Dr. Sungju Han

Contact

Sungju Han
Postdoctoral Researcher

Member of Working Group Environmental Risks and Extreme Events

Member of Working Group Social-Science Water Research

Department of Urban and Environmental Sociology
Helmholtz Centre
for Environmental Research - UFZ
Permoserstr. 15
04318 Leipzig, Germany

Tel: 0341 6025 1641
sungju.han@ufz.de

Sungju Han

Research Interests

Hi, I’m Sungju (pronounced more like Song-Ju), exploring the perceptions and behaviors of communities facing climate-related challenges to understand the complex dynamics between environmental risks and societal responses. I'm particularly fascinated by the role of "place" — how sense of place shapes our ability to cope with and adapt to climate risks. Combining qualitative insights and quantitative rigor, I try to translate academic research into practical solutions that enhance community resilience. My work integrates detailed case studies from diverse geographic and cultural contexts.

Research Keywords

  • Perception of environmental risks and the socio-psychological factors
  • Sense of place and its influence on individual adaptation for climate risks
  • Local acceptance of nature-based solutions in consideration of place and risk related constructs
  • Quantitative methods using survey data (e.g. structural equation modeling, latent class analysis) and Qualitative methods (e.g. narrative analysis)

Professional and Academic Career

Since 10/2022

Postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Urban and Environmental Sociology, UFZ

"KAHR – Klimaanpassung, Hochwasser und Resilienz" (09/2024 - 02/2025)   

"RECONECT – Regenerating ECOsystems with Nature-based solutions for hydro-meteorological risk rEduCTion” project (10/2022 - 08/2024)

Ph.D. researcher at the Department of Urban and Environmental Sociology at the UFZ Leipzig and Institute of Environmental Science and Geography, University of Potsdam (Funded by German Academic Exchange Service, DAAD)

Dissertation Title: Perceptions of Nature-based Solutions in the Context of Floods - Understanding the complexity of people and places at risk (Grade: Magna Cum Laude)

01/2015 - 08/2017

Researcher at the Korea Environment Institute , Sejong, Korea
Division of Climate Change and Interdisciplinary Research

09/2014 - 12/2014

Intern at the Permanent Delegation of Republic of Korea to the OECD, Paris, France

10/2013 - 11/2014

London School of Economics and Political Sciences, London, UK
Department of Geography and Environment
MSc in Local Economic Development

Publication

Index:

You could use our publication index for further requests.

2025 (1)

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2024 (4)

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2023 (3)

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2022 (1)

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2021 (1)

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2019 (1)

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Preprints

Preprints and other works are available on my ResearchGate.