Dear CKS Members,

On behalf of the Committee for Korean Studies’ Executive Board, I am writing to solicit nominations for the upcoming CKS election. Nominations should be submitted through the following form: https://forms.gle/rZbJJAg464ormuCb8 before January 31st 2026. Please nominate up to three candidates. Please see below for details regarding the election and its timeline.

As per our new revised by-laws, members elected to the board will now serve a 4-year term. For the 2026 election, we will need nominations to serve 2 executive board positions

• Executive Committee Member, 4-year term: March 2026–March 2030 (Represents CKS for 2027 AAS, 2028 AAS, 2029 AAS, 2030 AAS) to replace Sixiang Wang, whose term concludes by the 2026 AAS meeting.
• Executive Committee Member, 4-year term: March 2026–March 2030 (Represents CKS for 2027 AAS, 2028 AAS, 2029 AAS, 2030 AAS) to replace Michael Kim, whose term concludes by the 2026 AAS meeting.

As voted on by the membership after the 2025 AAS, the Executive Committee will also seek a Graduate Student Representative to assist the Executive Board in organizing and planning CKS-related activities. We are also soliciting nominations for this position. Self-nominations are welcome. We hope the Graduate Student Representative will be able to serve at least one two-year term (March 2026–March 2028).

Once the candidates for the two positions are confirmed, CKS will announce them and distribute election materials. This year, the election period will run from March 1st to March 31st . This includes our in-person meeting at the annual AAS.

The voting period will last from April 3rd to April 15th. Only current dues-paying CKS members will be eligible to vote.Current membership dues are $20 a year.

Voting Eligibility

To ensure eligibility, please visit the Association for Asian Studies “Sponsored Group Payments” site: https://members.asianstudies.org/sponsored-group-payments-donations You must login with your AAS account to make the donation. Donations of $20 will count as membership dues, which helps support CKS activities by providing for meeting, website, and other overhead costs. Donations above the $20 amount will support other CKS initiatives, including the current drive to raise funds for a new AAS book prize in Korean Studies.

About CKS

The CKS advocates the interest of Korean studies within NEAC, and it is also a community-building group with its programmatic emphasis on teaching, professionalization, and mentorship. Its mission statement, as well as recent newsletters and activity reports, are all available at http://www.koreanstudies.org/

For incumbent Board members, please see: http://www.koreanstudies.org/about/people/

The CKS Board is currently composed of Chair, Vice-Chair, Program Director, Publication Director, and Vice-Program Director. All members are selected via general election, with roles determined by the Executive Board. An Executive Board member may or may not serve in the same position throughout one’s term.

Anyone in the Korean Studies community can be nominated. CKS Executive Board members are required to serve for four consecutive years and attend the AAS annual conference throughout their term.

Sincerely

Sixiang Wang
Chair, Executive Board
Committee on Korean Studies