Academic career Lee joined the political science department of the
University of Pennsylvania in 1963 and taught the university's first course in
Korean studies. This course led to the foundation of a Korean studies department, which he actively participated in. By the time of his death, he was Emeritus Professor of Political Science. He was also Eminent Scholar at
Kyung Hee University, Research Professor at
Korea University, and the Yongjae Chair Professor at
Yonsei University. Lee's academic career includes works about Korea's history of communism, the division of the Korean Peninsula, and the origins of the Republic of Korea. He also researched major figures in modern Korean history such as
Syngman Rhee, the first president of Korea;
Lyuh Woon-hyung, a Korean politician and reunification activist in the 1940s; and
Park Chung Hee, the third president of Korea, who seized power through a military coup. In particular, his works on Korea-Japan relations, communist movements in Manchuria, and the international relations of East Asia have been translated into many languages and are considered classics in East Asian studies. and
Kim Kyu-sik ui saengae (The Life of
Kim Kyu-sik), Seoul: Shingu Munhwasa, 1974. Other books include
Park Chung Hee: From Poverty to Power (KHU Press) and
A 21st Century View of Post-Colonial Korea (Kyung Hee University Press). He has contributed to China Quarterly, Asian Survey, Journal of Asian Studies, Journal of International Affairs and other periodicals. Lee published an autobiography in 2020 that covered his life until 1974, but "left out the rest of the stories for next time". ==Awards==