Hea-Jin ​Park

Historian + Storyteller

Digital content creator

I’m Hea-Jin Park, a South Korean-born, Paraguay-bred ​Australian historian based in Canberra.

Before becoming a historian, I worked as a medical doctor.

My journey into history was driven by an insatiable need to understand who I am. ​After many agonising months, I made up my mind and switched from medical ​science to humanities. And I haven’t looked back since.

My doctoral research explored the history of South Korean government-sponsored agricultural migration to South America. ​This work included my family’s experience in remote Paraguay. Who would have thought that my exceptional childhood in the ​Paraguayan jungle would eventually lead to a PhD degree but that’s exactly what’s happened.

While still negotiating with myself about turning the PhD dissertation into a publication, a topic I always found fascinating —​the story of many Australians in South Korea— grabbed my attention.

Currently, I am researching the history of the bilateral relationships between Australia and South Korea at the people-to-​people level. I often use digital storytelling platforms to share my knowledge and expertise with the public.

You can find some of my works here. The list will grow so please keep an eye out.

I'm an independent historian but I also do interesting collaborative research with the wonderful people at the Korea Research ​Centre of Western Australia.

I'm available for consultation on the bilateral history of Australia and South Korea, and South Korea in Latin America. If you ​have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Lost and Found (2024)

Samsin and Doban (2023)

Mick and Monty I (2022)

Samsin halmeoni from Down Under (2021)

The Mackenzies, and Dr Barbara Martin (2020)

• Public Film Screening - Jerónimo: The Untold Tale of Koreans in Cuba.
• Australia-Korea relations and prospects for peace in the Indo-Pacific 70 years after the Korean War. Curtin University and the Perth Korean War Memorial Committee.
• Ilsin Women’s Hospital. The Korean Oral Historiography Project. Monash University Korean Studies Research Hub.
  
• The story of three Australian Samsin halmeoni and their doban. Monash University.
  
• The story of three Australian Samsin halmeoni and their doban. ANU College of Asia and Pacific.
  
• Faces of Migration, Migration Stories. Australian National Maritime Museum.
  
• Abordajes metodológicos para los estudios coreanos desde una perspectiva interdisciplinaria. Asociación Argentina de Estudios Coreanos and La Embajada de la República de Corea.
• National Migration Monument Unveiling Ceremony. Australian National Maritime Museum.
  

Hea-Jin Park

©2024 by Hea-Jin Park. All Rights Reserved.