Sam Mills

Though I come from a more interdisciplinary background, having earned my B.A. in Asian Studies and International Relations and Global Studies, I am primarily interested in advancing my studies through the lens of history. My scholarly interests center on modern Korea, particularly the regime of South Korean strongman Park Chung Hee and its diplomatic relationship with the U.S., military involvement in the Vietnam War, and role in South Korea's rapid economic growth. I authored my undergraduate thesis on the impact of the Nixon Doctrine on South Korean domestic politics and foreign relations and hope to continue writing diplomatic and military histories of related episodes in Korean history over the course of my postgraduate education. I especially hope that the theoretical and methodological training I receive at Berkeley will strengthen my acumen as a writer and prepare me for my aspirations to pursue a Ph.D. in history. Outside of school, I can be found cooking, traveling, running, watching college football, or still obsessing about the academic side of my life.