Asian Studies Seminar Series: Taeyoung Kim In brief Date - 11 February 2026Venue - Project Room 1.06, 50 George SquareSpeaker - Dr Taeyoung Kim (Loughborough University)Title - Cultural Policies in the Era of the Korean Wave: The South Korean Government's Instrumentalisation of Popular Culture About the eventIn the talk, Taeyoung will examine how the state instrumentalises cultural industries, despite most of their production and distribution mechanisms being driven by market logic and foreign stakeholders.In his recent monograph, built on interviews with policymakers and industry practitioners, Taeyoung finds that the government’s policies—ranging from funding schemes and public agencies set up to promote cultural industries to the blacklisting of those opposing the administration’s political agendas—highlight the government’s strong desire to influence cultural production. The talk investigates how the state maintains political power to instrumentalise cultural products, even as market forces shape production methods and genre characteristics that have become increasingly transnational.Taeyoung's findings, which argue that the government only enforces neoliberal doctrines when they align with its political-economic interests, are not only valuable for analysing Korean popular culture but also for understanding the relationship between the state and cultural production, as they challenge the idea of the state's withdrawal from cultural production when the principles and practices of neoliberal globalisation become more dominant in national cultural/media landscapes.About the speakerTaeyoung Kim is a Seoul-born Lecturer in Communication and Media. Drawing on the traditions of political economy of communication, he studies the creative industries, cultural policies, and global media, with an emphasis on how platform technologies have transformed global-local dynamics in cultural production and on how stakeholders respond to these changes.His research has been published in several journals, including Media, Culture & Society, the International Journal of Communication, and Television & New Media.How to attendThis event is free to attend and open to all. No registration is required, simply turn up on the day.Are you interested in studying with us?We are the only university in Scotland to offer full undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes in both Chinese and Japanese, as well as postgraduate programmes in Korean Studies and East Asian Studies. Find out more about Asian Studies at Edinburgh Tags Asian Studies Feb 11 2026 16.15 - 18.00 Asian Studies Seminar Series: Taeyoung Kim An in-person seminar by Dr Taeyoung Kim (Loughborough University), titled 'Cultural Policies in the Era of the Korean Wave: The South Korean Government's Instrumentalisation of Popular Culture'. Project Room 1.06 50 George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9LH Find the venue: 50 George Square
Asian Studies Seminar Series: Taeyoung Kim In brief Date - 11 February 2026Venue - Project Room 1.06, 50 George SquareSpeaker - Dr Taeyoung Kim (Loughborough University)Title - Cultural Policies in the Era of the Korean Wave: The South Korean Government's Instrumentalisation of Popular Culture About the eventIn the talk, Taeyoung will examine how the state instrumentalises cultural industries, despite most of their production and distribution mechanisms being driven by market logic and foreign stakeholders.In his recent monograph, built on interviews with policymakers and industry practitioners, Taeyoung finds that the government’s policies—ranging from funding schemes and public agencies set up to promote cultural industries to the blacklisting of those opposing the administration’s political agendas—highlight the government’s strong desire to influence cultural production. The talk investigates how the state maintains political power to instrumentalise cultural products, even as market forces shape production methods and genre characteristics that have become increasingly transnational.Taeyoung's findings, which argue that the government only enforces neoliberal doctrines when they align with its political-economic interests, are not only valuable for analysing Korean popular culture but also for understanding the relationship between the state and cultural production, as they challenge the idea of the state's withdrawal from cultural production when the principles and practices of neoliberal globalisation become more dominant in national cultural/media landscapes.About the speakerTaeyoung Kim is a Seoul-born Lecturer in Communication and Media. Drawing on the traditions of political economy of communication, he studies the creative industries, cultural policies, and global media, with an emphasis on how platform technologies have transformed global-local dynamics in cultural production and on how stakeholders respond to these changes.His research has been published in several journals, including Media, Culture & Society, the International Journal of Communication, and Television & New Media.How to attendThis event is free to attend and open to all. No registration is required, simply turn up on the day.Are you interested in studying with us?We are the only university in Scotland to offer full undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes in both Chinese and Japanese, as well as postgraduate programmes in Korean Studies and East Asian Studies. Find out more about Asian Studies at Edinburgh Tags Asian Studies Feb 11 2026 16.15 - 18.00 Asian Studies Seminar Series: Taeyoung Kim An in-person seminar by Dr Taeyoung Kim (Loughborough University), titled 'Cultural Policies in the Era of the Korean Wave: The South Korean Government's Instrumentalisation of Popular Culture'. Project Room 1.06 50 George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9LH Find the venue: 50 George Square
Feb 11 2026 16.15 - 18.00 Asian Studies Seminar Series: Taeyoung Kim An in-person seminar by Dr Taeyoung Kim (Loughborough University), titled 'Cultural Policies in the Era of the Korean Wave: The South Korean Government's Instrumentalisation of Popular Culture'.
