Donated $7.5 million to further revitalize research and education on security issues related to the Korean Peninsula
WASHINGTON, Feb. 17, 2025 -- On February 17, 2025, Dr. Mong-joon(MJ) Chung, Honorary Chairman of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, visited the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C., to attend a donation ceremony establishing the "MJ Chung Distinguished Chair in Security Studies."
Dr. Chung, who received his Ph.D. in international relations from SAIS in 1993, donated $7.5 million to establish the MJ Chung Distinguished Chair in Security Studies. Korean attendees at the event included Dr. Chung, diplomats from the Korean Embassy in the United States, and Lee Su-yeon, Director of Korea Foundation USA. Representing Johns Hopkins University were Dean James Steinberg, Professor Hal Brands, and Professor Francis Gavin, along with faculty members and graduate students.
In his speech at the donation ceremony, Dr. Chung shared his views on Korean history, the ROK-U.S. alliance, South Korea's economic growth, North Korean issues, and security in Asia. He introduced the history of hardships of the Korean Peninsula, which experienced over 900 foreign invasions, including the Imjin War (1592), the Jeongyu War (1597), the Manchu Invasion (1627), and the Second Manchu Invasion (1636). He emphasized that the Korean people's determination to overcome these invasions laid the foundation for today's Korea and assessed that Admiral Yi Soonshin's Turtle Ship laid the groundwork for the development of Korea's modern shipbuilding industry.
The Korean War marked a turning point that transformed ROK-U.S. relations into a formal alliance. Based on this alliance, South Korea has grown from one of the world's poorest countries with a per capita income of $76, into a global economic power ranking among the world's top twenty economies with a per capita income of $36,000. Introducing his personal experiences, including his birth in Busan, the last bastion of South Korea during the Korean War in 1951, Dr. Chung stressed that while the United States has around 50 treaty allies worldwide, South Korea stands out as one of its great success stories.
Dr. Chung expressed his hope that the establishment of the "MJ Chung Distinguished Chair in Security Studies" will further revitalize research and education on security issues related to the Korean Peninsula, including the ROK-U.S. alliance, and global security challenges. He concluded his speech by stating: "The seeds of goodwill that the United States sowed on the frozen battlefields of Korea continue to bear good fruits."
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