Carter J. Eckert (1945 – December 2024) was an American historian who specialized in Korean history. He was the Yoon Se Young Professor of Korean History at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Early life and education

Eckert was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, in 1945. He attended

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a Private college, private liberal arts college and Music school, conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second colle ...

, where he studied Western ancient and medieval history. Eckert then undertook graduate studies, earning a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 1968. After graduating from Harvard, Eckert worked as a

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

Volunteer in Korea. He later returned to the U.S. to undertake doctoral study in Korean and Japanese history at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

.Korean Institute Profile: Carter J. Eckert
Harvard University.

Career and death

Eckert joined Harvard in 1985. In 2004, he was named the first SBS Yoon Se Young Professor. The Yoon Se Young Professorship was established in honor of Yoon Se Young, chairman of the

Seoul Broadcasting System Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS; ) is one of the leading Television in South Korea, South Korean television and radio broadcasters. The broadcaster legally became known as SBS in March 2000, changing its corporate name from Seoul Broadcasting ...

. Eckert also served as an advisor to the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

on North Korean politics. Eckert's death was announced in December 2024.

Publications

In a statistical overview derived from writings by and about Carter Eckert,

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WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

encompasses roughly eight works in 10+ publications in five languages and 1,000+ library holdings. * ''Korea, old and new: a history'' (1990). * '' Offspring of Empire: The Koch'ang Kims and the Colonial Origins of Korean Capitalism, 1876-1945'' (1991); (2004). Winner of the John K. Fairbank Prize. * ''Hanʼguk kŭndaehwa, kijŏk ŭi kwajŏng'' (한국근대화) ''Modernization of the Republic of Korea: a Miraculous Achievement'' (2005). * Park Chung Hee and Modern Korea: The Roots of Militarism, 1866–1945 (2016).

Awards and honours

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world, claiming over 10,000 members. Founded in 1884, AHA works to protect academic free ...

, John K. Fairbank Prize *

Association for Asian Studies The Association for Asian Studies (AAS) is a scholarly, non-political and non-profit professional association focusing on Asia and the study of Asia. It is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. The Association provides members with an Ann ...

, John Whitney Hall Book Prize, 1994 * Fellow,

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) or Wilson Center is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topi ...

, 1996–1997

References

External links

Korean Institute Profile: Carter J. Eckert
— Harvard University
Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations Profile: Carter J. Eckert
— Harvard University 1945 births 2024 deaths Academics from Chicago Historians from Illinois Harvard University alumni Harvard University faculty Historians of Korea American Koreanists Lawrence University alumni University of Washington alumni {{US-historian-stub