Members of the ECP Lab (2026)
[student-led ECP Lab website also available here]
Postdoctoral researchers
Nicki Gerstner: is a postdoctoral researcher in the Education, Conflict and Peace Lab at Seoul National University, and an Assistant Professor in the English Department at Seoul Cyber University. Her research interests include global citizenship education for sustainable development, cosmopolitanism, partnerships toward peacebuilding, and decolonial practices for transformative education and pedagogies. She received her Master's of Education in Global Studies in Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
PhD Students (listed in alphabetical order)
Mary Abura: is Research Assistant in the Education, Conflict and Peace Lab at Seoul National University. Her research interests lie in the sociology of education; decolonising higher education; prefigurative politics; and global citizenship education. She is a holder of a Master’s of International Studies from Ewha Womans University. She is currently a PhD student at Seoul National University.
Young Jae Chang: is a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Program: Global Education Cooperation in the College of Education and a member of the Education, Conflict and Peace Lab at Seoul National University. Her research interests include global citizenship education, transformative learning, and peace studies. She received her Master's degree in School Counseling from the Lynch School of Education at Boston College.
Kexin Dong: is a PhD student (Combined Master’s & Doctoral) in the Interdisciplinary Program: Global Education Cooperation in the College of Education. Her research interests include national education policy affects on private school and public school: comparative East/West perspectives on education; school integration (race-based segregation) and educational inequality; and global teacher education. She received her bachelor’s degree from the Division of International Studies at Korea University.
Sunmi Ji: is a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Program: Global Education Cooperation in the College of Education at Seoul National University. Her research interests include peace education and global citizenship education, with a focus on the intersection of education and global governance and how international agendas are implemented in diverse contexts. She holds an MA in Political Science from Korea University.
Christine H. Joo: is a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Program: Global Education Cooperation in the College of Education at Seoul National University. Her research interests lie at the intersection of education, technology, and policy. She is interested in developing and testing interventions that leverage technology to improve student learning and skills development. Prior to joining the GEC, she worked on various international cooperation projects aimed to increase access to quality education at the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. She received a Master of Education in Education Policy and Management at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Euna Lim: is a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Program: Global Education Cooperation in the College of Education at Seoul National University. She possesses a wealth of experience from the NGO sector, including contributions to Habitat for Humanity Singapore. She has also gained valuable experience through her internship with KOICA’s WFK Volunteering Project and by successfully participating in the Young Professional program with the Korean National Commission for UNESCO. Her research interests include teacher training programs in multicultural education and global citizenship education. She is deeply passionate about driving meaningful change through transformative education.
Cheryl Woelk: is a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Program: Global Education Cooperation in the College of Education at Seoul National University. She is co-founder of Collective Joy Consulting, offering intercultural communication and conflict resolution training to individuals and organizations in Northeast Asia. Her areas of interest in research and practice are integrating language and peace education, which she engages through training for language teachers, consulting for peace education training institutes and applying principles of nonviolent communication while coaching professionals in intercultural communication and conflict resolution. She grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada and received an MA in Education and a Graduate Certificate in Conflict Transformation from Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia, USA.
MA Students
Ranhee Kwon: is an MA student in the Interdisciplinary Program: Global Education Cooperation at the College of Education, Seoul National University, and a public secondary school teacher responsible for teaching Technology. Her experiences in four overseas educational volunteer programs (Indonesia, Mongolia, Canada, and Rwanda) during her undergraduate studies led her to join ECP Lab. Her research interests include peace education, educational inequalities, technology & ICT education as part of general education.
BA Students
Hyerin Cho: is an undergraduate student in the Department of Education at Seoul National University and a member of the Education, Conflict, and Peace Lab. Her academic interests include educational psychology and curriculum studies. She is particularly interested in how students think and learn, and how curriculum design can support meaningful learning experiences.
Dohwee Kim: is an undergraduate student in the Department of Education at Seoul National University and a member of the Education, Conflict, and Peace Lab. Her current academic interests lie in lifelong education and global citizenship education. She is especially interested in the links between personal and social transformation through lifelong learning. She is also passionate about promoting global citizenship through education on a worldwide scale.
