Soong-Ki Kim
Assistant Professor, POSTECH
Division of Environmental Science and Engineering
Phone
054-279-2287
Office
Room 102, Jigok Research Building, POSTECH
77 Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang 37673, South Korea
Biography
I am an Assistant Professor in the Division of Environmental Science and Engineering at POSTECH, where I lead the Climate System Dynamics Lab. Before joining POSTECH in 2026, I was a Climate & Global Change Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University. I received my Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science from Yonsei University in 2023.
My research centers on future climate dynamics and modes of climate variability. I combine theory, observations, and a hierarchy of models—from simple conceptual models to fully coupled Earth system models—to understand and predict the climate system, with a particular focus on the atmosphere and ocean. Learn more about our research →
Education
March 2020 – February 2023
Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
Advisor: Soon-Il An
Fulfilled military service obligation as Technical Research Personnel (1 year out of 3-year service)
September 2017 – August 2019
M.S. in Atmospheric Science, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
Advisor: Soon-Il An
March 2013 – August 2017
B.S. in Atmospheric Science, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
B.S. in Physics, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
Class Rank: 1/30
March 2011 – February 2013
Kangwon Science High School, Wonju, South Korea
Early Graduation
Professional Experience
September 2026 – Present
Assistant Professor, POSTECH, Pohang, South Korea
Division of Environmental Science and Engineering
April 2026 – August 2026
Climate & Global Change Postdoctoral Fellow, Yale University, New Haven, USA
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Host: Alexey Fedorov
March 2025 – April 2026
Postdoctoral Associate, Yale University, New Haven, USA
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Host: Alexey Fedorov
March 2023 – February 2025
Postdoctoral Researcher, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
Irreversible Climate Change Research Center
Host: Soon-Il An
Fulfilled military service obligation as Technical Research Personnel (2 years out of 3-year service)
March 2024 – April 2024
Visiting Researcher, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, USA
Department of Atmospheric Sciences
Host: Fei-Fei Jin
Honors & Awards
2026
Climate & Global Change Postdoctoral Fellowship, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
2023
Best Doctoral Dissertation Award, Korean Meteorological Society
2023
Outstanding Academic Paper Award, Yonsei University
2016 – 2017
Honors with Excellent Grade, Yonsei University
Awarded three times
Professional Activities and Service
Project Leader
CLIVAR Working Group: ENSO Conceptual Models: Community Recharge Oscillator (CRO) Project | 2024 – Present
Member
CLIVAR Working Group: ENSO Conceptual Models | 2020 – Present
Organizer
Yale Atmosphere, Ocean, Climate Dynamics Seminar | 2025 – 2026
UTokyo–SNU–Yonsei Joint Workshop on Earth System Interaction under Changing Climate | 2024
Session Chair
AGU Annual Meeting 2026
OS017: El Niño–Southern Oscillation and Pantropical Climate Interactions: Mechanisms, Predictability, Impacts, and Projections
Session Convener
JpGU–AGU Joint Meeting 2026
A-CG53: Climate Variability and Predictability on Subseasonal to Centennial Timescales
AGU Annual Meeting 2025
OS011: El Niño–Southern Oscillation and Pantropical Climate Interactions: Mechanisms, Predictability, Impacts, and Projections
AGU Annual Meeting 2024
OS015: El Niño–Southern Oscillation and Pantropical Climate Interactions: Mechanisms, Predictability, Impacts, and Projections
Journal Reviewer
Reviewed 70 manuscripts across 24 journals
Nature
(1)
·
Nature Geoscience
(2)
·
Science Advances
(1)
·
npj Climate and Atmospheric Science
(8)
·
Communications Earth & Environment
(3)
·
Journal of Climate
(13)
·
Earth System Dynamics
(2)
·
Environmental Research Letters
(9)
·
Environmental Research: Climate
(2)
·
Environmental Research Communications
(1)
·
Geophysical Research Letters
(10)
·
Geoscience Letters
(1)
·
Global and Planetary Change
(1)
·
Climate Dynamics
(5)
·
Machine Learning: Earth
(1)
·
International Journal of Climatology
(1)
·
Theoretical and Applied Climatology
(1)
·
Frontiers in Climate
(1)
·
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
(1)
·
Advances in Atmospheric Sciences
(2)
·
Physical Review E
(1)
·
Physica D: Nonlinear Phenomena
(1)
·
Reports on Progress in Physics
(1)
·
Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment
(1)
Reviewer
Outstanding Student Presentation Awards, AGU Annual Meeting 2024
Teaching Experience
Pre-Faculty Teaching Experience
Instructor
ENSO Winter School 2025, Honolulu, USA | 2025
Day 3: ENSO Recharge Oscillator Practical: Simulations and Forecasting
Project Team 4: Using reduced-complexity models to diagnose ENSO in CGCMs and future projections
Guest Lecturer
Climate Dynamics (ATM4105), Yonsei University | Fall 2024
Invited lecture on ENSO dynamics
Teaching Assistant
Climate Dynamics (ATM4105), Yonsei University | Fall 2018
Air–Sea Interaction (ATM2106), Yonsei University | Spring 2018
Computational Fluid Dynamics (ATM4103), Yonsei University | Fall 2017
Seminar and Workshop Talks
9.
