California .
Contact Information
Address :
Department of Political Science and International Relations Anam-dong, Sungbuk-gu, Seoul,
Korea, 136-701
Tel . : 82-2-3290-2183
Fax : 82-2-3290-2180
Email : yongir@korea.ac.kr
Curriculum Vitae
Academic Appointments
•Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Korea
University (2008 – Present).
•Assistant Professor, School of International and Area Studies & Department of Political
Science, University of Oklahoma (2006 – 2008).
•Faculty Associate, U.S.-China Institute, University of Oklahoma (2006 – 2008).
•Freeman Fellow, Watson Institute for International Studies & Department of East Asian
Studies, Brown University (2004 – 2006).
•Lecturer, School of International Relations, University of Southern California (2003 –
2004).
•Visiting Scholar, Institute of Social Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan (2002).
Education
•Ph.D., International Relations, University of Southern California (2003)
•B.A., East Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Kansas (1995).
Grants, Awards, Fellowships
•New Faculty Grant, Korea University (2008 – 2009).
•Faculty Enrichment Grant, University of Oklahoma (2007).
•Junior Faculty Summer Fellowship, University of Oklahoma (2007).
•Faculty Enrichment Grant, University of Oklahoma (2006).
•Freeman Foundation Research Grant, Brown University (2004 – 2006).
•Dissertation Summer Grant, Center for International Studies, USC (2002).
•Dissertation Fellowship, Center for International Studies, USC (2001 – 2002).
•ACE – Nikkaido Fellowship in Japanese Studies, USC (2000 – 2001).
•Phi Beta Kappa, University of Kansas (1995).
•Golden Key National Honor Society, University of Kansas (1994).
Languages
•English, Japanese, and Korean.
Works in Progress
•The Making of Imagined East Asian Economic Community in a World of Region (Book length
project).
•“Reformulation of Synthetic Approach to Foreign Policy Change: Japan’s New Move toward
Regional Financial Institution Building.”
•“Bringing Outsiders in?: Transnational Advocacy Networks and the Development of
Environmental Movements in Japan and Korea.” (with Yooil Bae and Dong-Ae Shin).
•“Promise of Constructivist International Political Economy: Past, Present, and Future.”
(Korean).
Other Experiences
•Student Representative, Japanese Politics Search Committee, School of International
Relations, USC
(January – March, 2002).
•President, Korean Association for Social Studies, USC (1999 – 2001).
•Volunteer Teacher, High School Leadership Conference: “War Affected Children and the Human
Security Agenda,”
The Teaching International Relations Program, USC (March 31, 2001).
•Information Representative, School of International Relations Graduate Student
Association, USC (2000 – 2001).
•Rapporteur, “Korea in Three Transition: Market, Democracy, and Unification,” Pacific
Council, USC
(November 14, 2000).
•Internship, International Division, Kim & Kim Law Offices, Seoul, Korea (1995 – 1996).
•Internship, Division of Foreign News, The Korea Times, Seoul, Korea (1995).
•Military Service, ROK Army.
Publications
Fist Book
The Japanese Challenge to the American Neoliberal World Order:Identity, Meaning and Foreign
Policy Stanford University Press 2008
Monograph
•The Japanese Challenge to the American Neoliberal World Order: Identity, Meaning, and
Foreign Policy. Stanford University Press (2008).
•“The Discursive Construction of Development Identity: How Could Japan Challenge the
Neoclassical Economic Orthodoxy?” CIS Working Paper Series 2-13 (2002), Center for
International Studies, USC.
Articles
•“The Evolution of Korean Foreign Labor Policy in Global Context: Toward the Politics of
Societal (In)Security?” Korea Observer, forthcoming (June 2009 as scheduled).
•“Historical Beliefs and the Perception of Threat in Northeast Asia: Colonialism, the
Tributary System, and China-Japan-Korea Relations in the Twenty-First Century.” (with Peter
Gries, Qingmin Zhang, and Yasuki Masui). International Relations of the Asia-Pacific,
forthcoming (May 2009 as scheduled).
•“Using Norms Strategically: Transnational Advocacy Networks’ Operation for North Korean
Human Rights.” (with Sun Young Kwak). Asian Perspective, forthcoming (March 2009 as
scheduled).
•“The Japanese Challenge to Neoliberalism: Who and What Is ‘Normal’ in the History of the
World Economy?” Review of International Political Economy, Vol. 15, No. 4. (2008): 506-533.
•“Japan and the Asian Monetary Fund: An Identity-Intention Approach.” International Studies
Quarterly, Vol. 50, No. 2 (2006): 339-366.
•“The Politics of Foreign Labor Policies in Korea and Japan.” (with Hye Mee Park) Journal
of Contemporary Asia, Vol. 35, No. 2 (2005): 143-165 (Lead Article).
•“The Origin of One Party Domination: America’s Reverse Course and the Emergence of the
Liberal Democratic Party in Japan.” Journal of East Asian Affairs, Vol. 18, No. 2 (2004):
371-413.
