Katharine H.S. Moon is the inaugural holder of the SK-Korea Foundation Chair in Korea Studies and Senior Fellow in the Center for East Asia Policy Studies at The Brookings Institution. She  is also a professor of Political Science and Wasserman Chair of Asian Studies at Wellesley College. She received her bachelor's magna cum laude from Smith College and a doctorate from Princeton University in the Department of Politics. She was born in San Francisco.

Kathy Moon’s analytical approach is to bridge domestic politics and foreign policy. Moon is the author of “Protesting America: Democracy and the U.S.-Korea Alliance,” which illustrates 1) how democracy has given rise to Korean civil society activism relating to the U.S.-Korea alliance; 2) the comparative politics of U.S. overseas basing; and 3) the institutional and procedural changes needed to improve the management of the alliance. Kathy Moon also authored “Sex Among Allies: Military Prostitution in U.S.-Korea Relations,” which explains how foreign policy decisions affect local communities and the lives of poor and marginalized women. Moon’s research encompasses the U.S.-Korea alliance, East Asian politics, inter-Korean relations, socio-political changes in North Korea, and the role of Korean-Americans in U.S. foreign policy. She also studies democratization, nationalisms, women and gender politics, migration and identity, and comparative social movements in East Asia, including human rights.

Moon is currently working on a book that analyzes the impact of demographic change in South Korea on Korean democracy and foreign policy. She is also editing a volume on Korean-Americans as new actors in American politics and in U.S.-Korea relations.

Research support from organizations such as the Henry Luce Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, The George Washington University, The Fulbright Program, the American Association of University Women, the National Bureau of Asian Research, and the Social Science Research Council have facilitated Moon’s research.  Moon also served in the Office of the Senior Coordinator for International Women’s Issues in the U.S. Department of State and as a trustee of Smith College.