Hong Yung Lee Book Award in Korean Studies
The Center for Korean Studies (CKS) at UC Berkeley is pleased to announce the establishment of the Hong Yung Lee Book Award in Korean Studies. Inaugurated in 2022 to honor the late Professor Hong Yung Lee, the Award acknowledges books (and authors) that make significant contributions to the field of Korean Studies. The competition is flexible in regards to academic discipline, and encompasses not only the conventional areas of Korean Studies (i.e., humanities, arts and media, and social sciences) but also Korean Studies texts that engage the Korean diaspora and/or comparative approaches. $10,000 will be awarded each year to the author(s) whose nonfiction English-language academic monograph demonstrates outstanding scholarly merit, research prowess, and methodological innovation. This book award was launched with the generous support of Whakyung Choi Lee.
Submission Deadlines and Details
2026 Competition Deadline: January 15, 2026
Eligibility: Korean Studies Books published in 2024 and 2025
Who Can Submit: Publishers or Authors
How to Submit: Send a digital version of the book (if available) by email to stevenlee@berkeley.edu(link sends e-mail) and/or a physical copy to the following address for consideration:
Hong Yung Lee Book Award in Korean Studies
c/o Steven Lee
Center for Korean Studies
Banway Building
2111 Bancroft Way, Suite 549L
Berkeley, CA 94720
Digital submissions are preferred. If submitting only a physical copy, please send an accompanying email to cks@berkeley.edu(link sends e-mail) with the name of the author and title of the book.
Books submitted for the prior year competition that did not win and whose publication dates fall within the specified range of eligibility will be automatically reconsidered.
Review Process: All submissions will undergo a preliminary review by the Koreanist faculty at UC Berkeley. Subsequently, the Center for Korean Studies will form an independent external review committee composed of representatives from the field of Korean Studies outside UC Berkeley to review and assess the finalists’ books and select the winner.
The result will be announced in the fall of 2026, followed by an award ceremony in the spring of 2027 featuring a special lecture by the awardee(s) and an invited scholar respondent’s presentation at the Center for Korean Studies at UC Berkeley.
Inquiries may be directed to: stevenlee@berkeley.edu