Graduates of the ECP Lab
1. Rira Seo (PhD, 2026)
2. Sinhye Kim (MA, 2026)
3. Dahyun Kim (MA, 2026)
4. Hee Kyung Park (MA, 2026)
5. Hyuna Jo (MA, 2026)
6. Nicki Gerstner (PhD, 2025)
7. Kiwoong Park (MA, 2024)
8. Yoosun Na (MA, 2024)
9. Isla Shin (MA, 2024)
10. Nakyeom Heo (MA, 2023)
11. Inae Shin (MA, 2023)
12. Euna Lim (MA, 2022)
13. Ana Catalina Velasco (MA, 2021)
[student-led ECP Lab website also available here]
Postdoctoral researchers
Nicki Gerstner: is a postdoctoral researcher in the Education, Conflict and Peace Lab at Seoul National University, and an Assistant Professor in the English Department at Seoul Cyber University. Her research interests include global citizenship education for sustainable development, cosmopolitanism, partnerships toward peacebuilding, and decolonial practices for transformative education and pedagogies. She received her Master's of Education in Global Studies in Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
PhD Students (listed in alphabetical order)
Mary Abura: is Research Assistant in the Education, Conflict and Peace Lab at Seoul National University. Her research interests lie in the sociology of education; decolonising higher education; prefigurative politics; and global citizenship education. She is a holder of a Master’s of International Studies from Ewha Womans University. She is currently a PhD student at Seoul National University.
Young Jae Chang: is a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Program: Global Education Cooperation in the College of Education and a member of the Education, Conflict and Peace Lab at Seoul National University. Her research interests include global citizenship education, transformative learning, and peace studies. She received her Master's degree in School Counseling from the Lynch School of Education at Boston College.
Kexin Dong: is a PhD student (Combined Master’s & Doctoral) in the Interdisciplinary Program: Global Education Cooperation in the College of Education. Her research interests include national education policy affects on private school and public school: comparative East/West perspectives on education; school integration (race-based segregation) and educational inequality; and global teacher education. She received her bachelor’s degree from the Division of International Studies at Korea University.
Sunmi Ji: is a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Program: Global Education Cooperation in the College of Education at Seoul National University. Her research interests include peace education and global citizenship education, with a focus on the intersection of education and global governance and how international agendas are implemented in diverse contexts. She holds an MA in Political Science from Korea University.
Christine H. Joo: is a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Program: Global Education Cooperation in the College of Education at Seoul National University. Her research interests lie at the intersection of education, technology, and policy. She is interested in developing and testing interventions that leverage technology to improve student learning and skills development. Prior to joining the GEC, she worked on various international cooperation projects aimed to increase access to quality education at the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. She received a Master of Education in Education Policy and Management at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Euna Lim: is a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Program: Global Education Cooperation in the College of Education at Seoul National University. She possesses a wealth of experience from the NGO sector, including contributions to Habitat for Humanity Singapore. She has also gained valuable experience through her internship with KOICA’s WFK Volunteering Project and by successfully participating in the Young Professional program with the Korean National Commission for UNESCO. Her research interests include teacher training programs in multicultural education and global citizenship education. She is deeply passionate about driving meaningful change through transformative education.
Cheryl Woelk: is a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Program: Global Education Cooperation in the College of Education at Seoul National University. She is co-founder of Collective Joy Consulting, offering intercultural communication and conflict resolution training to individuals and organizations in Northeast Asia. Her areas of interest in research and practice are integrating language and peace education, which she engages through training for language teachers, consulting for peace education training institutes and applying principles of nonviolent communication while coaching professionals in intercultural communication and conflict resolution. She grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada and received an MA in Education and a Graduate Certificate in Conflict Transformation from Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia, USA.
MA Students
Ranhee Kwon: is an MA student in the Interdisciplinary Program: Global Education Cooperation at the College of Education, Seoul National University, and a public secondary school teacher responsible for teaching Technology. Her experiences in four overseas educational volunteer programs (Indonesia, Mongolia, Canada, and Rwanda) during her undergraduate studies led her to join ECP Lab. Her research interests include peace education, educational inequalities, technology & ICT education as part of general education.
BA Students
Hyerin Cho: is an undergraduate student in the Department of Education at Seoul National University and a member of the Education, Conflict, and Peace Lab. Her academic interests include educational psychology and curriculum studies. She is particularly interested in how students think and learn, and how curriculum design can support meaningful learning experiences.
Dohwee Kim: is an undergraduate student in the Department of Education at Seoul National University and a member of the Education, Conflict, and Peace Lab. Her current academic interests lie in lifelong education and global citizenship education. She is especially interested in the links between personal and social transformation through lifelong learning. She is also passionate about promoting global citizenship through education on a worldwide scale.
Graduates of the ECP Lab
1. Rira Seo (PhD, 2026)
2. Sinhye Kim (MA, 2026)
3. Dahyun Kim (MA, 2026)
4. Hee Kyung Park (MA, 2026)
5. Hyuna Jo (MA, 2026)
6. Nicki Gerstner (PhD, 2025)
7. Kiwoong Park (MA, 2024)
8. Yoosun Na (MA, 2024)
9. Isla Shin (MA, 2024)
10. Nakyeom Heo (MA, 2023)
11. Inae Shin (MA, 2023)
12. Euna Lim (MA, 2022)
13. Ana Catalina Velasco (MA, 2021)