Sung Jin Park

Research & Teaching Fellow - Master of Arts

Research Interests

  • Memory politics
  • Intrastate conflicts
  • Post-conflict transitional justice 
  • Child soldiers

Dissertation Project: Politics of Memory in Post-conflict Societies

Curriculum Vitae

  • 10/2022 - present:
    • 04/2026 - present: Research and teaching fellow at the Chair of International Relations, Institute for Political Science, Friedrich-Schiller University Jena
    • Doctoral candidate at the Institute for Political Science / Chair of International Relations
  • 05/2020 - 02/2022:  Research Assistant at the Department of Political Science & International Relations - Korea University
  • 03/2020 – 08/2022: Postgraduate Degree (MA) in International Relations at Korea University (South Korea)
  • 03/2013 – 02/2020: Undergraduate Degree (BA) in Japanese Area Studies & Northeast Asian Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (South Korea)

Conferences/Workshops

  • 03/2026: Western Balkan Peace Forum – Podgorica, Montenegro – Session Moderator
  • 02/2026: Global Archiving and Museology Conference – Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • 8/2025: ECPR General Conference 2025 - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece - Paper Presenter
  • 8/2025: EISA 18th Pan-European Conference on International Relations - University of Bologna, Italy - Paper Presenter
  • 4/2025: Early Career Workshop of the Chair of International Relations - Volkenroda, Germany - Paper Presenter
  • 9/2024: Early Career Workshop of the Chair of International Relations, FSU Jena
    Presentation: Crisis within Patron-Client Relationship: Exploring US-Korean bilateral crisis events
  • 8/2024: The 17th EISA Pan-European Conference on International Relations, Lille, France
    Presentation: Politics of Memory in Post-conflict Societies
  • 7/2024: The 5th Annual IARS World Conference on Reconciliation, Assisi, Italy
    Presentation: Politics of Memory in Post-conflict Societies
  • 3/2024: Early Career Workshop of the Chair of International Relations - Volkenroda, Germany - Organizer
    Presentation: The Social Reintegration of Child Soldiers: Questioning the Passive Victim Image
  • 9/2023: Early Career Workshop of the Chair of International Relations, FSU Jena
    Presentation: Politics of Memory in Post-conflict Societies
  • 8/2023: The 4th Annual IARS World Conference on Reconciliation, Kibuye, Rwanda 
    Presentation: The 'Victim Image' and its Impact on Child Soldier Reintegration: Evidence from Sierra Leone Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration Campaign
  • 3/2023: Early Career Workshop of the Chair of International Relations, FSU Jena
    Presentation: The 'Victim Image' and the Child Soldier Reintegration: Evidence from Sierra Leone Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration Campaign
  • 10/2022: Early Career Workshop of the Chair of International Relations - FSU Jena 

Publications

  • Park, Sung Jin. (2022). How do international campaigns for child soldiers affect their social reintegration? (MA thesis). Graduate School, Korea University

Teaching Experience:

  • Summer Term 2026: Post-conflict Transitional Justice and Politics of Memory (MA Seminar)
  • January 2025: Guest Lecture "Crisis within Patron-Client Relation: Exploring US-Korean bilateral crisis events" at MA Seminar 'International Crises and their Management' by Prof. Dr. Rafael Biermann - FSU Jena 
  • December 2024: Guest Lecture "Post-conflict Memory Building: Theory, Practice, and Implications for Nepal" at the Department of Peace, Conflict, and Development, Tribhuvan University, Nepal 
  • IOCM Summer School 2024: “Politics of Memory and Reconciliation in Post-conflict Societies”
    • Lecture “What is Politics of Memory?”
    • Lecture “Rwanda: Conflict, Genocide, and Post-conflict Political & Economic Development”
    • Lecture “What is Collective Memory and Why is it Important?”
  • 12 June 2024: Public Lecture “The Vicious Cycle of Memory and Security: The Inter-state Politics of Memory between South Korea and Japan and its Impact on East-Asian Security” at Hochschulgruppe für Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik, Friedrich-Schiller Universität Jena
  • Summer Term 2024: International Human Rights and Armed Conflict (Advanced BA Seminar)
  • 29 June 2023: Guest talk “The 'Victimhood' Dilemma of Child Soldiers: Conflicting Legal Norms, Interests, and Powers” ​​at MA Seminar 'Between power and morality – debating the ethics of peace and conflict' by Prof. Dr. Rafael Biermann - FSU Jena
  • 17 May 2023: Guest talk “Explaining Korean Success: Overcoming Postwar Poverty through Inclusive Political and Economic Institutions” at MA Seminar 'Competitive regionalism and order contestation in Eastern Europe and Eurasia' by Dr. Bidzina Lebanidze - FSU Jena

Awards/Grants

  • 10/2022 – 09/2026 Kwanjeong Educational Foundation (KEF) Overseas Doctoral Scholarship (South Korea)  
  • 01/2026 – 03/2026 DAAD Research Stipend for Doctoral Candidates (Forschungsstipendien für Doktorandinnen und Doktoranden)
  • 08/2024 IMPULSE Conference Mobility Grant 

Further Qualifications

  • Languages: Korean, Japanese, English
  • Academic Advisor to Nepal Forum for Restorative Justice