Birth of climate oscillation in the Arctic Ocean by global warming
NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, USA | April 2026
8.
Birth of a climate oscillation in the Arctic Ocean due to global warming | Invited
POSTECH, South Korea | January 2025
7.
Emergence of a climate oscillation in the Arctic Ocean due to global warming | Invited
CN-coESM Workshop: Response and Feedback of Arctic–Boreal Permafrost and Wildfires to Climate Change, China | October 2024
6.
Birth of climate oscillation in the Arctic Ocean by global warming
UTokyo–SNU–Yonsei Joint Workshop on Earth System Interaction under Changing Climate, Japan | August 2024
5.
Climate Tipping Points: Raising the Planetary Alarm | Invited
BK21 Yonsei Earth Science Seminar, South Korea | January 2024
4.
Widespread Irreversible Changes in Surface Temperature and Precipitation in response to CO₂ forcing | Invited
Young Scientist Special Session at KMS Fall Meeting, South Korea | November 2023
3.
Slow and soft passage through tipping point of the AMOC | Invited
POSTECH, South Korea | July 2023
2.
Widespread Irreversible Changes in Surface Temperature and Precipitation in response to CO₂ forcing
UTokyo–SNU–Yonsei Joint Workshop, South Korea | March 2023
1.
Can we reverse climate change if we remove CO₂ from the atmosphere? | Invited
Yonsei Young Star Session at Global Engagement & Empowerment Forum, South Korea | February 2023
Conference Presentations
12.
Emergence of a decadal climate oscillation in the Arctic Ocean due to global warming
AGU Annual Meeting, USA | December 2025 | Poster
11.
The response of extreme La Niña events to global warming: theory, mechanisms, and CMIP model projections
Wyrtki Symposium, USA | March 2025 | Poster
10.
Decreased Indian Ocean Dipole variability under prolonged greenhouse warming
AGU Annual Meeting, USA | December 2024 | Oral
9.
Rate-dependent Hysteresis of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation
AOGS Annual Meeting, Singapore | August 2023 | Poster
8.
Irreversible changes in surface temperature and precipitation to CO₂ forcing
EGU General Assembly, Austria | April 2023 | Poster
7.
Slow and Soft Passage Through Tipping Point of the AMOC in a Changing Climate
AOGS Annual Meeting, Online | August 2022 | Poster
6.
The Origin of ENSO Phase Locking: Seasonal Gap Theory
AGU Fall Meeting, Online | December 2020 | Poster
5.
Understanding El Niño–La Niña Asymmetries Using a Nonlinear Recharge Oscillator Model
AOGS Annual Meeting, Online | July 2020 | Poster
4.
Assessing ENSO characteristics in CMIP using nonlinear recharge oscillator
AGU Fall Meeting, USA | December 2018 | Poster
3.
Nonlinear Recharge Oscillator
AGU Fall Meeting, USA | December 2018 | Poster
2.
A New Conceptual Model for ENSO: Nonlinear Recharge Oscillator
KMS Fall Meeting, South Korea | October 2018 | Oral
1.
Portraying ENSO Skewness in Nonlinear Recharge Oscillator Model
IBS Conference on Climate Change and Human Migration, South Korea | November 2017 | Poster