Prof. Youngmin Kim, Distinguished Research Professor of English and Director of Trans Media World Literature, was elected as Executive Committee Member at the World Congress of the 22nd ICLA (International Association of Comparative Literature). The 22nd General Congress of ICLA was held from July 29 to Aug 2, 2019 at the University of Macau, themed: “Literature of the World and the Future of Comparative Literature.”

Founded in 1955, the International Comparative Literature Association (ICLA) offers a home to all comparatists in the world and encourages exchange and cooperation among comparatists, both individually and through the collaboration of various national comparative literature associations, including more than 30 national associations of comparative literature: Argentinian Association, Austrian Association, Azerbaijani Association, Brazilian Association (ABRALIC), Bulgarian Association (ACCL/CALIC), Canadian Association (CCLA/ACLC), Central America and Caribbean Association (ALICAC), Chinese Association (CCLA), Croatian Association, Czech and Slovak Association, Egyptian Society (ESCL), Estonian Association (EACL), Finnish Association, French (Société Française de Littérature Générale et Comparée, SFLGC), Georgian Association (GCLA), German Association (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Allgemeine und Vergleichende Literaturwissenschaft, DGAVL), British Association (BCLA), Greek Association (GCLA), Hungarian Association, Indian Association, Italian Association (Associazione di Teoria e Storia Comparata della Letteratura), Socilian Association, Japan Association (JCLA), Korean Association (KCLA). Luxembourg Association, Macedonian Association, Moroccan Association (MCLA), Peruvian Association (ASPLIC), Associação Portuguesa de Literatura Comparada (APLC), Asociaţia de Literatură Generală şi Comparată din România, Slovensko društvo za primerjalno književnost (SDPK), South African Association (SAVAL), Sociedad Española de Literatura General y Comparada (SELGyC), Swiss Association (ASLGC), Taiwan Association (CLAROC), Ukrainian Association, America Association (ACLA).The Association aims to be inclusive and is open to anyone with an academic interest in comparative literature, including writers and artists. It welcomes the participation of graduate students and early-career scholars.

The Association organizes a world congress every three years. 2016 ICLA World Congress was held at Vienna University, Vienna, Austria; 2013 ICLA at Sorbonne University, Paris, France; and 2010 ICLA World Congress was held at Chung Ang University in Seoul, Korea. ICLA oversees and supports research committees that reflect the membership’s current interests and meet more regularly to pursue agenda leading to publications in journals and books. The Association’s annual journal Recherche littéraire / Literary Research contains extensive studies in the field.

Prof. Kim will serve as the Executive Committee Member for a three-year term from 2019 to 2022.