About us
our story
The KASWEA was initially formed as a network group of Korean American social work educators who attended at the CSWE Annual Program Meetings around 1980.
Then the most senior Korean professor and acting dean of West Virginia University School of Social Work, Dr. Sung Lai Boo was asked to serve as the first presidency for the group. There were only less than ten Korean social work full-time faculty members in the United Sates including Dr. Sung Lai Boo of University of West Virginia, Dr. Dong Soo Kim and Dr. Sookja Baik of Norfolk University, VA, Dr. Phil Jay Cho of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC, Dr. Daniel B. Lee of Loyola University Chicago, Dr. Paul K. H. Kim of University of Kentucky, Dr. Edward Suh of University of South Florida, and few others who were not identified.
The second presidency was taken up by Dr. Dong Soo Kim around 1990 for his two-year term. When Dr. Daniel B. Lee took the third presidency (1992-1996), the KASWEA became more established with the adoption of its by-laws, the publication of newsletters, and other scholarly exchange activities, the Association was more formally recognized by the CSWE as a standing Asian Caucus Group. The membership grew from less than ten to more than twenty. During his terms, the Association made intentional efforts aiming at: (1) the promotion of scholarly exchange between Korea and the U. S.; (2) the provision of mentorship for the ethnic Korean social work students in advanced degree programs; and (3) the collaboration with social work practitioners in addressing the needs of Korean immigrant communities.
The annual business meetings of the Association have been held at the CSWE APM. The succeeding presidents include: Dr. Phil Jay Cho, the 4th president (1997-1998), Dr. Daniel Lee, the 5th president (1999-2001), Dr. Young Song of California State University at Hayward, the 6th president (2001-2002), Dr. Ailee Moon of UCLA, the 7th president (2002-2005); Dr. Dong Pil Yoon of University of Missouri at Columbia, the 8th president (2005-2007), Dr. Kui-Hee Song of California State University at Chico, the 9th president (2007-2009), Dr. Sung Seek Moon of University of Texas at Arlington, the 10th president (2009-2011), and Dr. Kyoung Hag Lee of Wichita State University, the 11th and 12th president (2011-2015), Dr. Mingun Lee of Ohio University, the 13th president (2015-2017), Dr. Soonhee Roh of University of South Dakota, the 14th president (2017-2019), Dr. Intae Yoon of North Carolina State University, the 15th president (2019-2021), Dr. Philip Young P. Hong of the University of Georgia, the16th president (2021-2023), and Dr. Suk-hee Kim of Northern Kentucky University, the current 17th president (2023-Present).
There are now more than 80 Korean Social Work Educators and approximately 200 doctoral students of Korean ancestry in major Social Work Advanced Programs in the United State.
Current Leadership
Board of Directors
Dr. Suk-hee Kim, President (Elected, Term 2023 - 2025), Associate Professor, Northern Kentucky University
Dr. Insoo Chung, Vice President, Assistant Professor at Norfolk State University
Dr. Anderson Sungmin Yoon, Vice President, Associate Professor at Alliance University
Dr. Sukyung Yoon, Secretary, Assistant Professor at University of Wyoming
Dr. Eunhye Kim, Treasurer, Assistant Professor at Augusta University
Dr. Mingun Lee, Faculty Advisor, Associate Professor at Ohio University
Haein Son, Doctoral Student Representative, Ph.D. Student at CUNY
Awards Committee
Dr. Jungup Lee, Chair, Assistant Professor at National University of Singapore
Dr. Soonok An, Assistant Professor at North Carolina A&T State University
Dr. Ga-Young Choi, Professor at California State University, Los Angeles
Dr. Seunghye Hong, Associate Professor at University of Hawaii, Mānoa
Advisory Committee
Dr. Soonhee Roh, Chair, Professor at University of South Dakota
Dr. Kyoung Hag Lee, Professor at Wichita State University
Dr. Mingun Lee, Associate Professor at Ohio University
Dr. Intae Yoon, Associate Professor at North Carolina State University
Fundraising Committee
Dr. Youn Kyoung Kim, Chair, Assistant Professor at Louisiana State University
Dr. Jaegoo Lee, Associate Professor at Jackson State University
Dr. Heehyul Moon, Associate Professor at University of Louisville
Nonprofit Audit/Compliance Committee
Dr. Sung Ju Kim, Co-Chair, Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University
Dr. Sung Seek Moon, Professor at Baylor University
Dr. Intae Yoon, Associate Professor at North Carolina State University
CSWE Partnership Session Committee
Dr. Mingun Lee, Chair, Associate Professor at Ohio University
Dr. Kyunghee Lee, Associate Professor at Michigan State University
Dr. Youseung Kim, Associate Professor at Clark Atlanta University
Professional Development Committee
Dr. Yeon-Shim Lee, Chair, Professor at San Francisco Sate University
Dr. Youseung Kim, Associate Professor at Clark Atlanta University
Dr. Jung Sim Jun, Associate Professor at Kansas State University
Dr. Intae Yoon, Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University
SSWR Outreach Committee
Dr. Hyunkag Cho, Co-Chair, Associate Professor at Michigan State University
Dr. Yoon Jun Choi, Co-Chair, Professor at Georgia State University
Dr. Woojong Kim, Assistant Professor at University of Michigan at Flint
Dr. Jeoung Min Lee, Assistant Professor at Wichita State University
Dr. Jeongsuk Kim, Assistant Professor at University of South Florida
Research Sharing Committee
Dr. Sung-Ju Kim, Chair, Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University
Dr. Woojong Kim, Secretary, Assistant Professor at University of Michigan at Flint
Dr. Jeongsuk Kim, Assistant professor, University of South Florida
Dr. Yoon-Mi Kim, Associate professor, Kutztown University
Dr. Jeong Min Lee, Assistant professor, Wichita State University
Dr. Grace (Eunhae) Yi, Assistant professor, Indian State University
Dr. Sei-Young Lee, Assistant professor, University of Northern Iowa
Dr. Yeon-Jin Choi, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Southern California
Dr. Hyunkag Cho, Member, Associate Professor at Michigan State University
Dr. June-Yung Kim, Member, Assistant professor, University of North Dakota
Publication Committee
Dr. Suk-hee Kim, Chair, Associate Professor at Northern Kentucky University
Dr. Ji Seon Lee, Professor at Fordham University
Dr. Kwi-Ryung Yun, Professor at Nyack College
Public Relations Committee
Dr. Seongho An, Chair, Assistant Professor at University of Central Florida
Dr. Yi Jin Kim, Assistant Professor at University of Mississippi
Dr. Philip Hong , Dean at University of Georgia
Dr. Paul KH Kim Scholarship Committee
Dr. Insoo Chung, Chair, Assistant Professor at Norfolk State University
Doctoral Student Outreach Committee
Haein Son, Ph.D. Student at CUNY