•“New Asian Regionalism and the United States: Constructing Regional Identity and Interest
in the Politics of Inclusion and Exclusion.” (with Sunhyuk Kim) Pacific Focus, Vol. 19, No.
2 (2004): 185-231. 1
Book chapter
•“From Tokyo to Beijing Consensus: Asian Values, Multiple Modernity, but Still Modernity.”
Paper in progress for the Volume, Uncovering the Ethical: Recovering Meaning in
International Relations Scholarship (In Memory of Hayward Alker).
•“Soft Power as Productive Power.” Paper in progress for the Volume, Soft Power and Public
Diplomacy in East Asia (Sponsored by the East Asian Institute).
Works under Review
•“Neoliberal Korea and Still Developmentalist Japan: Myth or Reality?” (with Sun Young
Kwak).
•“Truth, Knowledge Cumulation, and Self-Reflectivity: Revisiting Democratic Peace.”
Presentations/Workshops/Research Experiences
Conference
•“Social Context in East Asian Monetary Cooperation: Identity, Norms, and Trust.” Paper
presented at ISA, in New York (February 15 – 18, 2009).
•“Reformulation of Synthetic Approach to Foreign Policy Change: Japan as the Architect of
New Asian Regional Financial Order.” Paper presented at ISA, in New York (February 15 – 18,
2009).
•“Contesting Neoliberal Economic Order in East Asia: From the Chiang Mai Initiative to the
Asian Monetary Fund.” Paper presented at ISA, in San Francisco (March 26 – 29, 2008).
•“A Synthetic Approach toward Foreign Policy Change: Japan’s New Move toward Regional
Financial Institution Building.” Paper presented at ISA, in San Francisco (March 26 – 29,
2008).
•“Politics of Financial Liberalization: Neoliberal Korea and Still Developmentalist Japan?”
(with Sun Young Kwak) Paper presented at APSA, in Chicago (August 30 – September 2, 2007).
•“The Politics of Rationality and Regional Economic Order in East Asia: Development of
Chiang Mai Initiative and Asian Bond Market.” Paper presented at ISA, in Chicago (February
28 – March 3, 2007).
•“What Constitutes an East Asian Community? A Search for East Asian Identity.” Paper
presented at ISA, in San Diego (March 22 – 26, 2006).
•“New Asian Regionalism and the United States: Constructing Regional Identity and Interest
in the Politics of Inclusion and Exclusion.” (with Sunhyuk Kim) Paper presented at ISA, in
Montreal, Canada (March 17 – 20, 2004).
•“National Interests and the Identity-Intention Framework: A Case of the U.S.-Japan
Conflict in the Asian Financial Crisis.” Paper presented at ISA-West, in Las Vegas (October
10 – 11, 2003).
•“Ideas, Interdependence, and the Politics of Development: Japan and the Asian Monetary
Fund.” Paper presented at ISA, in Chicago (February 21 – 24, 2001).
•“Unintended Consequence: American Reverse Course and the 1955 System in Japan.” Paper
presented at ASPAC, in San Diego (June 4 – 9, 1999).
Invited Talk
•“Soft Power as Productive Power.” Paper presented at a Conference entitled “Soft Power,
Identity, and Public Diplomacy in East Asia,” in Seoul, Korea (December 10 – 12, 2008).
•“New Asian Regionalism and Contesting Neoliberal Economic Order in East Asia: From the
Chiang Mai Initiative to the Asian Monetary Fund.” Paper presented at KU IR Forum, in
Seoul, Korea University (April 18, 2008).
•Commentary at a Conference entitled “The Korean-American Professors’ Workshop on Korean
Territorial Issues,” in Los Angeles, Oxford Hotel (November 30 – December 2, 2007).
•“Democracy and Liberal Anti-Americanism in South Korea.” Commentary at a Conference
entitled “Wars Unfinished: U.S. Military Bases in Okinawa and Korea,” in Providence, Watson
Institute for International Studies, Brown University (September 26 – 27, 2005).
•“The Evolution of Korean Foreign Labor Policy in Global Context: Toward the Politics of
Societal (In) Security?” Paper presented at a Conference entitled “Korea and Global
Migration,” in Los Angeles (December 10 – 12, 2004).
•“The Discursive Construction of Development Identity: How Could Japan Challenge the
Neoclassical Economic Orthodoxy?” Paper presented at Center for International Studies, USC
(October 30, 2002). 3
Discussion
•Discussant, “Japanese Cultural Diplomacy – Its Quest for Soft Power,” by Akiko Fukushima
(Japan Foundation), at a Conference entitled “Soft Power, Identity, and Public Diplomacy in
East Asia,” Seoul, Korea (December 10 – 12, 2008).
•Discussant, “Bilateral Agreements and Bilateralism: The Impact of FTA-Formation in the
Asia-Pacific,” by Soo Yeon Kim (University of Maryland), East Asia Institute, Seoul, Korea
(June 18, 2008).
