△Prof. ChoongHwan Lee, Prof. Shin-ae Park, Prof. HyungSeok Kim, Prof. Hong-Gu Lee

△Prof. Donghyuck Lee, Prof. Jonghun Kim, Prof. Moongee Jeon, Prof. Sung Ho Yoon

△Prof. SungEun Ko, Prof. HongJun Jeon, Prof. JoonHyun Jeon from Hansung University and NamoWebiz, Inc.

Konkuk University has been selected for the main research phase of the Convergence Research Center (CRC) program, a group research support initiative under the Ministry of Science and ICT.

The CRC program aims to address social issues and generate world class new knowledge through interdisciplinary research. Konkuk University’s "Digital Humanities-Based Healing Agriculture Convergence Research Center" was first chosen for the exploratory research phase in 2023 by proposing a new paradigm. Now, it has been selected for the main research phase, which will run from March 2025 to February 2030.

Led by Prof. ChoongHwan Lee (Department of System Biotechnology) from the Konkuk Institute of Science and Technology, the CRC research center will receive a total of KRW 9.3 billion over the next five years. This includes KRW 7.5 billion in government funding along with matching funds.

The research team comprises distinguished faculty members from various disciplines, including Prof. Shin-ae Park (Department of Bio & Healing Convergence), Prof. HyungSeok Kim (Department of Computer Science and Engineering), Prof. Hong-Gu Lee (Department of Animal Science & Technology), Prof. Donghyuck Lee (Department of Education), Prof. Jonghun Kim (Department of Education), Prof. Moongee Jeon (Department of English Language & Literature), Prof. Sung Ho Yoon (Department of Systems Biotechnology), Prof. SungEun Ko (Department of Rehabilitation Medicine), and Prof. HongJun Jeon (Department of Psychiatry). Additionally, Prof. JoonHyun Jeon from Hansung University (Department of Cultural Contents) and NamoWebiz, Inc. will collaborate to drive interdisciplinary research.

"We aim to realize the personalized agriculture through a scientific approach, integrating agriculture, humanities, biotechnology, medicine and enginnering and contribute to solving mental health challenges in our society," said Prof. ChoongHwan Lee, Director of the Research Center.

Since 1959, Konkuk University has led the agricultural sciences field, operating a College of Agriculture that includes horticulture and forestry programs. It was also the first university in Korea to establish a College of Agriculture. Building on its early adoption of horticultural therapy education in the early 2000s, the university now spearheads healing agriculture research. It offers specialized graduate programs in plant-assisted therapy and animal-assisted therapy under the Department of Bio & Healing Convergence, fostering highly skilled professionals at the master’s and doctoral levels.