Riverside Historic Courthouse Visit

Left: Korea Law Center Visiting Scholars and Research Fellows with Judge Sophia Choi in her chambers at the Riverside Historic Courthouse.

Right: Korea Law Center Research Fellow Serapia Kim, Korea Law Center Scholar Anna Nahm, Judge Sophia Choi, and Korea Law Center Research Fellows Gloria Yang and Laurance Kim.

On Friday, November 21, members of the Korea Law Center community, including Visiting Scholars and Research Fellows, had the special opportunity to visit the chambers of Judge Sophia Choi at the Riverside Historic Courthouse. During the visit, Judge Choi provided an overview of the United States courtroom structure and shared her personal path to the bench.

The visit offered participants a meaningful opportunity to deepen their understanding of the American judicial system and to engage directly with a distinguished member of the judiciary. The Korea Law Center thanks Judge Choi for welcoming our group and sharing her time and insights.

Research Fellow Alumni Spotlight: Edward B. Joo

Edward B. Joo graduated from UC Irvine Law in 2024 and is a foreign attorney/associate at Kim & Chang, where he is involved in environmental, energy (projects) and other cross-border transactions/litigations. Prior to joining Kim & Chang, Edward was a projects associate in the Los Angeles office of Norton Rose Fulbright (US) LLP.

Edward joined the Korea Law Center as a Research Fellow in 2022. While he valued the diverse opportunities offered by the Korea Law Center, his most memorable activity was hosting the Forum on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Considerations in South Korea during the Fall 2022 semester. The forum assembled key U.S. and Korean attorneys, scholars, and practitioners who presented their experiences, perspectives, and research on the most pressing ESG issues. This event was particularly significant for Edward as its focus aligned with his dual interest in ESG matters in both South Korea and the U.S. He encourages other Research Fellows to actively engage with the Korea Law Center's opportunities, believing they can similarly gain invaluable professional and academic experience.

Delegation Visit from Ajou University

Left: Director of Global Programs Maryam Zomorodian, Assistant Dean Khary Hornsby, Dean Austen Parrish, Ajou University Law Dean Byungchun So, Vice Dean Sang-gyu Han, and Korea Law Center Faculty Director Professor Sung Eun (“Summer”) Kim.

Right: Assistant Dean Khary Hornsby, Dean Austen Parrish, Ajou University Law Dean Byungchun So, Vice Dean Sang-gyu Han, and UC Irvine Law LL.M. students Jinhyo Kim and Mi Young Sim at the OCKABA Installation Dinner.

On October 30, UC Irvine School of Law had the pleasure of welcoming Dean Byungchun So and Vice Dean Sang-gyu Han from Ajou University’s Law School in Suwon, South Korea. During their visit, the delegation met with several members of the UCI Law community, including Dean and Chancellor’s Professor of Law Austen Parrish; Assistant Dean Khary Hornsby; Director of Global Programs Maryam Zomorodian; and Korea Law Center Faculty Director and Professor of Law Sung Eun (“Summer”) Kim.

The visit offered an opportunity to strengthen academic collaboration and continue the relationship first established when Dean Parrish and Assistant Dean Hornsby visited Ajou University in spring 2024. The delegation also met with visiting scholars and Ajou alumni currently at UCI Law, including LLM students Jinhyo Kim and Mi Young Sim.

Their visit concluded at the 20th Annual Orange County Korean American Bar Association (OCKABA) Installation Dinner, where the group joined members of the local legal community to celebrate the organization’s milestone event.

Visiting Scholars Co-Working Session

On October 31, 2025, the Korea Law Center hosted its second co-working session of the semester for UC Irvine Law Visiting Scholars. The session was led by Korea Law Center Faculty Director Professor Sung Eun (“Summer”) Kim and Research Fellow Annie Hong, with Visiting Scholar Professor JungYun Han from National Taiwan University participating.

These sessions offer scholars a dedicated space to focus on their research and meet other visiting scholars in a collaborative and supportive working environment.

We thank those who were able to join us and look forward to continuing to support our Visiting Scholars through future co-working sessions.

UC Irvine Law Visiting Scholars, Professor JungYun Han from Taiwan National University, Korea Law Center Faculty Director Professor Sung Eun ("Summer") Kim, and Research Fellow Annie Hong.

We would love to connect with you! If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to the Korea Law Center at klc@law.uci.edu.

The Korea Law Center is supported by charitable gifts and contributions, if you would like to donate to the center you can do so here: Give to UCI.