I was selected for a library internship assignment as part of the Korea Foundation’s Global Challengers program, and am currently undergoing a three-month librarian internship at USC. I am very fortunate to begin my career as a librarian at such a prominent institution like USC. While most U.S. archives on East Asia tend to focus on either Chinese or Japanese studies, the USC East Asian library’s texts on Korean Studies are so plentiful they occupy nearly half of the shelves. My job is related to both storage and management, so I need to record and file incoming texts and update the archive’s regular periodicals.
USC librarians are not treated as mere employees but as part of the university faculty. After hearing that Ken Klein, Head of the USC East Asian Library, had spent 10 years studying Chinese history, I became motivated to delve further into my majors of Korean Studies and library/information sciences.

During my internship, I’ve had the opportunity to tour other libraries. The Los Angeles Public Library, with its abundance of beautiful sculptures; the classically designed UCLA (Richard C. Rudolph) East Asian Library; and the University of Chicago Library, with its sleek automated system, particularly stand out in my mind.
In the blink of an eye, my three-month stay is already nearly over. I’d like to sincerely thank the Foundation for providing this priceless opportunity, as well as Joy Kim, the USC library’s internship manager, for helping me gain so much valuable experience during my time here. I’ll be sure to spend my remaining days wisely, so that I may return to Korea and one day evolve into a librarian who can contribute to the continuous development of Korean Studies.

- KF Library Intern at USC Han Kyeong-min