About

I am a PhD student at the Centre for Cultural & Media Policy Studies, funded by Pony Chung Foundation (HDC, Hyundai Development Company). I completed my MA in Arts Management from Korea National University of Arts and BA in Political Science and International Studies from Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. Before starting my PhD journey, I served as a journalist at YTN broadcast and the Financial Newspaper, a research assistant at KCTI (a government-affiliated cultural policy research institution) and The Mecenat Association, a project manager at the social enterprise Remarkpress and Seoul Performing Art Company, and a writer for Sejong Art Centre and the Korean Women's Development Institute. Since 2021, I have been a contributing writer for KCTI and have been involved in research projects addressing cultural democracy, cultural organizations, and gender policy in the cultural realm.

PhD Research Project

My research focuses on Cultural Rights, specifically investigating cultural environments within the city policy context. In my PhD thesis examines two cities: York (UK) and Gwangju (South Korea). Both cities have the status of a Human Rights City and are designated as UNESCO Creative Cities of Media Arts. I explore these cases in relation to the international cultural policy context influenced by stakeholders such as UNESCO, UN HABITAT, UCLG, and respective state cultural foundations. My research is supervised by Dr. Jonathan Vickery, an esteemed scholar in the areas of culture, democracy, and social justice.

Research & Publication

Throughout my PhD and earlier experiences, I have contributed to various cultural policy research projects and publications. They include:

Cultural Democracy – I undertook research for the Horizon Europe project titled ‘Culture, the Arts, and Cultural Spaces for Democratic Participation and Political Expression, Both Online and Offline’. Additionally, I studied the MecenatAssociation of South Korea's '53 New Mecenat Cases Abroad'. I penned an online article on KCTI’s platform ACKIS titled ‘Cultural Inequality Exacerbated by the Climate Crisis: A Focus on the SDGs Discourse’. On the same platform, I highlighted the UK’s cultural policy cases concerning cultural democracy, notably digital inclusion and the City of Culture policies.

Establishment & Management of Cultural Organisations – At KCTI, I was involved in research projects such as 'The Feasibility Study on Establishing the Memorial Museum in DMZ' and 'Assessing the UNESCO C2 Organization (International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region, ICHCAP)'. During my PhD, I contributed to the 'Warwick University Press Scoping Research' which assessed the New University Press (NUP) environment and the feasibility of founding a press within the university.

Urban Cultural Policy – After my PhD fieldwork, I authored an article in Korean titled ‘Three Identities Adopted by Gwangju: The Asian Cultural Centre Policy, Human Rights City, and UNESCO Media Art Creative City Policy’. This piece is now part of the curriculum for undergraduates at a national university in the region.

Gender Equality in the Cultural Realm – Stemming from my MA thesis, I co-authored 'A Study on the Gender Rights Protection System in the Arts and Cultural Industry in South Korea' with my MA supervisor, Seungyeop Lee. Subsequently, I participated in three research projects formulating the gender policy strategy for the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (akin to DCMS in the UK)