Kang Sang-jung, a political scientist and writer, was named the president of Seigakuin University, the first time a Korean national has been named to head an institute of higher education in Japan.

According to the university’s official website on Tuesday, the school board made the official decision on July 22 ― before the present office holder’s term expires. Kang will serve in the position for five years from April 2014. 

A 64-year-old scholar who has taught at Seigakuin since 2013, was born and raised in Kumamoto, Kyushu island, as the third son of a Korean migrant. After studying political science at Waseda University, he became a full professor at the University of Tokyo in 1998, also the first time for a Korean to take up such a post at Japan’s top university.

For more than 15 years, Kang has published many contribution articles and joined media forums as a commentator and a critic, discussing the Korean-Japanese identity, nuclear war and Korea-Japan relationships, and the conflict-laden history of Japan’s colonization.

Kang has published more than 20 books including “Heart,“ his latest novel about the March 11, 2011, earthquake, which is currently a bestseller in Japan.

By Jin Eun-soo (janna924@heraldcorp.com)