Jihong KIM has served as a deputy director of the World Heritage Division at the Korean Cultural Heritage Administration since 2015. She is in charge of domestic evaluation process on candidate sites and management of World Heritage sites in Korea. Before joining CHA, she was a visiting researcher at Boston University, US and National School of Architecture of Paris-La Villette, France.
She majored in Architectural History and Heritage Preservation. She graduated from Department of Architecture, SNU in 2005 and she received M.S. and Ph.D in Architectural History from the same university. Her principal research interests include modern architecture reflecting national identity in East Asia, and the relationship among politics, nationalism, and heritage conservation projects in 1960s and 70s.
Writing her master thesis on tube houses in Hanoi in 2005, she is also interested in transformation of traditional houses adjusting to modern conditions or urban context. She participated in several research project as a research associate including documentation of historic houses in Korea, and writing nomination file of Historic Villages of Korea inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2010.