As of July 2025, Dr. Keunbo Park took over as South Korea’s national representative to the International Permafrost Association council. Dr. Keunbo Park is currently serving as a researcher at the Korea Polar Research Institute in South Korea. He earned his Ph.D. in geotechnical engineering from Yonsei University, where he conducted research on subsurface CO₂ variations, changes in water content, and the development of predictive models. Building on this academic background, he began postdoctoral research at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology in 2009, focusing on permafrost studies.
In 2011, Dr. Park participated in fieldwork in Antarctica, which deepened his interest in polar science. Since then, he has conducted extensive field investigations in regions such as the Svalbard, Alaska, northern Canada, and northern Greenland. These experiences have enriched his understanding of permafrost environments and stimulated his intellectual curiosity about the fundamental links between permafrost and climate change.
Through such fieldwork, Dr. Park has come to recognize permafrost as a sensitive indicator of global environmental change, responding most rapidly to shifts in the Earth’s climate system. He has been committed to producing scientific data and information through on-site sensing of the land–atmosphere–ocean–glacier cycle in permafrost regions, thereby laying the foundation for the development of predictive and adaptive technologies for global environmental change. Dr. Park also looks forward to making significant contributions to the activities of the International Permafrost Association.
Provided by Keunbo Park
