Dr. SHIM, Hyeseung  沈 惠昇

Assistant Professor


Contact

Office: Room LC907, Library Complex, Hong Kong Shue Yan University, 12 Wai Tsui Crescent, North Point, Hong Kong
Phone: 3859-2643
Email: hsshim@hksyu.edu


Academic and Professional Qualification

Hyeseung Shim is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology (Arts, Culture and Technology Programme) at Hong Kong Shue Yan University. She earned her Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Culture Technology at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). Her scholarly work centres on human–computer interaction and human–AI interaction, with a particular emphasis on virtual heritage, virtual museums, and the heritage metaverse. She also investigates experience design and data-informed strategies for cultural learning and communication. Recently, she directed a research initiative, in cooperation with the National Museum of Korea, exploring contextual cultural information through Generative AI and large language models (LLMs).  She also holds an MSc in Culture Technology, an MA in Cultural Heritage Studies, and BAs in Sociology and Ethical Culture. 

Prior to returning academia, with over a decade of professional experience at UNESCO World Heritage Centre and other specialised international cultural agencies, she specialised in the management of conservation and rehabilitation projects for World Heritage properties in Asia, including Afghanistan, North Korea, and Pakistan, and served as desk officer for Central Asia for the implementation of the 1972 World Heritage Convention. 

She continues to contribute to multiple advisory and consulting capacities for the preservation of cultural and World Heritage with Korean institutions such as the Korea Heritage Service, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and ICOMOS Korea. Dr. Shim is also an active member of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committees for CIPA, ICTC, and ICLAFI, and serves as Symposium Director for the 30th ICOMOS CIPA International Conference, CIPA 2025 Seoul: “Heritage Conservation from Bits – From Digital Documentation to Data-Driven Heritage Conservation” (25–29 August 2025, National Museum of Korea, Republic of Korea).


Specialism and Research Interests

  • Digital Heritage
  • Virtual Museum
  • Human-Computer, Human-AI Interaction
  • World Heritage
  • Cultural Tourism


Courses

GEB112     Visual Culture and Digital Media
ACT201     Arts Administration and Management
ACT312     Cultural Policy and Development
ACT313     Archives and Records Management – Principles and Digital 
SOC416     Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage


Selected Publications

International Journal (SCIE, A&HCI)

H Shim, KT Oh, CK Shi. Beyond the Frame: The Role of Contextual Factors and Prior Knowledge in Art Appreciation in Virtual Museums (Under Review).

H Shim, KT Oh, CK Shi. (2025). Exploring Social Heritage Metaverse for Virtual Heritage Communication from Multi End-user Centered Experiences. Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage. 18, 3, Article 44, 36 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3736225

H Shim, ES Kim, KT Oh, CK Shi, J Ahn. (2024). Diving into a Heritage Metaverse: Learning from End user-driven Experiences and Perspectives to enhance Virtual Heritage Interpretation.  Proceedings of the ACM Human-Computer Interaction (PACM-HCI), CSCW 2024. Interact.8(CSCW 1), Article 45. DOI:10.1145/3637322

H Shim, KT Oh, C O’Malley, JY Jun, CK Shi. (2024).  Heritage Values, Digital Storytelling, and Heritage Communication: The Exploration of Cultural Heritage Sites in Virtual Environments. Digital Creativity, Vol.35(2). pp.171-197. DOI:10.1080/14626268.2024.2313585

Peer-Reviewed International Conferences

KT. Oh, R. Sato, S, Kim., P, Koh., SY, Kim., H Shim* (Corresponding). (2025). Place-based Virtual Reconstruction of Heritage Soundscape: A Case Study of Magoksa Temple, UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Korea. Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., The 30th CIPA International Symposium, 25-29 August, 2025. Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Do Ko., SY Kim., H Shim. (2025). Digital Preservation and Virtual Reconstruction of Architectural Acoustic Heritage. ISEA International 2025 (The 30th International Symposium on Electronic/Emerging Art): the 5th Summit on New Media Art Archiving, 23-29 May 2025, Seoul, Korea. https://data.doi.or.kr/10.23362/KOEN2025.07.25.5.244

