Moon was raised in Seoul, South Korea. She majored in English literature at the University of Kansas and taught English at Seoul primary schools and Kansas City Community College. Then, she earned a master’s degree in Curriculum and Teaching, specializing in TESOL, and a doctorate in Curriculum and Teaching, specializing in early literacy. She instructed elementary, intermediate and advanced levels of Korean at the University of Kansas. She teaches beginning and intermediate Korean at Smith. Her research interests include the language cognition of Korean English teachers, Korean as a heritage language, and teacher identity.