The Institute of Asian Affairs in Hamburg, Germany employed a new Research Fellow on Korean Affairs with the support of the Korea Foundation. Dr. Thomas Kern started his Korea-related work on April 1, 2003. As Dr. Kern will carry out Korea-related activities including research, writing and organizing various events, it is expected that Korea-related activities will be promoted at the IAA, where Korea-related activities have thus been less active compared to other regions due to the absence of a Korean affairs research fellow. Dr. Kern obtained his Ph.D. in sociology at Bamberg University, Germany, and worked as a researcher at the Institute for Social Research of Bamberg University. Just before joining the IAA, he was a visiting research fellow at the Institute for Social Development Studies, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.