Despite the recent increase in gradual democratic erosion and decrease in democratic breakdown by military coup, control over the military remains crucial both for aspiring autocrats and for those defending democracy against them. Acknowledging this point, I study the role of the military in politics, with a focus on how personal, organizational, and political factors shape military decisions and behavior and how those dynamics can affect military effectiveness and democratic stability. I broadly teach and comment on Korean politics & security as well.

My works integrate theory development based on extensive fieldwork and in-depth interviews with a variety of rigorous quantitative methods, such as causal inference, surveys and survey experiments, behavioral tasks, field experiments, and automated text analysis (including the use of large language models).

My works have been recognized by scholarly awards, such as Alexander George Award (Foreign Policy Analysis Section, ISA) and Conflict Processes Best Paper Award (Conflict Processes Section, APSA).

To fulfill the military service duty as a South Korean male citizen while working on my dissertation project, I am serving as a lecturer of military history (first lieutenant) at Korea Army Academy from June 2024 to May 2027.

I am a Ph.D. candidate in political science at the University of California, San Diego, where I am a recipient of Marsha Chandler Fellowship. I hold M.A. in political science from Columbia University and B.A., highest honors, in political science and philosophy from Yonsei University (first in class, College of Social Sciences), where I received National Humanities & Social Sciences Scholarship (in Korean, “인문100년장학금”).