Wongeun Ji

Wongeun Ji is a PhD candidate in the Department of Educational Psychology, with a concentration in human development. After completing undergraduate degree at Korea University, he worked in criminal justice and youth justice in South Korea for ten years as field staff in correctional facilities and a deputy director of the Juvenile Protection Division of the Ministry of Justice Korea. Based on his work experiences and passion for young offenders, Wongeun embarked on his doctoral study with a Fulbright Foreign Scholarship at UW-Madison, hoping to make a contribution to the healthy development of detained youth who have been maltreated prior to their delinquency. His interests center on the role of forgiveness in the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and later delinquency. In summer 2021 he traveled to South Korea and conducted an 8-week alternative education program for serious youth offenders who have committed criminal activities for years.

You can read Wongeun’s post-fellowship report here.