Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
University of North Korean Studies appoints new president
Shin Jong-dae, new president of the University of North Korean Studies / Yonhap
By Anna J. Park
The University of North Korean Studies in Seoul inaugurated professor Shin Jong-dae as its new president on Monday, beginning a two-year term.
The appointment, announced in August, underscores the graduate school’s standing as a key institution in policy discussions on North Korea.
Founded in 2005, the University of North Korean Studies is regarded as the first institution in South Korea dedicated to North Korea and unification studies. It has since become a leading hub for research and education, training academics and policy specialists on subjects ranging from politics and security to the economy and society of the reclusive state — analysis that often helps shape Seoul’s official policy.
Shin has been a professor at the University of North Korean Studies since 2005, after previously teaching at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies and its Graduate School of North Korean Studies.
Throughout his career, he has held key leadership roles, including director of planning at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies, vice president and acting president of the University of North Korean Studies, editorial board member at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy and president of the Korean Association of Cold War Studies.
Beyond academia, Shin has contributed to government policy as an adviser to the Ministry of Unification, the Ministry of Science and Technology and various inter-Korean cooperation committees.