1. Introduction

The Korean-American Global Scholars and Professionals Forum (”K-GSP Forum”) is committed to protecting the privacy and personal information of all subscribers, contributors, and participants. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, how we protect it, and what rights you have regarding your personal data. By subscribing to or participating in K-GSP Forum and its Substack publication channel, you agree to the practices described in this Policy.

2. Information We Collect

K-GSP Forum collects information in the following categories. Personal identification information includes your name, email address, institutional affiliation, and professional title, provided voluntarily when you subscribe, contribute, or contact the Forum. Submission content includes essays, reflections, book reviews, dialogues, and other written materials submitted for editorial review or publication. Correspondence includes emails, messages, and editorial communications exchanged between contributors, subscribers, and the Editorial Board. Platform data includes subscriber and engagement data collected by Substack, the third-party platform through which K-GSP Forum publishes its content, including open rates, click rates, and subscription status. We do not collect financial information, government identification numbers, or sensitive personal data of any kind.

3. How We Use Your Information

K-GSP Forum uses collected information solely for the following purposes: to communicate with subscribers and contributors regarding new publications, editorial updates, and Forum activities; to review, edit, and publish submitted content in accordance with our editorial standards; to acknowledge and credit contributors accurately in published work; to manage subscription lists and deliver content through the Substack platform; to respond to inquiries, feedback, and requests from contributors and subscribers; and to improve the quality, relevance, and reach of K-GSP Forum’s publications and community activities. We do not use personal information for commercial advertising, data brokering, or any purpose unrelated to the Forum’s scholarly and professional mission.

4. How We Share Your Information

K-GSP Forum does not sell, rent, or trade personal information to any third party. Information may be shared in the following limited circumstances. With the Editorial Board for purposes of editorial review and coordination, on a need-to-know basis only. With Substack as our publishing platform, which operates under its own Privacy Policy available at substack.com. With contributors, to the extent that their names and institutional affiliations appear in published content, as agreed upon at the time of submission. With legal or regulatory authorities, if required by applicable law or in response to a valid legal process. In all cases, K-GSP Forum shares the minimum information necessary for the stated purpose.

5. Substack as a Third-Party Platform

K-GSP Forum publishes through Substack, an independent third-party platform. Substack collects and processes subscriber data, including email addresses and engagement metrics, under its own terms and privacy policy. K-GSP Forum does not control Substack’s data practices and encourages all subscribers to review Substack’s Privacy Policy directly. By subscribing through Substack, you consent to Substack’s data collection and processing practices in addition to those described in this Policy.

6. Data Retention

K-GSP Forum retains personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Policy. Subscriber information is retained for the duration of your subscription and may be retained for a reasonable period thereafter for archival and communication purposes. Contributor information, including published bylines and editorial correspondence, may be retained indefinitely as part of the Forum’s publication record. You may request deletion of your personal information at any time, subject to the limitations described in Section 8.

7. Data Security

K-GSP Forum takes reasonable precautions to protect personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. Editorial communications are handled through standard secure email and platform channels. However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure. K-GSP Forum cannot guarantee absolute security and encourages contributors and subscribers to exercise caution when sharing sensitive information through any digital channel.

8. Your Rights

All subscribers and contributors have the following rights regarding their personal information. The right to access the personal information K-GSP Forum holds about you. The right to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information. The right to request deletion of your personal information, subject to the Forum’s legitimate archival and publication interests. The right to withdraw consent for communications by unsubscribing from the K-GSP Forum Substack channel at any time. The right to request that your name be removed from published content, which will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Editorial Board. To exercise any of these rights, please contact the Editor-in-Coordination using the information provided in Section 11.

9. Children’s Privacy

K-GSP Forum is intended for adult scholars and professionals. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under the age of 18. If we become aware that a minor has provided personal information, we will take prompt steps to delete it from our records.

10. International Participants

K-GSP Forum welcomes participants from outside the United States. If you are located in the European Union, South Korea, or another jurisdiction with specific data protection laws, please be aware that your personal information may be transferred to and processed in the United States, where data protection standards may differ from those in your home country. By participating in K-GSP Forum, you consent to this transfer and processing. K-GSP Forum will make reasonable efforts to handle international participant data in accordance with applicable privacy principles, including those under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Korea’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) where relevant.

