Founded in 1965, the Institute of Social Development and Political Research (ISDPR) has celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015. Being the oldest in the fields of humanities and social sciences, our institute is proud of its tradition and history. In the past five decades, ISDPR has been the gateway to intellectual maturity for many scholars, who are now leading the academia around the world.
With its profound history, ISDPR has been the center for innovative researches in Korea, acknowledged with various awards such as the OECD World Forum The Research Achievement Award in 2009, the honors of the Outstanding Research Achievement and the Basic Research Achievement by the National Research Foundation of Korea in 2013, just to name a few. ISDPR is currently ranked as a top-tier socio-political institute among “Top 100 Think Tanks,” announced annually by the Korean Economic Daily.
ISDPR responds to social demands
Throughout the half-century ever since its establishment, ISDPR has fulfilled various societal requests. In the time of demographic shifts, we led the social investigation on the subject; in the time of industrial age, we focused on the problems in the labor market; and, in the period of democratization, we shifted our outlook onto socio-political transformation. With the emergence of the information society, the ISDPR has been broadening its perspectives. Beginning with the studies on social minorities and migration, the landscape of our researches has expanded to investigate many social challenges. Today, we endeavor to provide a long-term agenda for sustainable growth through our comparative studies.
ISDPR proposes national agenda.
Korea is now faced with various challenges; aging population, environmental risks, plans for national unification, welfare design, and social integration. Thorough investigation and reasonable policy design are the keys to these challenges. ISDPR contemplates political resolution and proposes sustainable national agenda.
ISDPR values its history for better future.
ISDPR has been a leading research institute in the academia, archiving data amounted to 50 years of Korean history. We have restored valuable historical documents and entrusted them to the Korean Social Science Data Archive (KOSSDA) for public access. With the respect to the history in mind, ISDPR initiates the future thinking. The first to introduce systematic social surveys, ISDPR has always been the precursor in social scientific researches. In 2012, we founded Social Network Computing Center (SNCC), which specializes in big data and social network analysis. Ever since, ISDPR has been the leader in multidisciplinary studies ranging from humanities to engineering.
ISDPR brings Korean expertise to the world.
Korean has earned its prominent reputation in the international society. ISDPR elucidates Korean Society with objectivity through the lens of a global perspective. Since 2007, ISDPR has been the laureate of BBS, an academic funding by the National Research Foundation in Korea and worked with the interdisciplinary group of scholars from every corner of the world. We have established a comprehensive understanding of the global society by conducting surveys and interviewing public experts such as politicians, journalists, unions, and other social leaders. The extensive international network has enabled ISDPR to disseminate its academic insights. Now many scholars publish their works through our English journal, Development and Society, which is currently indexed in SCOPUS.
ISDPR connects with the public.
Our target audience is not confined to those in the academia. Key publications of ISDPR include not only academic journals but also books for the popular readers. We publicize our research findings through mass media and monthly newsletters. In addition, our education programs allow us to share our knowledge with the broader audience. Please explore our website for more information.
ISDPR invites you as our collaborators.
ISDPR welcomes opportunities to work with affiliated scholars through collaborative researches and with corporates and institutes through seed-grants and sponsorship. We are also committed to providing students with systematic training. ISDPR encourages the public to participate in our colloquia, forums or any other programs, and to support us through endowments. Together with your support and partnership, ISDPR will continue to generate cutting-edge researches, reasonable policy alternatives and disciplinary expertise.
