Prof. Jong-Bok KIM, recipient of Fulbright Graduate Study Program (1991-1995) and Junior Visiting Scholar Program (2004-2005), received a PhD in Linguistics from Stanford University. Prof. Kim, as an internationally renowned linguist, won the Alexander von Humboldt Research Award in 2019 and now teaches in the Dept. of English Linguistics and Literature at Kyung Hee University, Seoul while serving as the university’s Provost for External Affairs.
Dr. Chang Soo Choe, a professor in the department of Local Government Studies at Cyber Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, traveled to Arizona State University to conduct research through the 2010 Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program. From there on, as a Fulbright alumnus Dr. Choe has contributed to the Fulbright Alumni Association in various roles including director of planning, vice president, acting president among others.
Nicholas Namba began his assignment as the Minister-Counselor for Public Diplomacy for the U.S. Mission to the Republic of Korea in July 2025. He is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and most recently served as Deputy Chief of Mission to the Slovak Republic. Mr. Namba has also served in Russia, Ethiopia, India, and Washington. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Mr. Namba worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Mr. Namba has an M.S. from the United States Army War College and a B.A. in International Affairs and Economics from the George Washington University. He speaks Slovak, Russian, Spanish, and Korean, and has studied Japanese. Mr. Namba, his wife Elizabeth, and their two teenage sons enjoy traveling, great food, and pickleball.
Robert Post began his assignment as the Public Affairs Counselor for the U.S. Mission to the Republic of Korea in October 2022. He has previously served as the Public Affairs Counselor at U.S. Embassies in Thailand, Senegal, Ethiopia, Croatia and Slovenia. His other postings included Washington, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine. Mr. Post received both a B.A. in Soviet Studies and M.A. in Russian language from Middlebury College in Vermont. He speaks Ukrainian, Russian, Croatian and French.
KFAA’s current president, Dr. Seong Ho Lim, is a professor of political science and diplomacy at Kyung Hee University in Seoul. During his time at Kyung Hee, Dr. Lim has performed a number of roles, serving as Dean of Academic Affairs and President of Kyung Hee Institute for Human Society. Dr. Lim has also held noteworthy leadership positions outside of the university, becoming Chief of the National Assembly Research Service, a committee member of the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission, President of the Korean Association of Area Studies, and President of the Korean Association of Party Studies. A two-time Fulbright award recipient, Dr. Lim received his Ph.D. in political science through a Fulbright grant to MIT in the early 1990s. He then went on to become a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Yale University and Simmons College during the 2003-2004 academic year. In addition to serving as KFAA President, Dr. Lim further supports the Fulbright Program in Korea as a Fulbright commission member of KAEC.
Christopher Del Corso is a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor. He assumed his current position as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim at U.S. Embassy Seoul on July 16, 2021. Prior to this posting, Mr. Del Corso served in Washington, DC as the Executive Director for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, and before that was the Minister Counselor for Management Affairs and acting Deputy Chief of Mission at U.S. Embassy Seoul.