H Shim, J Kim, CK Shi (2023). Poster: Classification of Typologies of Cultural Tourists at Historic Royal Palaces using Social Media Data. (Track: Large Language Model [LLM]), The 9th International Conference on Computational Social Science IC2S2, 17~20 July, 2023. Copenhagen, Denmark

H Shim, KT Oh, JY Jun, Y Choi, ES Kim, J Ahn, CK Shi. (2023). Designing an Extended Reality Mobile Guide Application to Communicate and Interpret Serial World Heritage Sites: Case Study of Korea‘s Seowon UNESCO World Heritage Site. Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLVIII-M-2-2023, 1457–1464, The 29th CIPA International Symposium, 25-30 June, 2023. Florence, Italy

H Shim, JY Jun, J Ahn. (2019). Personalization envisaged in Museum Application Guides and their Implications: Understanding the Contextualization of the Virtual Museum within the Museum of Korea. Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLII-2-W15, 1089–1096, The 27th CIPA International Symposium, 1-5 September, 2019. Avila, Spain

J Kim, JY Jun, M Hong, H Shim, J Ahn. (2019).  Classification of Oil Painting using Machine Learning with Visualized Depth Information. Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLII-2-W15, 1089–1096, The 27th CIPA International Symposium, 1-5 September 2019. Avila, Spain

H Shim, J Ahn. (2018). A Further Step Toward Elaborating Guidelines for Three-Dimensional(3D) Scanning of Cultural Heritage in Korea: Ongoing Efforts and Challenges. 2018 3rd Digital Heritage International Congress (DigitalHERITAGE) held jointly with 2018 24th International Conference on Virtual Systems & Multimedia (VSMM 2018), San Francisco, CA, USA


Research Projects

2025: Researcher, “Research Project on Development of a Master Plan for Tailored Assistance to Internationally Designated Area,” Global Research and Training Centre for Internationally Designated Area under the auspices of UNESCO

2024: Researcher, “Research Project on the Development of Inclusive Heritage Presentation Guidelines," International Centre for the Interpretation and Presentation of World Heritage Sites under the auspices of UNESCO

2023: Researcher, “Methodological Approaches for the Inclusive Presentation of World Heritage,” International Centre for the Interpretation and Presentation of World Heritage Sites under the auspices of UNESCO

2022: Researcher, “Pilot Research Project on Presentation Methods of World Heritage Sties,” International Centre for the Interpretation and Presentation of World Heritage Sites under the auspices of UNESCO

2021 to 2024: Researcher, “Official Development Assistance (ODA) Project for Cultural Tourism Smart City in Hue City, Vietnam (Museum component: Establishment of a Digital Museum in Hue),” KOICA and KAIST

2021 to 2023: Principle Investigator (PI), “User-centered Prediction Model to Establish the Smart Utilization System for World Heritage based on Big Data,” Outstanding Ph.D. Research Scholarship from National Research Foundation of Korea

2021: Researcher, “Basic Planning for the Exhibition and Operation of the Digital Cultural Heritage Museum (Sejong City),” Korea Heritage Service (Former: Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea) and KAIST

2018 to 2019: Researcher, “Simulation Solutions for the Conservation of Fragmented Pottery and Ceramics,” Korea Creative Content Agency and KAIST


Professional Membership/Advisory Roles

2019~Present. Expert and Voting Member, ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Cultural Tourism (ICTC)

2019~Present. Expert and Voting Member, ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Legal, Administrative and Financial Issues (ICLAFI)

2020~Present. Board Member, ICOMOS Korea

2023~Present. Expert Member, ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on CIPA-Heritage Documentation (HD)

2019~Present. Technical Advisor, Cultural Heritage Committee (Sub-com: World Heritage), Korea Heritage Service (former: Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea) under the Korean Government 

2021~2024. Advisor, The Lighthouse Heritage Committee under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of Korea

2019~2021. Secretary and Advisor of the Committee, Advisory Committee for the Establishment of the UNESCO C2C Centre for the Interpretation of World Heritage under Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea