What started as an ambitious project for associate professor Joo Woo has been recognized with a 2026-2027 Fulbright award on behalf of the Institute of International Education and the Fulbright Program.
Woo, who teaches painting and drawing at the 51做厙s (USF) College of Design, Art & Performances School of Art & Art History, said she felt humbled and excited, but also overwhelmed to receive the Fulbright award, acknowledging the scale of work ahead.
Her Fulbright research focuses on the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea, an area she describes as ecologically significant and profoundly personal. About 160 miles long and 2.5 miles wide, the DMZ is known as a site of military tension, but in the absence of human settlement, Woo shares it has also become a peaceful ecological sanctuary, Receiving the fellowship meant that I now had the chance to confront this landscape directly, not just as an imagined, somewhat distorted icon of fear and danger, but as a real place of division and new possibilities of visual reflection. The project comes at a pivotal time in her career. As a naturalized U.S. citizen, Woo can now enter the DMZ as an American scholar, gaining access to an area previously unavailable to her.
Woos focus centers on ecological sites where histories, cultures, and personal narratives converge. She defines her studio practice as both visual and curatorial, introspective yet inherently collective, engaging with landscape as a space of in-betweenness where colonial and contemporary histories, American and Korean cultures, and migration narratives intersect. For Woo, the American landscape feels more outward, open, and expansive, while the Korean landscape often turns inward, toward memory, history, and identity.
At these points, she asks, How do we come to define ourselves in relation to the places we inhabit?
This line of inquiry influences her teaching. In her classes, Woo often brings students to USFs Botanical Gardens to observe, draw, and paint Floridas natural environment. She describes the landscape as intense, overgrown, and humid, almost aggressive in its density, strong sun, and jungle-like atmosphere; encouraging students to see nature not only as something outside of themselves but also as a generative space that helps them reflect on how they relate to their surroundings.
Looking ahead, she sees the Fulbright as a chance to expand the reach of her work. She said, I never imagined giving up my Korean citizenship, which I held for more than 20 years while living as an immigrant in the US, yet doing so has allowed me to pursue this opportunity.
Woo added, During my Fulbright period in South Korea, I am curious to see whether this shift in nationality will bring a new inquiry into my work or perhaps make no difference at all. My practice will continue to engage questions of belonging and becoming, dislocation and return, void and presence across these two lands. I also hope to foster meaningful conversations through broader-scale future exhibitions.
About the Fulbright Scholar Awards
The are prestigious fellowships that offer scholars transformative opportunities to teach and conduct research abroad while strengthening their professional development and fostering longterm connections that enrich their careers, campuses, and communities. Among the achievements of alumni are 63 Nobel Prizes, 98 Pulitzer Prizes, and 83 MacArthur Fellowships.