Jongyun Kim
After earning his doctorate in CAES' Department of Horticulture, Jongyun Kim went on to become an associate professor of controlled environment horticulture at Korea University
Where are you currently living?
Currently, I am living in Seoul, South Korea.
I graduated from UGA in 2011, when I received my doctoral degree from the Department of Horticulture under the supervision of Professor Marc W. van Iersel.
Professor Marc van Iersel uses grow rooms in his work to optimize controlled environment agriculture.
Professor Marc van Iersel uses grow rooms in his work to optimize controlled environment agriculture.
What brought you to UGA?
I wanted to study abroad for my Ph.D. to expand my perspective with a global experience and I was sure that the U.S. has great programs for agriculture and horticultural science.
I searched for doctoral programs and contacted several universities in the U.S., and UGA provided me with wonderful information with a great program, and I was sure that UGA would be the best place to learn how to conduct horticulture research.
Now I am sure it was the best possible choice. The coursework was very satisfactory, and I learned how to conduct research properly, think scientifically and lead the world in a better way.
Not only the academics — the graduate student life at UGA was so enjoyable.
Athens surely is one of the best places to live — food, music, sports and multicultural hospitality with an affordable cost of living. I encourage my students to study abroad, and UGA is my proud recommendation.
What has your career path looked like since graduation?
After my graduation at UGA, I was hired as a research associate at the University of Maryland for conducting research funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Research Initiative (USDA-SCRI) between 2011 and 2013. This project team consisted of five universities (including UGA) and sensor companies to develop a more efficient and effective irrigation management system with distributed moisture sensing.
Since my Ph.D. program, I have worked with various types of soil moisture sensors to develop sensor-based automated irrigation systems, including sensor calibration, drought physiology, and proper use of sensors for better production and maintenance of horticultural plants.
I came back to Korea in 2013 to take a position as an assistant professor at Pai Chai University in Daejeon city. This position was mostly concentrated on teaching, and I taught three to five courses every semester, which enhanced my teaching ability further.
However, I wanted to conduct more research, and I found that Korea University was hiring a faculty member for a horticulture major. Since 2015, I have worked in the Division of Biotechnology at Korea University in Seoul to develop a horticultural crop production technology with a controlled environment.
It is pretty wonderful luck to work where I spent most of my time in my twenties, educating my junior students.
What are some of the key life lessons and skills that you gained from your time as a CAES student?
I was very lucky to have wonderful advisors not only for the academic lessons but also to learn perspectives about life. Teachers are not only providing information and knowledge to the students, but also helping students understand how to think and live better.
As agricultural science is an applied science, I learned to think about how my research can improve the world to be a better place for a sustainable Earth.
I learned that not just understanding knowledge — but converting the knowledge into technology — makes the knowledge more powerful and beneficial for the real world. If my work really can help the world be a better place, even if it is only a stepping stone, it’s worth working on.
Tell us about the value of your degree since graduation — how did your time at CAES prepare you for the real world?
During my graduate program at UGA CAES, I was lucky to have great friends and classmates. Some classes had a field trip for the commercial greenhouse or farm, and we could communicate with the people in the industry.
We could learn how the real industry is doing, what is needed, and so what we have to do further. I still work very closely with the people in industry to make the world a better place.
In 2019, Jongyun Kim was invited as a guest speaker for the Korean Academy of Science and Technology, presenting “The 4th Industrial Revolution and Agriculture.”
In 2019, Jongyun Kim was invited as a guest speaker for the Korean Academy of Science and Technology, presenting “The 4th Industrial Revolution and Agriculture.”
Jongyun Kim's farewell party at UGA, which included members of the horticulture department and their families. "I had a wonderful time at UGA with fantastic people," Kim said.
Jongyun Kim's farewell party at UGA, which included members of the horticulture department and their families. "I had a wonderful time at UGA with fantastic people," Kim said.
What advice would you give to current CAES students?
I am sure that UGA provides among the best courses by world-leading scientists, and the faculty care about the students.
In particular, CAES provides many lessons full of knowledge, teaching how to apply the knowledge for the real world. CAES works in applied sciences, which can have an impact on a better future.
We can heal the world with science and technology, which in turn makes our next generation improve the world better.
What has been one of your favorite places you have traveled since you graduated?
Since graduating, I have traveled to many places for business trips or holidays. Actually, I spent most of my life in Seoul, Korea, and it is surely a great place.
When I was a master's student, I served as a Korean Overseas Volunteer (very similar to the Peace Corps in the U.S.) in the Philippines for two years, and I had a wonderful time there to work with the local horticultural crop growers in a rural area.
A busy street in Dumaguete, a city in the Negros Oriental province in the Philippines where Kim worked.
A busy street in Dumaguete, a city in the Negros Oriental province in the Philippines where Kim worked.
After I came back to Korea, I visited the Philippines with my wife (also a UGA alumnus) and daughter. We loved the magnificent tropical beaches and nature there, as well as the great cuisine. Although it is not a great time to travel back due to COVID-19, we would like to visit there again.
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