Beyond the university

Life

The questions that shape my scholarship often begin in ordinary places, with teaching, family reading, community life, and the books my children and I return to together.

Beyond Research

Everyday Learning

Museums, libraries, playgrounds, neighborhood events, and family trips are places where I learn alongside my children.

Community Belonging

I value public spaces where multilingual children and families can be recognized, heard, and able to participate.

Family Literacies at Home

At home, books help us move across languages, histories, communities, and imagined worlds.

As a father of two Korean American children, I read with my sons across a shelf that includes culturally diverse picture books, wordless stories, graphic novels, humorous series, and histories beyond our own. Reading often continues through conversation, drawing, and family journaling in Korean and English.

Stories we read together
Cover of Where's Halmoni? by Julie KimWhere’s Halmoni?Korean American folklore Cover of Where's Joon? by Julie KimWhere’s Joon?Family, language, belonging Cover of Last Stop on Market StreetLast Stop on Market StreetBlack family and community Cover of Hair LoveHair LoveBlack family and identity Cover of DreamersDreamersMigration, language, libraries Cover of IslandbornIslandbornLatinx memory and belonging Cover of Separate Is Never Equal by Duncan TonatiuhSeparate Is Never EqualCivil rights and educational justice Cover of Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote by Duncan TonatiuhPancho Rabbit and the CoyoteMigration, family, and resilience Cover of All Different Now by Angela Johnson and E. B. LewisAll Different NowJuneteenth and freedom Cover of Frederick Douglass: The Lion Who Wrote History by Walter Dean Myers and Floyd CooperFrederick DouglassLiteracy, freedom, and leadership Cover of Drawn Together by Minh Lê and Dan SantatDrawn TogetherFamily, art, and communication Cover of Journey by Aaron BeckerJourney trilogyWordless imagination and adventure Cover of Dog Man by Dav PilkeyDog Man seriesHumor and graphic storytelling Cover of Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff KinneyDiary of a Wimpy KidHumor and everyday school life Cover of The 13-Story Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry DentonTreehouse seriesComic adventure and imagination
Following questions into history
Cover of a Korean history comic한국사 만화A single volume represents the Korean history comics we read, including the Why? and Lee Hyun-se series. Cover of a world history comic세계사 만화A single volume represents our world history comics and the conversations they open across places and periods.

The books do not end when we close the covers. We return to them through questions, drawings, and journals that move between Korean and English.

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