Jeonbuk National University

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[JBNU People] Professor Chang Whan Oh (Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences)

홍보실 | 2023-11-16 | 조회 4089

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▶Interview

Prof. Chang Whan Oh's main research field is uncovering the geological history of the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia through petrological research. After completing his master's degree in geology at Korea University, he was selected as a government scholarship recipient and entered the Geology department at Stanford University in the United States. There, he studied eclogite as the subject of his doctoral degree.

Eclogite is very important for the continental collision but had not been discovered until then in the Korean Peninsula. At the end of his degree, eclogites were found along the Dabi-Sulu collision belt between the North and South China Cratons, revealing that China was formed due to the collision between the North and South China Cratons at around 250 Ma (Million years ago). Because of this, geologists around the world began to be interested in whether the collision belt would be connected to the Korean Peninsula with suggesting several tectonic models.

About 10 years after returning to Korea after his Ph. D. degree, he found eclogite in the Hongseong area and collision-related igneous rocks in the Odaesan area for the first time in the Korean Peninsula. He first confirmed that the collision belt in China was connected to the Hongseong-Odesan belt in the Korean peninsula, and the Korean Peninsula formed at around 250 Ma by the collision between the southern and northern parts of the Korean peninsula. This new interpretation led to groundbreaking progress in the interpretation of the geology of the Korean Peninsula. Using a state-of-the-art device for measuring the age of rocks in a fine area (0.02 mm) called SHRIMP and cutting-edge geochemical analysis methods, his research group studied from the oldest 2.5 billion rocks on the Korean Peninsula to the youngest rocks of Baekdu Mountain, which formed after 1 Ma. Based on these studies, he successfully revealed the geological history of the Korean Peninsula from 2.5 billion to the present time.

Furthermore, they also carried out important research on the geology of China (new interpretation on the Paleoproterozoic and Permian-Triassic collision processes in China) and Japan (discovering subduction-related Carboniferous igneous rocks that were not found in Japan for a long time). In addition, they carried out geological interpretation studies on the eclogites in Russia and the United States, the oceanic crust in the Indian Ocean, and rocks in India, Iran, and Egypt. Through this research, about 150 papers (about 100 SCI papers) were published (in their field, it is difficult to publish a paper because two or three years are necessary to write one paper), research funding worth about KRW 8 billion was received, and seven professors (two Korean professors, one Japanese professor, and four Indian professors) were produced. Their research group conducted seminars in English, and both master's and doctoral students wrote their theses in English, which was a very rare or unique case in the domestic geology field. Through this, students naturally gained the ability to participate in international activities.

Prof. Oh said, at one time, it was difficult for him to recommend graduate school to students. The reason was that he was not confident that he could raise students to be competitive. However, he changed his mind and tried to believe that if he believed in the students and had fun studying with them, even what he thought was impossible could be achieved. Based on this belief, he worked hard with the students, and they were able to produce excellent research results that were comparable to those of any petrology research lab at home or abroad. He said that this would forever remain a very rewarding memory for him. Also, He said that he would like to say to students at Jeonbuk National University "You can be the best in your field if you have belief in yourself."

▶Education

1991 / Ph. D. in Geology, Stanford University

1984 / M. S. in Geology, Korea University

1980 / B. S. in Geology. Korea University

▶Researches

1. Oh, C.W., Kim, S.W., Choi, S.G., Zhai, M., Guo, J. and Sajeev, K., 2005, First finding of eclogite facies metamorphic event in South Korea and its correlation with the Dabie-Sulu collision belt in China. The Journal of Geology, 113, 226-23

https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/427671

2. Oh, C.W., 2006, A New Concept on Tectonic Correlation between Korea, China and Japan: Histories from the Late Proterozoic to Cretaceous. Gondwana Research, 9, 47-61

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1342937X05000055

3. Lee, B.C., Oh, C.W.*, Cho, D.L. and Yi, K., 2019, Paleoproterozoic(2.0-1.97 Ga) subduction-related magmatism on the north-central margin of the Yeongnam Massif, Korean Peninsula, and its tectonic implications for reconstruction of the Columbia supercontinent. Gondwana Research, 72, 34-53.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1342937X19300619

4. Kang, M.S., Oh, C.W.*, Lee, B.C., Lee, B.Y., 2023, The tectonic evolution from the Archean to Triassic in the Hongcheon area, the northern Gyeonggi Massif in the Korean Peninsula, and its application to the tectonic evolution of the North China Craton. Earth Scienc Review, in print.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012825223002945

* corresponding author

▶Writing

1. 1999.03 Participated translation of Environmental Geology (Sigma Press)

2. 2000.03 Participated translation of Metamorphic Petrology (Sigma Press)

3. 2016.03 Participated translation of Essentials of Geology (Sigma Press)

4. 2016.12 National Atlas of the Republic of Korea 2

5. 2019.10 Hidden numbers Dokdo Sea, KIOST

6. 2016. Subduction Dynamics from Mantle Flow to Mega Disasters, Wiley

7. 2019. Metamorphic Geology; Microscale to Mountain Belts, Geological Society London sepcial publication 478

▶Awards

1. 1998.09 The Petrological Society of Korea, Doam Academic Award