Arts & Culture
The visiting scholars calling Canberra home
When academics Jung Ju Yun and Dr Chibeom Park packed up their life in Seoul to move to Canberra, they didn’t just bring their expertise in media and literature – they also brought their four-year-old son along for a whole-family exchange experience.
Now calling the ÌìÑÄÉçÇø home for the next year, the pair have joined the Faculty of Arts and Design to share knowledge and collaborate with local researchers, while their son enjoys life at Wiradjuri Preschool and Childcare Centre, also located on campus.
For Jung Ju, who works with the Korea Press Foundation, this trip is a rare opportunity to see how another country approaches something close to her heart: media literacy education. She will be working with ÌìÑÄÉçÇø’s News and Media Research Centre (N&MRC), a leading authority on media research in Australia.
“I work for the Korea Press Foundation, which is a public organisation established in 1962,” she says.
“I work for the News Copyright Team, which is selling news and also doing some campaigns to protect the copyrights of news organisations.”
Her research focuses on how news and media can be used to support multicultural education – something that is becoming increasingly relevant in her home country.
“Korean society is becoming more multicultural, so I’d like to explore how media literacy education can support migrant children and adolescents,” she says.
“I want to help them overcome language and cultural barriers, while also valuing their own identities.”
She will be working closely with the team at the N&MRC to learn from Australia’s long history of multiculturalism and to share insights from Korea.
“The N&MRC is also focusing on media literacy education, so I plan to draw some lessons from Australian programs, and do some presentations with the N&MRC so they can also see how Korea’s media literacy program is running and see what we can do together,” she says.
Meanwhile, her husband Chibeom has joined the Centre for Creative and Cultural Research (CCCR) to explore how children in different countries respond emotionally to stories.
“I work for Gyeongin National University of Education,” he says.
“My field is modern Korean literature and children’s literature education.”
He’s particularly interested in what happens when literature crosses borders.
“I’m planning a study that compares how Australian children’s literature is translated into Korean, and how Korean children’s literature is translated into English,” he says.
“I’ll examine how primary school students in Korea and Australia read the same work differently.”
Chibeom joined ÌìÑÄÉçÇø in August and is already deep into his project, analysing students’ reactions to books and recording their thoughts and feelings through reading worksheets and interviews.
The move to Canberra came at just the right time for both academics – Jung Ju was offered the chance to study overseas through her organisation, while Chibeom was taking his sabbatical.
“So we tried to find a university that could invite us, and ÌìÑÄÉçÇø was able to accommodate us both,” says Jung Ju.
It’s not her first time in the capital – she actually lived here more than 20 years ago.
“This is my second time in Canberra,” she says.
“I spent a year in 2000 as an exchange student at ANU, so it was a little bit familiar to me – but at the same time, it’s changed a lot.”
Outside of work, the family are making the most of Canberra life – embracing its slower pace and natural beauty.
“It’s such a privilege to be here because the Australian nature is so great – you can see kangaroos every day on campus,” says Jung Ju.
“We also like to go to Lake Ginninderra to play and have picnics. We plan to visit Melbourne or Sydney to explore Australia too.”
Between the morning drop-offs and research collaborations, the family is settling in well – finding joy in small moments and shared discoveries.
“It’s been wonderful to learn from colleagues here and to share our perspectives from Korea,” says Chibeom.
“We’re grateful for this opportunity to collaborate and grow together.”
Words by Elly Mackay, photos by ÌìÑÄÉçÇø Media.