Welcome to the Korean-American Human Factors and Ergonomic Society (K-HFES) affinity group! The K-HFES is a community of North American professionals and students with Korean heritage who are working in the field of human factors and ergonomics. Since its establishment in 2019, the K-HFES has been steadily growing, counting about 90 professionals and students among its ranks in 2023.

The goal of our organization is to share and advance educational and scientific knowledge in fundamental and applied human factors through various channels and activities. To that end, we host biannual meetings (online and in-person) that are open to all members to provide opportunities for frequent and open communication. Each year, the organization issues an annual newsletter promoting its activities and plans to the public. We believe collaboration can stimulate creative ideas and open up windows into emerging fields, thereby allowing us to make increasingly valuable contributions to the diverse spheres of human factors and ergonomics society.

The K-HFES emphasizes providing quality and accessible support for the next generation of professionals and students. As part of this commitment, each year we facilitate mentor–mentee programs that match students and practitioners, students and professors, and young professionals and senior professionals, with the goal of supporting individual career development. Our biannual webinar, which features guest speakers from academia and industry, helps prepare students and young professionals to make significant achievements in human factors and ergonomics, and ultimately positively affect society at large.

We foster diversity in the community of human factors and ergonomics through interactions with other affinity groups. We are grateful for the support of the Council of Affinity Groups of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Thanks to the hard work of past and present K-HFES members, steering committees, and the founding and former chair Dr. Myounghoon Jeon, the K-HFES was officially recognized as an affinity group of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society in 2022. We actively participate in Council of Affinity Groups meetings, contributing our diverse experiences to shape the council’s workings. The K-HFES aims to give a voice to individuals and communities that have been historically marginalized in the field of human factors and ergonomics. 

On behalf of the K-HFES members, I thank you for your interest in and support for our group. We hope you join us or partner with us in our pursuit to make a more innovative, prosperous, and inclusive space for studying human factors and ergonomics.

Sincerely yours,

Ji-Eun Kim

2022-2023 K-HFES Chair

Assistant Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Washington