Bio
Minjee Kim, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, is a historian and lecturer specializing in the dress, fashion, and textile history of Korea. Born and raised in South Korea, she received her BS, MS, and PhD from Seoul National University. (Doctoral dissertation: Dress history of the Balhae dynasty (698-926), (2000)) She worked as a full-time lecturer in the Department of Fashion Design at Jeonju Kijeon College (1993-1998) and an adjunct faculty in the Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design at Seoul National University (1996-2000). She also consulted period costume productions for museum exhibitions: the War Memorial Museum (1998), Seoul National University Museum (2000), and the National Folk Museum (2000).
Minjee Kim, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, is a historian and lecturer specializing in the dress, fashion, and textile history of Korea. Born and raised in South Korea, she received her BS, MS, and PhD from Seoul National University. (Doctoral dissertation: Dress history of the Balhae dynasty (698-926), (2000)) She worked as a full-time lecturer in the Department of Fashion Design at Jeonju Kijeon College (1993-1998) and an adjunct faculty in the Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design at Seoul National University (1996-2000). She also consulted period costume productions for museum exhibitions: the War Memorial Museum (1998), Seoul National University Museum (2000), and the National Folk Museum (2000).
In December 2000, she and her daughter moved to the United States to join life with her husband who then was about to finish his study and start working. In 2013, Kim resumed her career in the US with a series of lecture, co-hosted by the Korean Cultural Center in Los Angeles and the J.Paul Getty Museum in conjunction with the exhibition Looking East: Rubens's Encounter with Asia. Since then, she has dedicated herself to raising awareness of dress history of Korea, both in academia and cultural institutions. Her areas of interest include conceptualization of Korean dress and hanbok; role of dress and fashion throughout the history of Korea; dress/fashion history research methodology; fashion history education and career paths; cross-cultural influence and dissemination of fashion as a global history; archiving resources; and historiography of dress/fashion of Korea.
In December 2000, she and her daughter moved to the United States to join life with her husband who then was about to finish his study and start working. In 2013, Kim resumed her career in the US with a series of lecture, co-hosted by the Korean Cultural Center in Los Angeles and the J.Paul Getty Museum in conjunction with the exhibition Looking East: Rubens's Encounter with Asia. Since then, she has dedicated herself to raising awareness of dress history of Korea, both in academia and cultural institutions. Her areas of interest include conceptualization of Korean dress and hanbok; role of dress and fashion throughout the history of Korea; dress/fashion history research methodology; fashion history education and career paths; cross-cultural influence and dissemination of fashion as a global history; archiving resources; and historiography of dress/fashion of Korea.
She has been a member of the Costume Society of America since 2016 and has served for Western Region as a Council member and Social Media Coordinator (2018-present). She joined the Tracing Patterns Foundation team as a Research Associate in 2022. She is a co-editor of Dress History of Korea: Critical Perspectives on Primary Sources (London: Bloomsbury, 2023). In August 2023, she founded Fashion History Consulting, Inc. to effectively provide her service to the communities through lecture, consulting, and publication.
She has been a member of the Costume Society of America since 2016 and has served for Western Region as a Council member and Social Media Coordinator (2018-present). She joined the Tracing Patterns Foundation team as a Research Associate in 2022. She is a co-editor of Dress History of Korea: Critical Perspectives on Primary Sources (London: Bloomsbury, 2023). In August 2023, she founded Fashion History Consulting, Inc. to effectively provide her service to the communities through lecture, consulting, and publication.
