ARTICLES
Manhattan’s Koreatown as a Transclave: the emergence of the new ethnic enclave in a global city (in City&Community) Click Here!
This article critically challenges scholarship on ethnic enclaves, from Chicago School scholars to the ethnic enclave debates of 1980s and ‘90s, and introduces a new type of ethnic enclave in an era of globalization: the “transclave.” By using Manhattan’s Koreatown as a case study, I define transclave as a commercialized ethnic space that exists exclusively for consumption, leisure, and entertainment, differentiating itself from traditional ethnic enclaves that offer housing and jobs for newer immigrants. Instead, transclaves are spaces where transnational consumer culture and brands from sending nations are transferred to, negotiated with, and anchored in a geographic space in a global city, and shape the landscape of that space.
“Nation Branding or Marketization?: K-Classic and Korean Classical Musicians in an Era of Globalization.” (with Dr. Meebae Lee) (in The International Journal of Cultural Policy) Click Here!
While many people may believe that Korean classical musicians’ success is the result of endless hours of practice and special musical instruction for talented children from a young age, this paper explores the systematic investment in classical music by the Korean government and large corporations. This paper aims to understand classical music as a nation branding tool in two ways. First, we trace Korea’s cultural policies since the early 1960 and locate the government’s investments in classical music in its cultural agendas. Second, by taking a critical approach to nation branding that highlights the role of the market and marketization, we investigate how and why classical musicians have collaborated with the Korean government in order to promote national pride domestically and a positive image of the nation internationally in an era of global competition. We highlight the government’s new agenda, “K-Classic,” which has support from various actors, including private corporations.
I also co-authored an article, “Consuming Gangnam Style: A Comparison on Nation-Branding in Koreatown, LA/ NY” with Angie Y. Chung (equal co-author) and Injeong Hwang, which compares and contrast two Koreatowns in New York (Manhattan) and Los Angeles; this article was published in 2016. Click Here!
BOOK CHAPTERS
“Hallyu and Korean America: Transnational Connections through Cultural Consumption.” Companion to Korean American Studies. Edited by Rachael Joo and Shelley Lee. Brill Publishers. Netherland. 2018: 207-230. Click Here!
