Student Work
Document Type
Essay
Publication Date
5-23-2025
Abstract
The Williams Prize in East Asian Studies is awarded to Caitlin Hong for her outstanding senior thesis, “Citrus, Capital, and Control: Jeju Island’s Transformation under State-Led Development.”
Hong’s work exemplifies intellectual ambition, methodological rigor, and original insight. Through an interdisciplinary blend of historical analysis and ethnographic fieldwork, she offers the first comprehensive English-language account of Jeju Island’s citrus farming industry, tracing its development from the postwar period to the present day.
Demonstrating extraordinary initiative, Hong designed and executed an independent research trip to Jeju Island, conducting interviews with citrus farmers, laborers, and experts, while also consulting numerous primary sources in Korean unavailable outside the island. Her investigation illuminates the social, economic, and political forces shaping agricultural life on the island, including globalization, labor migration, and climate change. In scope, depth, and scholarly contribution, her thesis surpasses expectations for undergraduate research and stands as a model of interdisciplinary scholarship in East Asian Studies.
Recommended Citation
Hong, Caitlin, "Citrus Farming, Tourism, and Globalization: Jeju Island’s Transformation Under South Korea’s State-Led Development" (2025). Student Work. 17.
https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/ceas_student_work/17
Included in
Asian History Commons, Asian Studies Commons, Korean Studies Commons