Seo Joong-Seok

Seo Joong-Seok (; born August 25, 1948) is a South Korean historian.

Some of his publications have been described as "essential". He has been described in South Korea as having the first PhD in the field of modern Korean history .

Biography Seo was born on August 25, 1948, in Bongdong-ri, Hwangha-myeon, Iksan-gun, North Jeolla Province, South Korea. His bongwan is the . He was born the seventh of eight siblings. Three of his siblings died in childhood. Among his surviving siblings was one brother and three sisters. His father was expelled from school in the aftermath of the Daegu Normal School Reading Club Scandal . After which, he worked as a farmer. Seo's mother also worked as a farmer. Despite their humble means, they were eventually able to send Seo and three of his siblings to college.

In 1955, he enrolled in the . In 1961, he enrolled in the . In 1964, he moved in with his older brother in Seoul and attended Seoul High School.

Seo received his PhD in 1990. His dissertation, entitled Research on Modern and Contemporary Nationalist Movements , is considered to be the first in South Korea that covered modern Korean history.