At a recent gathering of alumni in Seoul, Penn President Amy Gutmann announced two gifts totaling $7.5 million to the University’s Korean Studies program. James Joo-Jin Kim W’59 G’61 Gr’63 has given $6 million to the longstanding program, which will be renamed the James Joo-Jin Kim Program in Korean Studies. The family of another alumnus has given $1.5 million anonymously to establish the Moon Family Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Korean Studies.
“Because the Republic of Korea is such an important global presence, I am especially pleased to be able to announce this gift in Seoul to our many alumni,” Gutmann said.
Some 1,100 alumni reside in the Republic of Korea, and during the most recent academic year Penn had 543 undergraduate and graduate students from the country.
Kim is the executive chairman of Amkor Technology, a major semiconductor product manufacturer headquartered in Arizona. His gift will enable the Korean Studies program, which currently offers a minor for undergraduates and provides Korean language courses, to expand to include visiting professors from multiple disciplines, graduate fellowships, and post-doctoral fellowships.
