David Yoo Awarded Fulbright to Teach in Korea

David K. Yoo, an associate professor of history at CMC, has been named a Fulbright Scholar to teach American history at Korea University in Seoul during the spring 2007 semester.
It has yet to be determined which classes he will offer next spring, but he is fascinated by the idea of teaching U.S. history to non-U.S. students, at one of Korea's premier universities.
Several colleagues encouraged Yoo to apply for the Fulbright Scholars Program, one of the most prestigious international scholarly exchanges. The State Department's Council for International Exchange of Scholars selected Yoo for a Fulbright fellowship after a thorough review process.
"My hope is that CMC will benefit from my fellowship in several ways," he says. "It is a real honor to receive a Fulbright fellowship and to represent the United States abroad, and I would like to think that CMC shares in this honor with me."
Yoo's Fulbright fellowship complements CMC's strategic decision to place greater curricular emphasis on Asia and the Pacific Rim. This curricular emphasis is evident in the conferences, lectures, and publications of the Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies; the Luce Professor of East Asian History (Korea); and the Freeman Foundation grant that CMC shares with Pitzer College for promoting the study of Asian Political Economy. Yoo's voice will be added to the growing number of scholars at CMC whose experiences in Asian countries help strengthen CMC's ongoing commitment to integrate Asian elements into the curriculum.
"These kinds of programs offer a synergy that may bring scholars from Korea to CMC, as well as opportunities to link our own students and faculty to Korea by way of classes, travel opportunities, etc," Yoo says.
"Because of the global context in which we live, it is always beneficial for students, staff and faculty to have international experience," Yoo says. "Although I have never lived abroad before, I anticipate that I will learn much from the experience.
"And, as a professor of U.S. history," Yoo says, "I think that I will return to the States with a newfound perspective on our nation's past."