 Hesung Chun Koh (Ph.D. in Sociology and Anthropology, Boston University 1959; post doctoral work in Chinese Studies at Harvard and Georgetown Universities as NDEL Fellow) is the Chair of East Rock Institute. Dr. Koh has taught at Boston University (Sociology), Albertus Magnuse College (Gender Roles) Yale Law School (East Asian Law and Society) Yale University (Gender Roles and Korean Culture). She was also a Visiting Professor at the National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, Japan (1979-80, 1997-8) and at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Kyoto, Japan (1998-99) where she also directed international project of East Asian Law and Culture.
She is the author or editor of five books and numerous articles on various aspects of Korean culture, society and women, information system and comparative culture research. She designed and developed HRAF Cultural Information System (HACIS), HRAF Automated Bibliographic System (HABS) and best seller in Korean, Authentic Leadership in Multicultural Society. She is the founder and the Editor of the Korean and Korean American Studies Bulletin, a semi-annual journal (1984-2007). Dr. Koh has served, among others, the Committee on Korean Studies of the Association for Asian Studies (1948-50 as its First Chair), the National Academy of Science-National Research Council, UNESCO, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Together with her late husband, Dr. Kwang Lim Koh, she has established the Korea Institute in Cambridge, Mass. (1952), which today continues to operate under the name of East Rock Institute in New Haven, making it the oldest Korean cultural Institute in the United States. Behind the walls of this Institute, she continues to carry out research, publications and leadership training as well as facilitates educational and cultural programs.
Understanding the importance of volunteerism, she has also given a lifetime of personal support to church, ecumenical, educational and social services. She had five Asian Brush Painting exhibits, "East West Perspective", ¡°Cultural Values of East and West¡±, ¡°Seeking Unity in Diversity¡± in Kyoto, Japan, Seoul, Korea and New Haven, CT, USA.
As a mother of six grown children, and 11 grandchildren and wife of a scholar/diplomat, Dr. Koh successfully balances her scholarly and demanding family roles. She is the recipient of many awards including the Prime Minister's Award, Republic of Korea (1990), and Korean Broadcasting System Korean Over sea¡¯s Compatriot's Award. (2000), K100 (one hundred persons who contributed most by the US Korean American Centennial Committee award, (2004) Bich¡¯umi Award for Women (2006).
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