Dr. Sungho Kang Becomes First Korean Polar Scientist to Receive Royal Norwegian Order of Merit

Over 30 Years of Arctic and Antarctic Research
Recognized for Advancing Korea-Norway Polar Cooperation

A Korean polar scientist has become the first Korean to receive the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit. This international recognition was awarded for leading Arctic and Antarctic research and promoting bilateral cooperation on polar studies between Korea and Norway for over three decades.

The Korea Polar Research Institute announced on July 30 that Dr. Sungho Kang, a principal researcher and the former 7th director of the institute, has been awarded the Officer grade of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit by King Harald V of Norway. Dr. Kang is the first Korean to receive this honor for significant contributions to collaborative polar research between Korea and Norway.

Dr. Sung-Ho Kang (right), senior researcher at the Korea Polar Research Institute and the 7th director of the institute, posed for a commemorative photo with Anne Kari Hansen Ovind, Norwegian Ambassador to Korea (left), after receiving the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit at the Norwegian Embassy Residence in Korea on the 29th. Courtesy of the Korea Polar Research Institute

The order was presented on July 29 at the residence of the Norwegian Ambassador to Korea by Anne Kari Hansen Ovind, Ambassador of Norway to Korea.

Dr. Kang is a polar oceanographer who has been conducting Arctic and Antarctic research for more than three decades, participating in 37 polar marine expeditions. Since joining the Korea Polar Research Institute in 1993, he has laid the foundation for Korean polar science, and during his tenure as the 7th director, Dr. Kang expanded international joint research with institutes such as the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI). He later led bilateral research initiatives as head of the KOPRI-NPI Polar Research Cooperation Center in Tromsø, Norway.

The Norwegian government highly evaluated Dr. Kang’s contributions to advancing its own polar research and scientific understanding of the Arctic, as well as strengthening research cooperation between Korea and Norway.

Ambassador Anne Kari Hansen Ovind stated, “Dr. Sungho Kang has played a key role both as a researcher and as a leader in deepening polar research cooperation between our two countries.”

Dr. Kang remarked, “This order is not just a personal honor, but a meaningful recognition of the longstanding friendship and scientific cooperation between Korea and Norway. I will continue to contribute to joint polar, marine, and climate science progress between the two countries in the future.”

The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit was established in 1985 and is awarded to foreigners and Norwegian nationals living abroad for outstanding service to Norway or to humanity. The two countries have cooperated in Arctic research for the past 25 years and plan to further expand collaboration on polar studies and climate change response going forward.

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