11. Amendments

K-GSP Forum reserves the right to update this Privacy Policy at any time to reflect changes in our practices, platform, or applicable law. Material changes will be communicated to subscribers through the K-GSP Forum Substack channel. Continued participation following notification constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy. We encourage all participants to review this Policy periodically.

12. Contact

For questions, concerns, or requests related to this Privacy Policy or the handling of your personal information, please contact the Editor-in-Coordination. Jeonghwan (Jerry) Choi, Editor-in-Coordination, K-GSP Forum, University of Maine at Presque Isle.

This Privacy Policy was adopted by the K-GSP Forum Editorial Board effective April 5, 2026. It is subject to periodic review and revision.

These Terms of Service (”Terms”) govern your participation in the Korean-American Global Scholars and Professionals Forum (”K-GSP Forum”), including its Substack publication channel, affiliated communications, events, and any other platforms operated under the K-GSP Forum name. By subscribing, contributing, or participating in any capacity, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, please discontinue your participation.

2. About K-GSP Forum

K-GSP Forum is a voluntary scholarly and professional community. It is not a peer-reviewed academic journal, a legal entity, a registered nonprofit, or an institutional publisher. It operates as a collaborative intellectual forum coordinated by its Editorial Board. All editorial decisions are made in good faith by the Editor-in-Coordination and the Editorial Board.

3. Contributor Eligibility and Responsibilities

Contributors to K-GSP Forum must be scholars, educators, researchers, or professionals with a genuine commitment to the Forum’s mission. By submitting content, contributors agree to the following. First, submitted work is original and has not been previously published in substantially the same form without prior disclosure to the Editor-in-Coordination. Second, the submission does not infringe upon the intellectual property rights of any third party, including but not limited to copyrights, trademarks, and proprietary data. Third, all sources, data, quotations, and references cited in the submission are accurate, verifiable, and properly attributed. Fourth, the contributor holds all necessary rights to submit and authorize publication of the work. Fifth, the contributor will promptly notify the Editor-in-Coordination of any errors, disputes, or competing claims that arise after publication.

4. Copyright and Intellectual Property

Contributors retain full copyright ownership of their original work published through K-GSP Forum. By submitting content, contributors grant K-GSP Forum a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to publish, distribute, archive, and promote the work across its platforms, including but not limited to its Substack channel, social media accounts, newsletters, and affiliated communications. This license does not transfer ownership and does not prevent contributors from republishing their work elsewhere, provided that K-GSP Forum is acknowledged as the original publication venue. K-GSP Forum will not sell, license, or transfer contributor content to third parties without explicit written consent from the contributor.

5. Use of Third-Party Content

Contributors are solely responsible for ensuring that any third-party material included in their submissions — including quotations, images, data, charts, and adapted frameworks — is used in compliance with applicable copyright law. Fair use principles may apply in scholarly and educational contexts, but contributors should not rely on fair use without careful consideration. When in doubt, contributors must obtain written permission from the rights holder before submission. K-GSP Forum assumes no legal liability for contributor use of third-party content. Any legal claims arising from unauthorized use of third-party material are the sole responsibility of the contributing author.

6. Editorial Standards and Review

All submissions are subject to editorial review by the Editor-in-Coordination and the Editorial Board. K-GSP Forum reserves the right to accept, decline, request revision of, or withdraw any submission at its sole editorial discretion. Editorial decisions are based on quality, relevance, accuracy, and alignment with the Forum’s mission and standards. Rejection of a submission does not constitute a reflection on the contributor’s professional standing.

7. Prohibited Content

Contributors and participants may not submit or share content that contains fabricated, falsified, or plagiarized material; makes defamatory, harassing, or discriminatory statements about any individual, institution, or group; violates the privacy or confidentiality of any person without their explicit consent; infringes upon the intellectual property rights of any third party; constitutes spam, unsolicited promotion, or commercial advertising; or misrepresents the contributor’s identity, credentials, or institutional affiliation.

8. Confidentiality

K-GSP Forum treats all unpublished submissions, editorial correspondence, and sensitive professional information shared by contributors as confidential. Editorial Board members and affiliated staff will not disclose, share, or discuss such material outside of the editorial review process without the contributor’s explicit consent.

