Biography and expertise
Jong-Ku Park is a third-year Ph.D. student in Geography and Environmental Studies at Texas State University, specializing in energy geography, energy justice, and energy geopolitics. He holds a B.S. (2018) and an M.S. (2023) in Geography from Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea, where his thesis examined the security-economy nexus of the Korean border region.
His current research asks how renewable energy transitions redistribute benefits and burdens across rural and peripheral regions. Focusing on South Korea’s solar energy landscape, he analyzes the "Sunlight Pension" and agrivoltaic programs through a “Relational Justice” lens, the appropriation of green discourse in rural communities, and the regulatory blind spots surrounding end-of-life solar panel waste. Grounded in critical discourse analysis and political ecology, his work connects national energy policy to the communities that host its infrastructure.
At Texas State, he instructs cartography and GIS laboratory sections and has guest lectured on energy justice and the geography of East Asia.
His current research asks how renewable energy transitions redistribute benefits and burdens across rural and peripheral regions. Focusing on South Korea’s solar energy landscape, he analyzes the "Sunlight Pension" and agrivoltaic programs through a “Relational Justice” lens, the appropriation of green discourse in rural communities, and the regulatory blind spots surrounding end-of-life solar panel waste. Grounded in critical discourse analysis and political ecology, his work connects national energy policy to the communities that host its infrastructure.
At Texas State, he instructs cartography and GIS laboratory sections and has guest lectured on energy justice and the geography of East Asia.
Teaching Interests
Research Interests
Featured scholarly/creative works
- Cho, H., Park, J., Choi, Y., & Chi, S.-H. (2025). Reflections on the Materiality of Geopolitics – Leaflets to North Korea. Journal of Geography, 71, 39–57. Retrieved from https://www.earticle.net/Article/A465338
Featured awards
- Award / Honor Recipient: Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research Grant, American Philosophical Society. May 2026 - 2026
- Award / Honor Recipient: Bernard W. Detlefsen Doctoral Excellence Scholarship, Dept. of Geography and Environmental Studies. 2026
- Award / Honor Recipient: Sally Ann Karnau Dissertation Research Scholarship, Dept. of Geography and Environmental Studies. 2026
- Award / Honor Recipient: Korean American Scholarship Foundation (KASF) Scholarship, Korean American Scholarship Foundation. 2024 - 2026
