The Center for Korea Studies at the University of Washington notes with sadness the passing of the late State Senator Paull Shin on April 12, 2021.
Sen. Shin received a doctorate in Korean History from the University of Washington in 1980 with a dissertation about Koreans in the Chientao Region of China. The first Korean-American elected to the Washington State Senate, Sen. Shin (whose Korean name was Sin Ho-bŏm) proved to be a life-long and steadfast supporter of the University of Washington and of the Korea Studies Program in the Jackson School of International Studies.
When the status of the Korea Program was threatened in the 2000s, Sen. Shin, along with other members of the Korean community, headed fundraising efforts and commended the University of Washington’s Korea Studies Program to supporters in Korea as well as the US. The efforts of Sen. Shin and others helped in the creation of two endowed professorships in Korea Studies, the James B. Palais Professorship of Korean History and the Korea Foundation Professorship of Social Sciences of Korea. Sen. Shin’s personal contributions to the Korea Studies Program remain as the Shin Endowment for Excellence in Korean Studies, in recognition for which the program has been named the Paull Shin Korea Studies Program.