After receiving his M.Phil and Ph.D. in Sociology from Columbia University, Sun-Chul taught in the East Asian Studies program at Barnard College-Columbia University before coming to Emory in 2011, where he teaches courses covering modern Korean history, culture, society and politics. His primary research focuses on how popular contention evolves over time, with special interest in the interaction between political challenge and social, cultural, and political change. His book, Democratization and Social Movements in South Korea, 1984-2002, investigates the complex processes through which social movements became a powerful political force in post-transition South Korea, and will be published by Routledge Publishers. He is currently conducting research on self-immolation as part of a broader project on the culture of protest in South Korea.