Home

Jenna Gibson is the Assistant Director and Senior Research Associate at the O’Brien Notre Dame International Security Center (ONDISC). She earned her PhD in Political Science from the University of Chicago in 2025.

Her dissertation, titled “Unpacking Diplospeak: Diplomatic Rhetoric and Communication in International Relations,” examines the production and dissemination of diplomatic rhetoric, and how the words that diplomats choose can facilitate communication between states. Her research interests include: diplomatic rhetoric, public and cultural diplomacy, soft power, South Korean politics and social issues, and U.S.-Korea relations. In 2022-23, she was awarded a Fulbright grant to South Korea to conduct field work for her dissertation.

Jenna’s research has been featured in the peer-reviewed publications Media, War, & Conflict, Asian Journal of Social Science, and Asian Survey. In addition to academic publications, Jenna was a regular contributor to the Korea column for The Diplomat for three years, and has also written about Korean social issues and foreign policy for other outlets including Foreign Policy, NPR, and The National Bureau of Asian Research. She speaks regularly on these issues as well, including for organizations like The Korea Society, Indiana University, and the Center for American Progress.

Before pursuing her doctorate, Jenna was Director of Communications at the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI). She previously lived for two years in Cheonan, South Korea as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. She earned a Master of Science in Foreign Service degree from Georgetown University in 2015, and a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2011.