ABOUT JINWON
Jinwon Kim, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology at Smith College in Northampton, MA. Prior to this position, she was a tenure-track Assistant Professor at New York City College of Technology, City University of New York, and a Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology at Hamilton College, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and Oberlin College.
Jinwon’s research explores themes of urban sociology, race and ethnicity, Asian and Asian American studies, transnational and global sociology, migration, and consumption. Her first monograph, The Koreatown in Manhattan: Branding Korea and Consuming Ethnicity in the Global Economy (under contract with NYU Press, expected in 2025), unpacks these questions by investigating how Korea’s nation branding strategy on Korean food projects and pop culture shape Manhattan’s Koreatown into a unique kind of ethnic enclave, which she calls a “transclave.”
Kim’s works appear in City& Community, The International Journal of Cultural Policy, and CUNY Forum. She is also editor with Soo Mee Kim and Stephen Suh for Koreatowns: Exploring the Economics, Politics, and Identities of Korean Spatial Formations, an edited volume on global Koreatowns, was published in 2020.
Kim earned her doctorate in sociology at the Graduate Center, City University of New York; MA in sociology at Seoul National University; and BA in urban sociology at the University of Seoul, both in South Korea.
She loves coffee, beer, and desserts; and likes cooking and baking.
Beers in Portland, Coffee in New York City.