9. Subscriber Conduct

Subscribers to K-GSP Forum’s Substack channel agree to use published content for personal, educational, and non-commercial purposes only. Reproduction, redistribution, or adaptation of published content for commercial purposes requires written permission from both K-GSP Forum and the original contributor. Subscribers may share links to published posts freely. Direct reproduction of full articles without attribution is prohibited.

10. Disclaimers

K-GSP Forum publishes content for scholarly and professional reflection. Nothing published through K-GSP Forum constitutes legal, financial, medical, or professional advice. The views expressed by individual contributors are their own and do not represent the positions of K-GSP Forum, its Editorial Board, or any affiliated institution. K-GSP Forum makes no warranties regarding the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for purpose of any published content.

11. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, K-GSP Forum, its Editorial Board members, coordinators, and affiliates shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from participation in the Forum, use of published content, or reliance on any information shared through K-GSP Forum platforms.

12. Amendments

K-GSP Forum reserves the right to amend these Terms at any time. Contributors and subscribers will be notified of material changes through the Forum’s Substack channel. Continued participation following notification constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

13. Governing Principle

K-GSP Forum operates in the spirit of open scholarly exchange, mutual respect, and intellectual integrity. These Terms exist not to restrict but to protect — contributors, subscribers, and the integrity of the Forum itself. We ask all participants to engage in good faith and in the interest of the community we are building together.

14. Contact

For questions, concerns, or requests related to these Terms, please contact the Editor-in-Coordination. Jeonghwan (Jerry) Choi, Editor-in-Coordination, K-GSP Forum, University of Maine at Presque Isle.

These Terms of Service were adopted by the K-GSP Forum Editorial Board effective April 5, 2026. They are subject to periodic review and revision.

K-GSP Forum is where that gift gets put to work.

What This Forum Is

K-GSP Forum is the Korean-American Global Scholars and Professionals Forum — a community of scholars, educators, researchers, and practitioners who live and work at the intersection of Korean and American intellectual life, and who care about ideas that reach beyond either. This Substack is one part of what we do. Here, we publish essays, reflections, book reviews, dialogues, and short takes on leadership, human development, organizational life, culture, and the future of work. Our writers are faculty members, consultants, independent scholars, and professionals who bring both academic depth and hard-won experience to everything they write. What holds us together is not a single discipline or institution. It is a shared commitment: to think carefully, write accessibly, and engage honestly with ideas that matter.

Who We Write For

We write for curious professionals and scholars who are hungry for ideas that connect to their real work and inner lives. You do not need a faculty appointment to read us. You need only the desire to think a little more carefully about the world you are navigating. If you lead teams, study organizations, consult across cultures, teach in classrooms, or simply find yourself asking harder questions than your daily work allows — this is a space made with you in mind.

What You Will Find Here

Lead Essays — Long-form pieces that develop a single idea with care, evidence, and a point of view. Short Takes — Focused, punchy reflections on a current tension, observation, or question worth sitting with. Book Reviews — Honest engagements with books that deserve more than a star rating. Dialogues — Conversations between K-GSP Forum members across disciplines and perspectives. Reflections — Personal, practice-rooted writing that connects scholarly insight to lived experience.

Our Editorial Board

Young Choi — Regent University

Paul Hong — University of Toledo

John J. Han — Missouri Baptist University

Yoon G. Kim — California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt

Jeonghwan (Jerry) Choi — Editor-in-Coordination, University of Maine at Presque Isle

Our Commitments

We do not fabricate sources. We do not sensationalize. We preserve each contributor’s voice while holding every piece to a shared standard of clarity, honesty, and intellectual care. We began as a Korean-American scholarly community. We are building toward something more global. We welcome readers and contributors who share our values, regardless of where they are from or what field they call home.

Join Us

Subscribe to follow this Substack channel and stay connected with the broader K-GSP Forum community. If you are a scholar or professional who writes with care and has something worth saying, we would love to hear from you. Think slowly. Write clearly. Engage meaningfully. This Substack is a publication channel of the Korean-American Global Scholars and Professionals Forum (K-GSP Forum).

© KGSP Forum. All rights reserved.