PhD Candidate
Robarts Library, #14-222A
Campus
- Downtown Toronto (St. George)
Areas of Interest
- Modern Korean History and North Korea
- Global Cold War and Postcolonial East Asia
- Science and Technology, and Energy Infrastructure
Working Dissertation
Supervisors
Andre Schmid
Biography
Sung Soo Lee is a PhD student in modern Korean history. She received her M.A. in North Korean Studies from Ewha Womans University (2016) and B.A. in English Language and Literature from Yonsei University (2013). Her research focuses on the postcolonial socialist projects of electrical infrastructure in North Korea during the early Cold War, with allied interests in everyday life, material culture, women and gender, and urban space. Her work has been supported by the Connaught International Scholarship and Pony Chung Humanities Scholarship.
Awards
- 2024 Pony Chung Humanities Scholarship Pony Chung Foundation
- 2023 KCCNA Research Travel Grants Korean Collections Consortium of North America
- 2023 Northeast Asia Council Korean Studies Grants, Association for Asian Studies Association for Asian Studies
- 2021 Reverend Doctor James Scarth Gale Scholarship in East Asian Studies Department of East Asian Studies, University of Toronto
- 2020 CSK (Center for the Study of Korea) Research Travel Award Center for the Study of Korea, University of Toronto
- 2020 Dr. David Chu Scholarship in Asia Pacific Studies Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto
- 2017 Connaught International Scholarship (2017-2022) School of Graduate Studies, University of Toronto
Education
MA, North Korean Studies, Ewha Womans University
BA, English Language and Literature, Yonsei University
Presentations
“Towards Socialist Cultural Village!: Rural Electrification in Cold War North Korea” at New Perspectives in Energy History Conference, Environmental History at Yale, Yale University, USA, March 2, 2024.
“Conquering Nature with Electrical Infrastructure: Irrigation System in Cold War North Korea” at Graduate Student Research and Publication Workshop, GW Institute for Korean Studies, The George Washington University, USA, February 9-10, 2024.
“The Promise of Electrical Infrastructure: Sup’ung Hydroelectric Power Plant in Cold War North Korea” at Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference, Boston, USA, March 16-19, 2023.