Photo by Laura Swanson

Photo by Laura Swanson

Rosa Sungjoo Park

Rosa Sungjoo Park is a media artist and sound designer whose research interest is centered on the study of the physicality of sound, psychoacoustics, algorithmic composition, experimental film and sound, and expanded cinema. Park's creative practice is deeply grounded in her cultural identity, memories, and religion. She has produced and presented a large number of works that deal with Korean traditional rituals, Korean shamanism, acoustic memories, and the nature of life and death. Park's work has been exhibited and performed in galleries, theaters, and conferences in the United States, Canada, Austria, United Kingdom, and South Korea, which includes Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC), Berkeley Art Center, the Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts, Kala Art Gallery, the House of Music and Music Theatre (MUMUTH), Asia Digital Art & Design Association Conference (ADADA), LG Art Center, Charlotte New Music Festival, among others.

Park has received the SF State 2022-23 and 2023-24 Research and Scholarly Activity (RSCA) Awards, the Provost’s Pre-Tenure Award, the Marcus Early Career Research Award 2022, and the SF State RSCA Recovery Award, as well as Best Use of Sound Award (Concert Piece) at the 27th International Community for Auditory Display (2021), and more. She is a recipient of the 2021-2022 Kala Art Institute Media Arts Residency Award, 2022-2023 Kala Art Institute Media Arts Award Fellowship, and 2022-2023 GlogauAIR Art Residency Berlin. Park has completed the sound design for a feature documentary film, 80 Years Later (2022), directed by Celine Parreñas Shimizu, which has won thirteen film festival awards, including the Cannes World Film Festival, and screened at more than forty film festivals since its release. She recently completed the sound design for a feature documentary, “Searching for Chang Daichien (2023),” directed by Weimin Zhang, and a film “So to Speak (2024)” directed by Celine Parreñas Shimizu.

Park holds master’s degrees in Digital + Media (DM) from Rhode Island School of Design, Interdisciplinary Studies (Visual Arts) from the University of British Columbia Okanagan, and Visual Communication Design from Seoul National University. She has taught at Rhode Island School of Design, Florida Atlantic University, and currently serves as an Associate Professor in the School of Cinema at San Francisco State University, where she teaches courses in sound design and production, interactive cinema, and experimental filmmaking.

Honors and Awards

  • The Provost’s Pre-Tenure Award, San Francisco State University, 2024

  • 2023-24 SF State Research, Scholarly and Creative Activity Fund, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Small Grant, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP), San Francisco State University, 2024

  • 2022-23 SF State Research, Scholarly and Creative Activity (RSCA) Award, the Development of Research and Creativity (DRC) Grant, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP), San Francisco State University, 2023

  • GlogauAIR Residency Berlin, Germany, 2023

  • 2022-2023 Kala Art Institute Media Arts Award Fellowship, Kala Art Gallery (Berkeley, CA), 2023

  • Nominated for the Fleishhacker Foundation’s 2023-2025 Eureka Fellowship Program for Visual Artists, 2022

  • The Marcus Early Career Research Award, The College of Liberal & Creative Arts, San Francisco State University, 2022

  • LCA Extraordinary Ideas Grants, The College of Liberal & Creative Arts, San Francisco State University, 2022

  • The LCA RSCA (Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities) Recovery Award funded by the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), The College of Liberal & Creative Arts, San Francisco State University, 2022

  • SF State Affordable Instructional Materials (AIM) Initiative Award, The Center for Equity & Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CEETL), San Francisco State University, 2022

  • Best Use of Sound Award (Concert Piece), The International Community for Auditory Display (ICAD), 2021

  • The Kala Media Arts Residency (Honorable Mention), Kala Art Institute (Berkeley, CA), 2021

  • High Impact Quality Learning and Teaching (HI-QLT) Course Redesign Project Funds, Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CEETL), San Francisco State University, 2020

  • SF State Affordable Instructional Materials (AIM) Initiative Award, San Francisco State University, AVP Academic Affairs Operations, 2019

  • Best MFA Thesis Project Award, Digital + Media, Rhode Island School of Design, 2016

  • Best MFA Written Thesis Award, Digital + Media, Rhode Island School of Design, 2016

  • MFA Fellowship Award (Two-year), Rhode Island School of Design, 2014 - 2016

  • Graduate Student Research Award, Faculty of Creative And Critical Studies, University of British Columbia, 2013

    Graduate Student Travel Grant, Faculty of Creative And Critical Studies, University of British Columbia, 2013

  • University Graduate Fellowship (UGF) Award, Faculty of Creative And Critical Studies, University of British Columbia, 2013

  • International Graduate Entrance Scholarship, Faculty of Creative And Critical Studies, University of British Columbia, 2012

  • Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Dean’s Award, Faculty of Creative And Critical Studies, University of British Columbia, 2012

  • BK21 PLUS (Brain Korea 21 Program for Leading Universities & Students) Research Fund, Seoul National University, 2006 - 2008