Researcher Bio
Suhong Chae is an anthropologist who has specialized in the cultural politics of Southeast Asia for over 20 years. He has published and presented papers extensively on cultural changes and political processes caused by changes in industry, labor, and cities in Vietnam, as examined through anthropological field research. His work is well-known in regional studies and Southeast Asian anthropology, especially in relation to topics such as the development of reform and opening policy, political and economic integration of the ASEAN region, and the politics of identity according to race, class, and gender caused by rapid and substantial incorporation into global capitalism of Southeast Asian countries (led by Vietnam). His solid research network has facilitated in-depth research on the regional identity of individual Asian residents, a topic that is a key component of the Mega-Asia project’s research agenda.
Other Experience
As the director of the BK Project of the Department of Anthropology at Seoul National University, the research director of the Emerging Area Research Project funded by the KRF, and the director of the Southeast Asian Center of SNUAC, he is playing an active role in organizing and conducting joint research and seminars with world-class scholars. He is also a member of ‘NEAT (Network of East Asian Think-Tank)’, where representative intellectuals from Korea, China, Japan, and ASEAN have gathered annualy, over the past 20 years, to examine current issues in East Asia and to seek insights for the future.