During the annual meeting of the American Association of Geographers (AAG 2025) in Detroit, MI, the Korea-America Association for Geospatial and Environmental Sciences (KAGES) hosted the Young Korean Geographers Forum on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
The Young Korean Geographers Forum (YKGF) has been an excellent opportunity for graduate student members and early-career scholars to convene and share their research in development to receive constructive feedback from established scholars as panelists.
For the YKGF, the KAGES organized two conference sessions, and utilized the prestigious international academic conference to bring existing and prospective members together – in the US and from Korea to discuss excellent research in its currency as well as plan further synergistic activities among the KAGES members and across KSEA scholars in various fields. The first session (YKGF 1) consisted of 3 presenters (graduate students or early-career scholars) and 3 panelists (established scholars). These presenters were selected through rigorous application process and evaluation by the KAGES board and scholarship committee while panelists were invited by the same entities of KAGES. Application required an abstract, brief summary of the current research or published work, and statement of scholarly contributions. Our panelists served in the YKGF have been a group of dedicated scholars and mentors to foster research community of KAGES members. Three presenters were Jiwon Jang (Arizona State University), Jason Yoo (Kent State University), and Kee Moon Jang (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Topics of the presentations included the community cohesion and its impacts on aging populations, water conservation, and Geospatial AI in urban planning and decision making. Mr. Jang and Mr. Yoo were also the recipients of 2025 KAGES Student Paper Award for their excellent research.
Session 2 also included 6 panelists, each pair from graduate students, early-career, and mid/ senior scholars, to provide another opportunity for current and new students and faculty members to share their ongoing research, receive constructive feedback from the panelists, and discuss career concerns. This mentoring session was provided and organized by the KAGES Board, and the membership committee accommodated much-needed conversations in career and research in geography, geospatial sciences, and relevant fields in the US academia. As scholars and faculty members with international backgrounds, this deeply engaging conversation provided insights for a successful faculty career and a healthy US faculty life. Thanks to the generous support from the KSEA to affiliated professional societies like ours and many others, Korean scientists and scholars including students in the US, both sessions were a great convening among the members and their active networking and potential research activities and collaborations, followed by friendly gathering of membership drive and further networking opportunity.
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