History

The Korean Nonprofit & Philanthropy Researchers Network (KNPRN), based in the United States, serves as a pioneering interdisciplinary association for Korean scholars focused on nonprofit and philanthropic studies. Its coverage includes a wide range of topics like nonprofit organizations, philanthropy, civil society, accountability, entrepreneurship, management, leadership, and volunteering. Established under the leadership of Dr. Sung-ju Kim, an associate professor at NC State and the founder and executive director of KNPRN, the network has been a hub for information exchange and academic collaboration in this field since 2008. It aims to support research in nonprofit and philanthropic studies and contribute professionally to the Korean American community using academic resources.

As of 2024, KNPRN had 63 registered members. Most members are studying or have studied nonprofit, civil society, and philanthropic subjects across various disciplines in the U.S., including public administration, social work, public policy, education, sociology, and other disciplines.

The inception of KNPRN can be traced back to November 2008 at the 37th ARNOVA annual conference in Chicago, IL. There, Dr. Kim, along with co-founders Dr. Hyoung-Jin Lee (Case Western Reserve University) and Sang-dong Tak (Indiana University), organized the first assembly for Korean attendees to foster a network among Korean researchers and scholars in this field. In November 2009, during their first informal meeting at the 38th ARNOVA conference, the group was officially named the "Korean Nonprofit and Philanthropy Researchers Network," marking the beginning of KNPRN’s annual meetings at ARNOVA conferences.

The need for such a network was first discussed among Korean scholars in the U.S. around 2003. Dr. Hyoung-jin Lee, later a publisher at ARCHE in South Korea, and Dr. Kim, then at the Mandel School of Applied Social Science at Case Western Reserve University, recognized the limited number of Koreans pursuing nonprofit and philanthropic studies in higher education in both the U.S. and South Korea. Along with Sang-dong Tak, a PhD student in philanthropic studies at Indiana University, and Lewis Lee, an assistant professor at the University of Alabama, they played a crucial role in the formation of KNPRN.

The network has grown significantly since its first meeting in 2008. Dr. Bok Gyo Jeong (Kean University) and Dr. Jiwon Suh (University of Texas Arlington) have been instrumental in discussing the formation of a Korean researchers' association in this field. With their help, Dr. Kim shaped the organization's purpose, administration, programs, and membership requirements.

It wasn't until November 2018 at the 47th ARNOVA annual conference that a formal leadership board was established, featuring Dr. Kim as Executive Director, alongside Associate Directors Dr. Ji-won Suh and Dr. Seoung-ho An. Dr. Byung Hee (Brian) Min (Wayne State University) later joined the executive board as Associate Director in January 2021, further strengthening the leadership team. In January 2019, KNPRN was formally registered as a Common Interest Group (CIG) at ARNOVA, and its first advisory board was formed in November 2019 to offer mentorship and professional advice.

Under this first leadership team, KNPRN launched several key institutional and academic foundation initiatives. While member communication initially relied on a dedicated Facebook group created in October 2016, the network developed its first official website in 2019 for more efficient interaction. In 2021, the network organized an ad-hoc Professional Ethics Committee (PEC) to formulate KNPRN's formal Code of Conduct and hosted a significant special session on sexual misconduct and institutional accountability at the 50th ARNOVA conference, which culminated in a peer-reviewed commentary paper in the Nonprofit Policy Forum in 2022.

The network’s academic programming expanded further with the launch of the KNPRN Research Workshop Series in April 2023, followed by a second workshop focused on Nonprofits and AI in February 2024. To sustain this momentum and ensure long-term sustainability, an ad-hoc Strategic Planning Committee operated from January to November 2023 to design the network's next-generation leadership and operational structure.

A new chapter began in August 2024 as KNPRN transitioned to its Second Leadership Team (2024–2026), led by an Executive Board comprising Dr. Bok Gyo Jeong as President, Dr. Byung Hee (Brian) Min as Vice-President, and Eunsil Yoo as Secretary. This period marked a significant organizational expansion with the institutionalization of specialized standing units, including the Advisory Committee, Academic Committee (Chair, Dr.Jeonghwa Yang, SUNY Geneseo), and Mentorship Committee (Chair, Dr. Jihoon Jeong, Texas A&M International University).

Under the second leadership, the network introduced highly impactful professional development programs, such as the 2025 KNPRN Job Market Seminar for emerging scholars in October 2025. It also broadened its practical and international dialogue by organizing high-profile special sessions, including an April 2026 dialogue with the Beautiful Foundation (아름다운재단) that explored contemporary trends in performance and social impact measurement within the Korean nonprofit ecosystem.

KNPRN stands as a significant contributor to the sharing of scholarly knowledge and experience in nonprofit and philanthropic studies among Korean-American students and scholars in the U.S. It addresses the gap in interdisciplinary scholarly groups dedicated to Korean researchers in this field, marking a significant growth in the number of Korean scholars in nonprofit studies in recent years.

First Written by Sung-Kim, 8/23/2020

Revised by Byung Hee Min 5/19/2026

KNPRN Timeline (Before 2017)

• October, 2016 

  • The "KNPRN" Facebook group was created as a communication platform for members. It is a closed group, ensuring privacy and focused discussions among the network's members. 

• November 2009

  • First informal meeting at the 38th ARNOVA Conference. Sung-Ju Kim (IU School of Social Work) was appointed as the executive director and named the group the “Korean Nonprofit and Philanthropy Researchers Network.”

  • A total of seven  Korean attendees at the conference participated in the first KNPRN meeting. 

  • Since 2009, Dr. Sung-Ju Kim has held an annual meeting once a year at the ARNOVA conference.

• November 2008: Foundation

  • At the 37th ARNOVA conference in Chicago, KNPRN was founded by three founders: Dr. Hyoung-Jin Lee (Case Western Reserve University), Song-dong Tak (Ph.D. student at Indiana University Center on Philanthropy), and Sung-Ju Kim (Ph.D. student at Indiana University School of Social Work), with the mission to develop networking among Korean-American scholars in nonprofit and philanthropic studies.