I am an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Science and Technology Policy (STP). As a scholar in science & technology studies (STS), I examine how technologies are embedded in our personal relationships, social conditions, and political systems. I am generally interested in studying the human-machine relationship from social, political, and cultural perspectives. For undergraduate STP minor students, I teach the classes Humans, Machines, and Society and The Engineer’s Life.

I am leading a project called “Daejeon, A Laboratory for Science Culture,” in which my STP colleagues and graduate students are participating. The project is funded by the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity. In order to create new venues for conversation between scientists and the public and among scientists themselves, we have been conducting interviews with scientists in the Daedeok Innopolis. We are also organizing a photo and video contest “Life of Scientist,” which will help us understand better how scientists work and live. We welcome submissions from KAIST students, researchers, and faculty.

The open mic event was an attempt to extend the interview project to the KAIST community. Based on the interviews and this open mic event, we will produce a mini documentary, tentatively titled The Scientist. During the interviews, we asked several common questions: What is the most frustrating or pleasant thing about doing science or engineering?; What do you think science or engineering is?; What does it mean to be a scientist or engineer?; What would you like to ask senior scientists and engineers? By asking these simple questions, we hoped to discover the human dimensions of science and engineering. Instead of focusing on journal publications and technical products, we want to focus on the people behind them and considering science and engineering as part of a broader society and culture.

I wanted to collect fresh voices from the KAIST community about what it feels like to live as a scientist or an engineer. We often hear that scientists and engineers at KAIST are a homogeneous group of people, but I wanted to see the diversity of experiences and perspectives of the scientists from different disciplines, age groups, nationalities, and genders. The open mic was a great opportunity for doing just that. At first, we were worried if students would be interested in speaking in front of a big camera, but many students and even some faculty shared their views and experiences with us. Standing behind the camera, I was at once surprised and pleased to hear what they thought about science, scientists, and society. They were humorous, serious, and moving.

The mini documentary is for anyone who is interested in science, people, or the world they make possible. That means all of us. I do not have a specific message for the audience. If anything, however, I would like to show that scientists are people. They do not just work in labs; they also live in political, social, and cultural spaces. Like everyone else, scientists live their lives as citizens, consumers, and employees. It is difficult to separate their scientific life from their personal and social life. How they view and live the world affects how they create their knowledge about nature and vice versa. If we want to encourage scientific research and development, we also need to nurture their life inside and outside the labs. I hope our project will be helpful in making the connection clearer and richer.