Prof. Yongdeog Kim is a historian, political expert, and educator on Eastern Europe and Poland. He majored in Polish at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) and went on to study abroad in 2001, where he obtained botha Master’s and a Ph.D. degrees in history from Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. Jagiellonian University is one of the most prominent universities in Europe with a tradition of over 650 years. Nicolaus Copernicus and John Paul II also graduated from this university. After returning to Korea in 2011, he has been working as a senior researcher at the East European & Balkan Institute at HUFS and educating students on regional studies in the Department of Polish Studies. Since 2015, he has been director of the Department of Polish Studies and has published research papers and books on Polish history and politics. In 2017, he became president of the Asian Association of Central and Eastern European Studies.