Department of Political Science

My name is Joongul Oh, and I'm from South Korea. My main field of interest is political philosophy, liberal and democratic theories in general, and matters of political obligation, civil disobedience, legitimate authority, and liberal virtues in particular. Having stayed in the United States for five years during my childhood and then the entirety of subsequent years in the Republic of South Korea, the experience of living in two societies that are both liberal democracies and yet so different left me contemplating on the 'proper' relationship between individuals, society, and the state. I originally majored in business administration for my bachelor's degree, but soon found company life in the private sector to be unsatisfying, and after much wandering and pondering (for longer than I would like to admit) got a master's degree in political science from Sungkyunkwan University, deciding to finally face my long-time interest head on. I am relatively late to the game, and probably lack proper knowledge on the field compared to others. I know I have a lot of catching up to do, so I will do my best to keep an open mind and learn attentively from faculty members and fellow students alike, and hopefully at some point I will be able to contribute to others in return.