•Discussant, “Dilemma in Japan’s Foreign Aid Policy,” by Mayumi Komoda (Korea University),
KU IR Forum, Seoul, Korea University (May 30, 2008).
• Discussant, 2008 ISA Panel: North Korea, Japan, and Foreign Policy Analysis (4 Papers).
ISA in San Francisco (March 26 – 29, 2008).
• Discussant, “Korean-Japanese Relations and the East Asian Community,” by Jong Won Lee
(Rikkyo University, Japan), International Conference on New Directions for Korean Foreign
Policy and the East Asian Community, Co-Organized by Asiatic Research Center (Korea
University) and Korea National Strategy Institute, Korea Press Center, Seoul, Korea (July
22, 2005).
Conference/Workshop Organization
• Chair, 2008 ISA Panel: North Korea, Japan, and Foreign Policy Analysis. ISA in San
Francisco (March 26 – 29, 2008).
• Workshop Organizer, The Emergence of the East Asian Community: Material and Ideational
Influences. Watson
Institute for International Studies, Brown University (June 3, 2006).
• Workshop Coordinator, Justice and Globalization. Center for International Studies, USC
(April 21, 2001).
• Conference Coordinator, Gender in International Relations: From Seeing Women and
Recognizing Gender to
Transforming Policy Research. Center for International Studies, USC (February 2 – 3,
2001).
Research Experience
•Research Assistant to Saori N. Katada, School of International Relations, USC (July –
August, 2001).
•CIS Research Assistantship (Research Assistant to J. Ann Tickner, School of International
Relations, USC) (2000 – 2001).
•CIS Research Assistantship (Research Assistant to Sunhyuk Kim, Department of Political
Science, USC) (1999 – 2000).
•CIS Research Assistantship (Research Assistant to Saori N. Katada, School of International
Relations, USC) (1998 – 1999).
•Research Assistant to Sunhyuk Kim, Department of Political Science, USC (June – July,
1998). 4
Teaching Experiences
Graduate Course
•International Political Economy (KU)
•Japanese Foreign Policy (KU)
•International Political Economy and Korean Economic Policy (KU-GSPS)
•World Politics and Korean Diplomacy (KU-GSPS)
•Political Economy of East Asia (OU)
Undergraduate Course
•Japanese Foreign Policy (KU)
•International Political Economy (KU)
•Governments around the World (OU)
•Politics of East Asia (OU)
•International Political Economy of Asia-Pacific (Brown)
•International Relations of East Asia (Brown; OU; KU)
•Japanese Foreign Policy and International Relations (Brown)
•Politics of International Trade Policy (USC)
•Rich and Poor States in the World Economy (USC)
Lab Members
Thesis Advice
Master Thesis
•Dong Jung, Kim (Reader, August 2008), Korea University
•Hyung Joon, Park (Reader, August 2008), Korea University
•Yeon Joo, Lee (Reader, August 2008), Korea University
•Joo Hee, Lee (Reader, August 2008), Korea University
•Jordon, Michael (Reader; December 2007), University of Oklahoma
•Lin, Shawn Wen Hui (Primary Reader; May 2005), Brown University.
Honors Thesis
•Parulis-Cook, Sienna Freya. Great China and the Beijing Olympics: Identity, Image, and
National Interest (Primary Reader: May 2006), Brown University.
•Nagai, Amanda K. Selective Memory: Post-Asia-Pacific War Conservative Japanese Identity as
the Barrier to Japan-Asia Reconciliation and Apology (Primary Reader: May 2005), Brown
University.
•Hayakawa, Keiko. New Identities, New Needs: A Theoretical Analysis of Sino-Russian
Military Relations (Primary Reader: May 2005), Brown University.
University Services
Korea University
•Member, Institute for Peace Studies (2008 – )
University of Oklahoma
•Middle East Politics Search Committee, Department of Political Science and School of
International and Area Studies, OU (2007 – 2008).
•Undergraduate Studies Committee, Department of Political Science, OU (2006 – 2008).
•Adopt-A-Professor Program, OU (2006 – 2007).
•Faculty Host (for Dr. Pride Chidgwedere from Harvard School of Public Health, AIDS
Initiative), Symposium on African Foreign Policy, OU (September 15, 2006).
•Faculty Host (for Director David Biette, the Director of the Canada Institute at the
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington D.C.), Symposium on U.S. and
Canada Issues, OU (November 30, 2006).
Brown University
•Preparation Assistance, 2006 Jong Wook Lee and Vartan Gregorian Lecture Series (Professor
Young Kwan Yoon, Seoul National University) entitled “The North Korean Problem: Competing
Approaches and U.S.-South Korean Alliance,” February 24, 2006, Star Auditorium, 117
McMillan Hall, Brown University.
Professional Services
Membership
•Member, American Political Science Association
•Member, International Studies Association
•Member, Association for Asian Studies
•Member, Association of Korean Political Studies
•Member, Korean Political Science Association
•Member, Korean Association of International Studies