Director Joseph Juhn

Photo: Global Korea(globalkorea.jp)

On Monday, May 12, Kyung Hee University (KHU) will host internationally acclaimed filmmaker Joseph Juhn for a special guest lecture on the topic of “Diasporas are the Future of Korea”. The lecture is open to all students, including international students, and will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. in Room 404 of the College of Political Science and Economics building, Seoul Campus. As the world’s leading director on the narrative of overseas Koreans—and a member of the Korean diaspora himself—director Juhn’s lecture offers a rare opportunity to hear firsthand about the Korean identity and the vital role diaspora communities play in Korea’s future.

Who Are Diasporas, and Why Are They Important for South Korea?

The upcoming guest lecture focuses on diasporas—dongpo in Korean—which refer to groups of people who have left their homeland but continue to uphold their cultural identity while building new lives abroad. In today’s globalized world, movement across borders is no longer a rare phenomenon, and diasporic communities are on the rise internationally.

This is especially relevant for South Korea. Korean emigration began in earnest as early as the 20th century, and multiethnic diaspora communities today make up around 5% of the nation’s domestic population. The rise in both domestic and overseas diaspora populations has put South Korea’s traditionally conservative understanding of these communities to the test. Additionally, the nation’s plummeting birth rate and soaring healthcare costs have made the integration of foreign diaspora into the workforce a pressing matter.

To deepen KHU students’ understanding of this issue, KHU has partnered with the Korean government’s Overseas Koreans Agency (OKA) to organize Monday’s lecture. By hearing directly from someone with expertise and experience, the lecture offers a special opportunity for discussion on collaboration and coexistence with diasporic communities.

Who Is Director Joseph Juhn?

The guest speaker for the special lecture, director Joseph Juhn, is an award-winning lawyer-turned-filmmaker known for his acclaimed films “Jeronimo” and “Chosen”. A recipient of the Audience Award at the 45th Asian American International Film Festival, he is considered one of the foremost Korean American filmmakers exploring the lives, identities, and challenges of Korean diasporic communities.

Director Juhn was born in Seoul in 1971 and immigrated to the U.S. as a child. He is also a professor of English at the University of California, San Diego, and director of the UCI Center for Critical Korean Studies. Deeply committed to promoting cultural identity and community engagement among Korean Americans, director Juhn has played a key role in broadening awareness of Korean diasporic identity and experience in the U.S.

In the upcoming lecture on May 12, he plans to share how diasporas hold significance for the Korean Peninsula’s future, drawing from his own experience.

Why Does KHU Host This Lecture?

The lecture is part of the “Road to Understanding Overseas Koreans” education program, conducted each semester by OKA’s policy division. This semester, KHU partnered with the agency to integrate the lecture into Professor Song Seok-won’s course on Global Diaspora Politics offered in the Dept. of Political Science and International Relations.

The University has held similar lectures, previously hosting notable figures such as Mark Keam of the Virginia House of Delegates, Prof. Chang Tae-han of the University of California, Riverside, Kim Dong-suk of the Korean American Grassroots Conference, and Dr. Cho Eun-ah of Konkuk University.

Prof. Song, the organizer of the lecture, stated that “It is important to hear directly from multicultural immigrants themselves, but we still lack concrete programs to support such meetings. That’s why I organized this lecture—to provide a platform for overseas Koreans to share their voices with KHU students.”

He added, “I hope this becomes an opportunity not just to understand the Korean diaspora but also to reflect on the stories of immigrants in Korean society, and the potential for cooperation and coexistence between immigrants and native citizens.”

All International and Domestic Students Are Welcome to Attend

The May 12 lecture is open to all students and requires no prior registration—simply walk in and take a seat. What makes this event special is that Joseph Juhn, an internationally recognized director in the field of diaspora narratives, will be sharing valuable knowledge and insight he has gained both as a filmmaker and as a long-time member of the Korean diaspora community in the U.S. For international students, this is a unique chance to gain a deeper understanding of the Korean identity, the Korean diaspora and why multinational diasporic communities matter to the country’s future.