IRVINE, Calif. (May 14, 2024) — A delegation from the University of California, Irvine School of Law recently visited South Korea to further enhance ties with the Korean legal community. The delegation was led by Howard Gillman, UC Irvine Chancellor and Professor of Law, Political Science, History and Criminology, Law & Society, and Austen Parrish, UC Irvine School of Law Dean and Chancellor’s Professor of Law. The delegation also included Assistant Dean, Chief Global and Executive Programs Officer Khary Hornsby. During the trip, the delegation met with Law School partners, alumni, former visiting scholars, admitted students, and friends of UC Irvine.
“What an incredibly warm welcome we received,” said Dean Parrish of the meetings in South Korea. “This is our second trip within the last twelve months, and while our visit was too short, it was fabulous to be back in Seoul,” Parrish added. “Some of the top lawyers, professors, and rising stars in the Korean legal community have spent time at UC Irvine School of Law as visiting scholars, have earned advanced degrees, or participated in our summer program or other Korea Law Center events. It was tremendous to reconnect with friends and continue to deepen our strong partnerships and collaborations.”
The delegation visited several universities and law schools in South Korea, including Seoul National University, Sungkyunkwan University, Ajou University, and Yonsei University. The delegation also visited Korea University, which followed up on UC Irvine School of Law’s collaborations with Dean Hwang Lee from earlier this year, including a new scholarship program that will support Korea University students seeking to earn an LL.M. Degree at UC Irvine Law. Seoul National University also hosted the delegation for a special alumni dinner hosted by JS Kim, chairman of Samick Musical Instruments and university board member. The evening included special musical performances and involved the presentation of a $1 million gift to the Chancellor to support further collaboration between the two universities. Dean Parrish noted how UCI Law and the Korea Law Center would be hosting students from Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Public Administration this coming summer, for the second year of that innovative program.
In addition to visiting law schools and universities, the delegation met with friends of UC Irvine, and attended a dinner hosted by Younghee Sohn, chairperson of Art Busan, Korea’s largest art fair. Welcoming the delegation was her son, UC Irvine alumnus Seokho Brian Jeong ’14 (Political Science), who serves as Art Busan’s managing director.
While in Seoul, UC Irvine held a special gathering for South Korea alumni and the Law School invited former Korea Law Center visiting scholars to join too. The event featured a campus update by Chancellor Gillman highlighting the school’s growing partnership with South Korea as well as a panel discussion about the transformative influence of AI and emerging technologies. Panelists included UC Irvine School of Law Dean Austen Parrish, Dean of School of Humanities Tyrus Miller and Director of the Center for Critical Korean Studies Joseph Jeon. UC Irvine School of Law hosted two tables at the special gathering.
In addition to hosting the Alumni and Visiting Scholar Reception, the UC Irvine delegation signed memorandums of understanding with Seoul National University and Sungkyunkwan University, discussed law school collaborations, and had many conversations about visiting scholars, J.D. student exchanges, and supporting LL.M. students. Dean Parrish entered into a new collaboration with Dean Byung Chun So of Ajou University School of Law to support Ajou University alumni interested in studying at UC Irvine. Dean Parrish and Dean Hornsby also had the opportunity to connect with UC Irvine School of Law alumni and admitted students.
“We have a terrific entering class of new LL.M. students in our Global Program,” said Assistant Dean Hornsby. “We had a great evening meeting with the talented lawyers who will be joining us this August, and connecting them with some of our most dedicated alums.”
Several of UC Irvine School of Law’s LL.M. students are from Korea each year, comprising the largest representation in the Law School’s last four classes, and the most alumni for the LL.M. program.
The trip was a tremendous success in strengthening ties between UC Irvine School of Law and the Korean legal community. The UC Irvine School of Law delegation showcased the Law School’s unique strengths — including the commitment to international education, strong faculty (including three faculty of Korean/Korean American descent), and accolades including being ranked the No. 1 law school for Asian students by preLaw Magazine.
The delegation also highlighted the Korea Law Center, one of the first academic centers established at UC Irvine School of Law and one of only three Korea Law Centers in the United States. The delegation is confident that the trip will lead to further collaboration between UC Irvine School of Law and Korean law schools and universities. Additionally, the trip helped to identify opportunities for collaboration and sparked discussion of several potential projects with Korean partners.
In addition to the trip to Korea, Dean Hornsby visited Vietnam where he met with multiple top law schools and universities in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He met with leaders at the law firm Tilleke & Gibbons International Ltd. to solidify plans for them to host a first-year summer intern from UCI Law. Additionally, Dean Hornsby visited with University of Economics and Law (Law Faculty), University of Economics and Law (Economic Law Faculty), Ho Chi Minh City Law University and Ton Duc Thang University Faculty of Law.
About the Korea Law Center at the University of California, Irvine School of Law
The Korea Law Center is one of only three Korea Law Centers in the United States and is one of the first academic centers created at UC Irvine School of Law. The mission of the Korea Law Center is to study and promote solutions to issues arising at the intersection of U.S. and Korean Law. The Korea Law Center was established in 2009 to serve as a platform for exchange, collaboration, and the sharing of knowledge between students, legal scholars, judges, lawyers, and policymakers from South Korea and the United States. The Korea Law Center is directed by Professor Sung Eun (Summer) Kim. The Center hosts 15-20 visiting scholars from Korea each semester, 1-2 visiting faculty from Korea each year, and 2-3 Research Fellows (Korean and Korean American). The Korea Law Center has strong community connections with the Korean American Bar Association of Southern California and the Korean Consulate of Los Angeles.
The Center engages in significant programming throughout the year, including a bi-annual Visiting Scholar Roundtable, Distinguished Public Lecture and Speaker Series, Conferences (this year the Trans-Pacific Business Law Dialogue with SNU and the Shuttle Symposium between UCI and Korea University), the Public Interest Law Forum, Career Panels and an upcoming summer program.
About the University of California, Irvine’s Strong Ties to Korea
Nearly five percent of UC Irvine’s international students have been from Korea. UC Irvine has welcomed nearly 200 Korean visiting scholars each year for the past five years. The UCI Foundation has three Korean American trustees including Carol and Eugene Choi, United Exchange Corporation, and Yang-Uk Kim, The Kim Yang Group. UC Irvine has more than 10,000 alumni of Korean ethnicity or citizenship. In 2015, the UCI Alumni Association launched a Seoul chapter, which has more than 250 members. The Korean American chapter in Orange County/Los Angeles has nearly 200 members. Between 2017 and 2022, UC Irvine faculty engaged in international research collaborations with nearly 300 Korean institutions and contributed to the publication of more than 20,000 research papers. UC Irvine has more agreements with Korean universities than with any other single country. Additionally, UC Irvine has academic centers focused on Korea, including the Center for Critical Korean Studies, funded by the Academy of Korean Studies and Ministry of Foreign Affairs in South Korea. The University offers curricular programs in Korean Studies, Korean Language Program and Korean Literature and Culture.